Earthquake Terror: Chapters 6–8

by Peg Kehret
Twelve-year-old Jonathan Palmer; his six-year-old and partially-paralyzed sister, Abby; and their parents are camping in Northern California when an earthquake hits. Separated from their parents, and without food, water, or help, Jonathan, Abby, and their dog, Moose, have to survive the devastating quake and find their way to safety.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–5, Chapters 6–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–16
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. crucial
    of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis
    First things first. Food. Water. Shelter. Food wasn’t crucial yet, since they had just eaten and he still had the two smashed sandwiches that were meant to be his parents’ lunch.
  2. pollute
    contaminate; make impure
    There was plenty of water in the river but, even though it ran swiftly, it was probably too polluted to drink.
  3. snit
    a state of irritation or annoyance
    She won’t want to wait, Jonathan knew. She’ll cry herself into a snit if I leave her alone for long.
  4. shelter
    a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger
    Maybe he could rig up some kind of shelter, so that Abby would have a special place to wait while he was gone.
  5. matter-of-fact
    concerned with practical matters
    “We can’t use the camper,” he told Abby, trying to sound matter-of-fact. “This big tree smashed it.”
  6. pessimist
    a person who expects the worst
    Stop it, he told himself. Quit being a pessimist. Maybe they did make it off the island in time.
  7. authorize
    grant permission or clearance for
    Maybe they’ve already alerted the police or the road department or whomever would need to authorize a crew to get us out of here. Maybe help was already on the way.
  8. dread
    be afraid or scared of
    He pushed on, jogging whenever there was a clear space, which wasn’t often. His eyes searched the woods ahead, dreading what he might see.
  9. impassable
    incapable of being gone across or through
    It was twenty miles from the bridge to Beaverville, and that road could be as impassable as the road between the bridge and the campground.
  10. wayward
    unpredictable; following no clear pattern
    He couldn’t build a fire, not with the forest so dry. One wayward spark and the whole island would go up in flames.
  11. boggy
    (of soil) soft and watery
    Jonathan slid down the far side of the redwood. Splash! His feet landed in an inch of boggy water.
  12. slog
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    He slogged forward, curious to see where the water came from. Had the earthquake rearranged the lake?
  13. airlift
    fly people or goods from places otherwise hard to reach
    Maybe we’ll have to be airlifted in a helicopter, Jonathan thought. That would be exciting.
  14. desperate
    showing extreme urgency or intensity because of great need
    He had planned to save his parents’ juice until he was desperate, but Abby was thirsty and she would be certain to have a tantrum if she didn’t get something to drink.
    I’m desperate now, Jonathan thought. The river is flooding and half the island is underwater.
    And Abby can’t swim.
  15. adequate
    sufficient for the purpose
    There wasn’t time to construct adequate steps. “Abby,” he said, “we are going to climb up those roots.”
Created on Mon Sep 22 20:45:14 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Nov 11 12:32:58 EST 2025)

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