The 57 Bus: Monday, November 4, 2013–Part 1

by Dashka Slater
This award-winning book explores the true story of two teens whose lives were forever changed after a violent encounter on a city bus.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Monday, November 4, 2013-Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
15 words 917 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pretension
    creating a false appearance of great importance or worth
    It’s a city that prides itself on its open-mindedness, its lack of pretension, and its homegrown slang.
  2. per capita
    relating to each person individually
    Its per capita rate of violent crime made it the second most dangerous city in America, but its citizens still paid some of the highest rents in the country.
  3. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    Sasha’s best friend was Michael, a tall, gangly kid with sandy-blond hair and thick glasses who always wore a gray beanie and a green army jacket.
  4. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    Teachers liked to claim that Maybeck didn’t have cliques like other high schools, and it was true that the place was a refuge for kids like Healy who had been bullied in middle school.
  5. pilfer
    make off with belongings of others
    The deck grew over time, with people pilfering index cards from classrooms whenever they wanted to expand it.
  6. introverted
    shy, reserved, or inward looking
    In middle school, Sasha was brainy, shy, and introverted, the kind of kid who is easy to overlook.
  7. kindred
    similar in quality or character
    She looked right past Sasha’s invisibility cloak and saw a kindred spirit.
  8. cavalcade
    a procession of people traveling by foot, horse, or vehicles
    They invented stupid TV shows, unleashing a cavalcade of ever-increasing banality as they tried to out-stupid each other.
  9. resonance
    a vibration of large amplitude produced by a small vibration
    Watching it, Samantha felt something chime inside her—a bell vibrating in resonance.
  10. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    Adrenaline gushed into Karl’s veins.
  11. churning
    moving with or producing or produced by vigorous agitation
    He veered down busy Alcatraz Avenue, legs churning.
  12. garner
    acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions
    To Sasha’s astonishment, the petition garnered more than 27,000 signatures.
  13. paisley
    a fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
    Once, Debbie made herself a dress
    from an Indian bedspread:
    high neck, paisley print
    hippie meets granny.
  14. ordeal
    a severe or trying experience
    But after their ordeal in the back of the evacuation truck, their relationship changed, although neither of them was exactly sure how to define it.
  15. complement
    something added to embellish or make perfect
    “Our relationship sort of sprang fully-formed on that camping trip, or that fire evacuation,” Sasha added. “It just started happening. It was like, ‘Yup, this is it. This is how it works.’ We sort of stabilize each other. Or complement each other.”
Created on Wed Mar 21 21:03:31 EDT 2018 (updated Fri Aug 08 14:16:35 EDT 2025)

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