Two Degrees: "Red Flag Warning"–"Into the Storm"

by Alan Gratz
Four young people find themselves struggling to survive against the devastating effects of climate change. Akira is caught inside a California wildfire; Owen and George battle and save a struggling polar bear in the Canadian tundra; and Natalie survives Miami's "Big One" hurricane.

This list covers vocabulary from "Red Flag Warning"–"Into the Storm."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
15 words 442 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. withers
    the highest part of the back at the base of an animal's neck
    Akira looked over her shoulder at the smoke and sighed. Then she gave Dodger a pat on his withers to let him know she’d gotten his message.
    “Thanks, Dodger. Everything’s okay,” she told him.
  2. aback
    by surprise
    Daniel looked taken aback. “You’re kidding, right? You don’t think the huge amounts of greenhouse gases we’re releasing into the air by burning fossil fuels has anything to do with the fact that the earth keeps getting hotter?”
  3. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
    “The earth is a huge ecosystem,” Akira’s dad said, like he was explaining it to a dummy. “We’re just one tiny part of it.”
  4. canter
    a smooth three-beat gait
    The horses moved at a quick canter down the trail.
  5. migration
    the periodic passage of groups of animals
    As soon as the bay froze over, the bears headed out to hunt seals again and begin their annual migration north.
  6. permafrost
    ground that is permanently frozen
    Tundra buggies looked like huge white buses on black monster truck tires. The big tires helped protect the fragile permafrost below, and kept the tourists up high, out of the reach of curious polar bears.
  7. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
    “Polar bears are the largest land predators on Earth...”
  8. hypothermia
    subnormal body temperature
    "Can we swim with the polar bears?" the dark-haired kid from before interrupted.
    Owen took a deep breath. "No," he said. “Again, the polar bear would eat you. Besides, the water around here is freezing this time of year. You’d probably die of hypothermia first.”
  9. indigenous
    originating where it is found
    The Mushkegowuk were an Indigenous people sometimes referred to as the Swampy Cree and now registered with the Canadian government as the York Factory First Nation.
  10. millennium
    a span of 1000 years
    George’s ancestors had lived in this part of the world for millennia and had been the ones to greet the first French trappers who ventured north from Montreal in the 1600s.
  11. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    ...Owen didn’t know what to do next. He had no phone or flares or air horn, no bear spray or shotgun and cracker shells. All that was back in the snowmobile.
    Because I wasn’t thinking, Owen berated himself.
  12. lope
    run easily
    He heard the thumping crunch of Momma Bear’s paws in the snow as she loped after him. Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump.
  13. perpetual
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Tía Beatriz’s...face was squished and wrinkly with age. The wrinkles radiated out from her eyes and mouth in a sort of perpetual smile, matching her personality.
  14. oscillate
    move or swing from side to side regularly
    The lights in Natalie’s house flickered. She, Mama, and Tía Beatriz sat together on the couch, listening to the oscillating roar of the storm outside — low, then loud, then low again.
  15. surge
    a sudden forceful flow
    Natalie tried pushing past it all and escaping through the open wall at the back, but the storm surge was too strong.
Created on Tue Jul 08 21:56:17 EDT 2025 (updated Wed Aug 13 12:43:53 EDT 2025)

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