And Then, Boom!: List 3

by Lisa Fipps
In this novel in verse, preteen Joe Oak is abandoned by his mother and loses his beloved grandmother, but kindness from friends, family, and strangers helps him get back on his feet again.

This list covers vocabulary from "The Return of Thanos"–"Doomsday's Left Hook."
Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
25 words 23 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. activate
    put in motion
    When Gotham’s in trouble,
    you activate the Bat-Signal.
  2. rupture
    separate or cause to separate abruptly
    It ruptured and she lost a lot of blood.
  3. buckle
    fold or collapse
    My knees are Jell-O cubes,
    weak and wobbly,
    buckling with each tiny step
    I take toward Grandmum.
  4. trowel
    a small hand tool with a handle and metal blade
    Grandmum’s trowel and gloves
    are still where she left them.
  5. clutter
    fill a space in a disorderly way
    All these milk jugs are cluttering up the place,
    Mom says.
  6. cremate
    reduce to ashes
    After they cremated Grandmum,
    they shipped her urn of ashes off to England
    to bury her beside family.
  7. squawk
    make a harsh, abrupt noise
    I doodle
    me grabbing hold of the quilt
    as a tug-of-war begins
    with the thieving bird
    —scratching,
    squawking,
    feathers flying—
    until a jewelry box gets knocked over
    and sparkly, shiny treasures spill out,
    capturing The Crow’s eyes
    and attention,
    and it lets go of the quilt
    to curl its claws around silver and gold
    before it soars away,
    cawing, cawing, cawing.
  8. mythical
    based on or told of in traditional stories
    Mom says she’s a butterfly,
    but I see her more like a Chimera,
    the mythical creature
    that’s part lion, part goat, and part snake.
  9. violent
    acting with great force or energy or emotional intensity
    Storms are unpredictable.
    Scary.
    Sometimes violent.
  10. mushy
    having the consistency of a soft or soggy mass
    I’m tempted to say,
    It’s a casserole. Everything’s mushy.
  11. decline
    refuse to accept
    When Mom and I try
    to use Grandmum’s SNAP card at the grocery store, it’s declined.
  12. depend
    be determined by something else
    I suppose they cut off food stamps as soon as you die,
    which makes sense—except
    what if you had SNAP to feed other people,
    people you were taking care of,
    who depended on you?
  13. tumble
    fall suddenly and sharply
    My voice trails off,
    and as the words tumble out,
    I know I’ve just made a big mistake.
  14. treatment
    the management of someone or something
    I’d rather be yelled at than be given the silent treatment.
  15. Laundromat
    a place where one washes clothes with coin-operated machines
    Mom says I stink,
    tells me to round up all my clothes
    so we can go to the laundromat.
  16. yank
    pull with a sudden movement
    Mom yanks the blankets off my air mattress.
  17. permission
    approval to do something
    Just need to get your parents’ permission.
  18. calculate
    make a mathematical computation
    If I had to calculate how long it takes
    to get over losing someone,
    the answer would be
    ∞.
  19. perfect
    being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
    It’s one of those perfect spring days
    that makes you forget the winter,
    and the world feels fresh and new.
  20. holler
    call out loudly
    I run outside and holler,
    Hey, you stole that car!
  21. lunge
    make a thrusting forward movement
    But I’m no superhero,
    so I lunge at him instead.
  22. cling
    come or be in close contact with
    Mom stands in the bathroom doorway
    and shakes her head
    as she stares at my PJs clinging to my skin.
  23. obviously
    unmistakably
    And I’m obviously not good
    at taking care of anyone but myself.
  24. brace
    prepare for something unpleasant or difficult
    And then,
    I brace for Mom to go all Storm
    and yell at me for waking her.
  25. peek
    throw a glance at; take a brief look at
    I crack open the door and peek inside.
Created on Thu May 08 03:41:27 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 10 11:37:55 EDT 2025)

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