Two Degrees: "The Horse in the Pool"–"Going for a Swim"

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 "The Horse in the Pool"–"Going for a Swim."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
15 words 29 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ember
    a hot, smoldering fragment of wood left from a fire
    Akira turned to see red embers from the wildfire landing on the roof of Nova’s house and setting it on fire.
  2. reflexive
    without volition or conscious control
    Dodger devoured the apple, and Sue giggled reflexively as his lips tickled her hand.
  3. incineration
    the act of burning something completely
    The metal rims of the wheels had sunk three inches into the melting asphalt, and the truck ticked and popped and smoked, still hot from its incineration.
  4. desolation
    an event that results in total destruction
    A big four-door pickup truck was driving slowly down the road.
    Somebody else was alive in all this desolation.
  5. blubber
    an insulating layer of fat under the skin of some animals
    “Polar bears have like four inches of blubber. They’re so good at retaining heat they don’t even show up when you film them with infrared cameras. They’re like arctic ninjas!”
  6. reverence
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    George and Owen walked through the charred trees with a quiet reverence, as though they were walking through a battlefield with hundreds of fallen soldiers.
  7. pang
    a sudden sharp feeling
    They avoided other clumps of blackened trees just in case they stumbled into more holes, but each time Owen saw a burned-out denning site, he felt a pang of sadness.
  8. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    Owen stood and watched, incredulous, as the entire pond drained away in less than five minutes.
  9. disintegrate
    break into parts or components or lose cohesion or unity
    How could the permafrost have given way like that? Usually you needed a jackhammer to dig into permafrost, but this ground had disintegrated just from Owen walking on it.
  10. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
    “Well, any more habitats you want to destroy before we get back to town?”
  11. solace
    comfort offered to one who is disappointed or miserable
    Natalie’s mind drifted to Mariposa, the fantasyland she had created when she was little. Mariposa used to be a place of retreat and solace for her, but all she could think of now were the maps and papers of Mariposa, swirling, ruined, in the dark water that had come crashing through the back wall of their house.
  12. denizen
    a plant or animal naturalized in a region
    Another denizen of Miami’s canals, the huge snake was easily twelve feet long, with a spotted green-and-brown body as thick as Natalie’s leg.
  13. refuge
    a shelter from danger or hardship
    It wasn’t as good a refuge as the three-story building had been, but it would have to do.
  14. churning
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Her legs fell into the churning storm surge, but she found enough strength to pull herself up and over the ledge.
  15. surreal
    resembling a dream
    Manatees weren’t dangerous, but seeing this one here, now, in the pool on the roof of a building, was totally surreal.
Created on Wed Jul 09 13:07:05 EDT 2025 (updated Wed Aug 13 13:05:38 EDT 2025)

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