Ninth Ward: List 2: Wednesday–Friday

by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Twelve-year-old Lanesha and her caretaker, both endowed with supernatural gifts, must fight to survive when Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1: Sunday–Tuesday; List 2: Wednesday–Friday; List 3: Saturday–Still Sunday; List 4: Monday–Monday Isn't Over; List 5: Tuesday

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jewell Parker Rhodes: Towers Falling, Ghost Boys
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. prance
    spring forward on the hind legs
    Spot turns and prances down the stairs.
  2. puncture
    pierce with a pointed object; make a hole into
    I puncture the egg and watch the yellow river swirl on my plate.
  3. shroud
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
    “In my dream, Lanesha, storm clouds come; wind comes; rain smacks down; the water clears. Sun comes out. Folks go about their business. Everyone is happy. But then, everything goes black. Like someone pulling a curtain. Or a shroud being pulled over the dead. Or God turning out the lights.”
  4. basin
    a bowl-shaped vessel used for holding food or liquids
    I stare, too, but all I see is our kitchen lamp with dead bugs in its glass basin.
  5. scald
    heat to the boiling point
    Mama Ya-Ya gets up, and picks up the pot of scalded milk from the stove’s back burner.
  6. crinkle
    become wrinkled or crumpled or creased
    Mama Ya-Ya’s eyes are still crinkled with worry.
  7. tattered
    worn to shreds; or wearing torn or ragged clothing
    Even though our schoolbooks are tattered and old, we aren’t allowed to bring them home.
  8. blurt
    utter impulsively
    I blurt, “I could be you.”
  9. slick
    having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light
    I’m so happy, stroking the slick pages, seeing hundreds of squiggly marks.
  10. peer
    look searchingly
    Mama Ya-Ya and her cane move closer to Spot. She is bending, peering down at him. Her Coke-bottle-covered eyes looking into his baby browns.
  11. sincere
    open and genuine; not deceitful
    I think Ginia feels sorry for me. I don’t need anyone’s sorry. ’Sides, even if she was sincere, her friends wouldn’t be.
  12. distracted
    having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety
    All through math, I’m distracted. I don’t think Ginia means what she says; still, I hope. Wonder if she’ll wait for me after school?
  13. welfare
    governmental provision of assistance to persons in need
    He knows neighborhood Social Security, disability, and welfare checks come in first of the month.
  14. confide
    reveal in private
    Mr. Ng confides his worries about his ancestors.
  15. ancestor
    someone from whom you are descended
    Mr. Ng confides his worries about his ancestors. He hopes his cousins in Vietnam are caring for his parents’ graves.
  16. wince
    make a face indicating disgust or dislike
    “She dreamed it,” I say, wincing that these words are no better. Ginia will leave me soon enough. Just wait. “Ghosts, dreams,” she’ll say, disgusted, thinking I’m too crazy to bother with.
  17. shrill
    having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
    Outside, it’s cloudy, shrill with wind blowing through the cypress trees.
  18. humidity
    wetness in the atmosphere
    The humidity is high. It is still New Orleans hot. Mosquitoes are eating my neck.
  19. amputee
    someone who has had a limb surgically removed
    He’s an amputee. Both his legs are gone because of diabetes. Every day his wife rolls his wheelchair onto the porch with a TV stand and a small color TV.
  20. drift
    move in an unhurried fashion
    Neighbors drifting by will sometimes leave pecans or an apple.
  21. contract
    become smaller or draw together
    In the cloud’s center, it’s red. The red glows, contracting, then growing bigger than before.
  22. interval
    the distance between things
    I grab my pocket dictionary and look up suspension. SUSPENSION BRIDGE: A BRIDGE HAVING THE ROADWAY SUSPENDED FROM CABLES, ANCHORED AT EITHER END, AND SUPPORTED AT INTERVALS BY TOWERS.
  23. unravel
    disentangle
    Mama Ya-Ya stands in front of the TV, trying to unravel what the picture means.
  24. diffuse
    spread out; not concentrated in one place
    If the hurricane loosens, becomes diffuse, then, there might be only a tropical storm for Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
  25. encyclopedia
    a reference work containing articles on various topics
    Mama Ya-Ya paid $3 a week for three years until she’d paid for the entire encyclopedia set. It was my best present ever. The books have their own special shelf.
  26. spiral
    a plane curve traced by a point circling about a center
    The white spirals of storm have gotten bigger on the TV map. The storm is spinning over the Gulf, heading towards Mississippi and Louisiana.
  27. abandoned
    forsaken by owner or inhabitants
    The TV shows pictures from Florida: a man unable to stand because of wind, cars abandoned, trees lying on the ground.
  28. damages
    a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury
    In Florida, several are reported missing and the damages are in the millions.
  29. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
    While Katrina was just a Category One, she was slow moving, causing greater than normal damage. Now she’s two, on her way to becoming three times more powerful. When she lands again, the destruction will be unfathomable.
  30. convent
    a religious residence especially for nuns
    But the hurricane warning has emptied people out and ghosts, from when our school used to be a convent, are filling the halls. Mainly nuns. Sisters of Charity. A priest or two.
  31. gruff
    deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or emotion
    Then, the father speaks in a gruff voice into the microphone: “We’re staying right here. I’ve survived many hurricane seasons..."
  32. generator
    engine that converts mechanical energy into electricity
    “I’ve got gallons of water. Canned goods. Extra fuel. Candles. Matches. A flashlight. Behind back, I have a generator.”
  33. civics
    the study of the duties and rights of citizenship
    Then, I remember from civics class that storm winds will break glass. Window shutters, if you can afford them, are easiest and best. But planks of wood across windows can be just as good. Even if you leave your house, I remember reading, it’s best to board it up.
  34. foster
    providing nurture though not related by blood or legal ties
    But Mama Ya-Ya’s not a relative. And Mama Ya-Ya never went to court to be my foster mom or legal guardian. She feared a judge would say she’s too old; or worse, send me to live with relatives who didn’t want me.
  35. insist
    be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
    Up to now, Mama Ya-Ya has always insisted I stay inside the house after 8:00 p.m., finishing my homework, getting ready for bed.
Created on Thu Dec 21 17:51:22 EST 2017 (updated Mon Jun 25 16:38:55 EDT 2018)

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