Hurricane Child: Chapters 8–13

by Kacen Callender
Born on the U.S. Virgin Islands during a hurricane, Caroline has always considered herself unlucky: she is bullied at school, her mother has disappeared, and, worst of all, she seems to be haunted by a spirit. But a new friendship will force Caroline to face her problems and perhaps turn her luck around.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–5, Chapters 6–7, Chapters 8–13
25 words 41 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. qualm
    uneasiness about the fitness of an action
    Maybe this is why Miss Joe has no qualms about leaving her door unlocked.
  2. somber
    serious and gloomy in character
    I go to it, and standing atop is a row of many photo frames and many smiling faces of Miss Joe throughout the years: one black-and-white picture of a girl-child version of Miss Joe standing in a somber crowd of other young girls...
  3. exertion
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    She’s sweating, either from the heat or the exertion of rushing through books and files.
  4. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    I force on the most confused face I can muster.
  5. genteel
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    They stand side by side, their hands folded together in front of their stomachs as proper young ladies should place them, but their smiles aren’t genteel and poised.
  6. poised
    in full control of your faculties
    They stand side by side, their hands folded together in front of their stomachs as proper young ladies should place them, but their smiles aren’t genteel and poised.
  7. unprecedented
    novel; having no earlier occurrence
    This is a strange and unprecedented thing, but I wonder if it’s because of the way I’ve stared blankly past them, and because of the way Kalinda asked them to help me just yesterday.
  8. mirage
    optical illusion in which hot air distorts distant objects
    We walk and walk and walk, all down through town and past the graveyard and over the long strips of paved road where mirages shimmer in the sun.
  9. promptly
    with little or no delay
    And she promptly begins her lesson for the day.
  10. compact
    make more packed together by pressing
    They are moving cities, the glass and steel compacted onto a single boat.
  11. mural
    a painting that is applied to a wall surface
    Right across the street are the housing projects, repainted to match the dull beige of the condos, with beautiful murals that were added to every single wall when the condos were built so that when tourists and celebrities passed by the housing projects, they wouldn’t know what they were seeing.
  12. effect
    an impression, especially one that is contrived
    “If we mess with those condos”—and she pauses here for effect—“they’ll beat us till we bleed.”
  13. condominium
    housing complex in which each unit is individually owned
    He isn’t a happy man, sitting in a small sweltering box, guarding an empty condominium.
  14. scour
    examine minutely
    Kalinda scours the bottom of the iron fence.
  15. gazebo
    a small roofed building affording shade and rest
    This courtyard is a garden of grass and roses, a gazebo with benches and a sleepily rotating fan.
  16. discipline
    punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience
    My ma was the one to discipline me, and depending on my crime, I had a good idea of what my punishment would be.
  17. baton
    a short stout club used primarily by police officers
    When she opens her eyes and sees the guard, she gets out of bed carefully, eyes on the security guard’s baton, which is gripped in a meaty hand.
  18. blasphemy
    profane language
    Missus Wilhelmina would say that it’s blasphemy to think something like that, when clearly the world belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.
  19. escalate
    increase in extent or intensity
    It says that the tropical storm is moving faster than anyone has really expected, and that it’s quickly escalating.
  20. pelt
    rain heavily
    I go walking down the road, streams of water running down like rivers, and keep walking through the mangroves, rain pelting against the tops of the trees, brown water swirling around my legs and water sloshing to my knees.
  21. savor
    derive or receive pleasure from
    My throat feels raw whenever I do, but I still take in one long breath and let it out slowly, savoring the feeling of air in my lungs.
  22. atrocity
    an act of shocking cruelty
    But even as I write now, I can’t help but think that it would be an atrocity to let our ending come like this.
  23. belated
    after the expected or usual time
    I don’t even want to wish her a happy birthday. She smiles at me, waiting. I cut my eye and sigh. “Happy belated birthday.”
  24. reprimand
    censure severely or angrily
    I feel like I’m the parent, about to reprimand her.
  25. eventful
    characterized by many noteworthy happenings or incidents
    “She hated me the most of all. She’d sit with me just so that she could torture me. I let it happen for a long time. But then I changed. I had a pretty eventful year, you know.”
Created on Mon Jan 07 15:58:15 EST 2019 (updated Wed Jan 09 08:40:44 EST 2019)

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