The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl: Chapters 21–27

by Stacy McAnulty
After she was struck by lightning at the age of eight, Lucy became a mathematical prodigy and developed obsessive compulsive disorder. Now, Lucy prefers to stay at home and solve equations, but her grandmother insists that Lucy tackle the most complex problem she's ever faced: middle school.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–20, Chapters 21–27, Chapters 28–40
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cringe
    draw back, as with fear, pain, or embarrassment
    I cringe, waiting for her to say something about my lack of a social life, but thankfully she’s quiet.
  2. correlation
    a reciprocal connection between two or more things
    Things are coming together. Correlation and causality. Things are making sense.
  3. causality
    the relation between reasons and effects
    Things are coming together. Correlation and causality. Things are making sense.
  4. practically
    almost; nearly
    He sits, practically on my foot, and leans all his weight against my leg.
  5. preliminary
    preceding or in preparation for something more important
    “I’m working on a formula. There’s a pattern to how quickly a dog will be adopted. Like small dogs are adopted 1.75 times as fast as big dogs. Gray dogs find homes 2.2 times as quickly as black dogs. Dogs over the age of 8 take an average of 25 days to be adopted, which is over 2 times the average for all Pet Hut dogs. But this is all very preliminary. I need more numbers.”
  6. deviation
    the difference between observed value and expected value
    Across the sheet are averages and standard deviations for the 107 dogs most recently adopted.
  7. adjective
    a word that expresses an attribute of something
    “Fine. I’m freaky-excellent-genius-good at math.”
    “Seems you’re good with adjectives, too.”
  8. anthology
    a collection of selected literary passages
    She asks Maddie and Jennifer to hand out the anthologies.
  9. dense
    having high compaction or concentration
    The text is dense.
  10. abridged
    shortened by condensing or rewriting
    It’s the abridged version of The Odyssey.
  11. tally
    determine the sum of
    I haven’t even tallied a single word yet.
  12. incident
    a public disturbance
    The rest of the day continues without incident.
  13. tarnish
    make or become dirty or dull, as by exposure to air
    Even on the bus ride home, she’s still worried that her perfect record is tarnished.
  14. revolt
    organized opposition to authority
    The next day, we return to Ms. Fleming’s class. There’s no mention of our revolt.
  15. variable
    a quantity that can assume any of a set of values
    My formula has variables for age, color, breed, and size.
  16. criterion
    a basis for comparison
    Age has 2 criteria: If the dog is between 3 and 7 years old, I add 3 days. And if the animal is over 8 years old, I add a whopping 10 days.
  17. harness
    an arrangement of leather straps fitted to a draft animal
    The moment Claire opens the kennel door, Murphy transforms from quiet and still to loud and excited. She gives him an awkward bear hug while Levi slips a harness and leash on him.
  18. maul
    injure badly
    This dog looks ready to maul someone.
  19. notch
    make a small cut into
    A weatherworn wooden bench (that also has teeth marks notched out of the legs) sits along the side.
  20. nuzzle
    gently rub or push one's nose or face against something
    “You poor thing,” Windy says, nuzzling the dog.
  21. fedora
    a hat made of felt with a creased crown
    He takes out his camera and a bow tie and a fedora.
  22. backdrop
    scenery hung at the rear of a stage
    “Since you’re up there, you can hold the backdrop.” Levi hands me a blue-green sheet (the color of the number 15), and we all wait for Murphy to relax.
  23. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    The dog looks everywhere except at Levi until Windy picks up the ratty tennis ball. She bounces it once. Murphy is mesmerized.
  24. decapitate
    cut the head off of
    I’m not a good judge of dogs, but based on Murphy’s drooling and intense focus, I’d guess he’d do anything—including decapitating my teammates—to get to that ball.
  25. partial
    being or affecting only a segment
    “Obviously, we aren’t your typical high school. We only cover 11th and 12th grades. We have a 100 percent graduation rate. All of our students go to college, and 92 percent receive at least partial scholarships.”
  26. fatigues
    military uniform worn by personnel when doing menial labor
    I’m wearing Uncle Paul’s old fatigues (adjusted to my size with safety pins), his dog tags, and a cap.
  27. tempt
    dispose, incline, or entice to
    She’s the kind of dog that’s so ugly she’s cute. It helped that Levi dressed her in a bonnet for the picture. Even I was tempted to touch her, but that might have made Pi jealous.
  28. oppress
    come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
    She gives Levi and me a postcard that lists all the brands with abusive labor practices. “I’m handing these out as we go door to door,” she explains. “But I still want candy. I’m just taking advantage of the holiday to help the oppressed.”
  29. jolt
    move or cause to move with a sudden jerky motion
    “When I was 8, I was struck by lightning. The electricity destroyed part of this side of my brain.” I tap my left temple. “But this side was jolted awake. It’s called acquired savant syndrome.”
  30. circumference
    the length of the closed curve of a circle
    “Lucy, what’s the circumference of a circle with a radius of 8 yards?” Levi asks.
  31. radius
    a straight line from the center to the perimeter of a circle
    “Lucy, what’s the circumference of a circle with a radius of 8 yards?” Levi asks.
  32. certify
    guarantee as meeting a certain standard
    I imagined sitting in the cafeteria and Windy yelling, Listen up, everyone. You need to know something about Lucy. This girl, my BFF, is a certified genius.
  33. reflex
    an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
    “You don’t think I can keep a secret, do you?”
    “No.” I say it more as a reflex than a true belief.
  34. promptly
    with little or no delay
    “I’ll give everyone who brings it back promptly 5 extra points on your next quiz.”
  35. conscientious
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    Lucy is a conscientious worker.
Created on Thu Aug 22 10:46:59 EDT 2019 (updated Wed Sep 04 15:35:48 EDT 2019)

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