WORD LISTS

"I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001" by Lauren Tarshis, Chapters 1–6

Mon Oct 16 09:14:47 EDT 2023
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
In this sixth book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old Lucas Calley catches a train into Manhattan, hoping that his fireman uncle could help him continue playing football, but then, he sees a plane flying really low.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12
streak
The massive aircraft streaked through the sky, barely skimming over rooftops.
skim
The massive aircraft streaked through the sky, barely skimming over rooftops.
careen
Lucas watched, almost hypnotized, as the plane careened through the sky.
ferocious
With one last ferocious roar, the jet plunged into the side of one of the towers.
brutal
As usual, football practice was brutal.
It was ninety-five degrees. Lucas was soaked in sweat. Three guys had already puked up their Gatorades. Lucas’s body felt like one big bruise.
turf
But this is where Lucas was happiest, where he belonged: on this broiling hot turf field with his football team, the Port Jackson Jaguars.
shamrock
Dad once said that Benny was like the firehouse cheerleader.
A six-foot-two-inch cheerleader with a shamrock tattoo.
pudgy
Back then Lucas had been pudgy, shorter even than some of the girls in his grade.
practically
He could practically feel his brain smacking against the inside of his skull.
bash
They ran into buildings filled with blazing orange flames and choking black smoke. They used metal spears to smash windows, rip out walls, and bash through doors.
tame
The fires they tamed were more evil and ferocious than any video-game villain or movie monster.
raw
Even after all this time, the scars on Dad’s arms were bright red and lumpy, like raw hamburger.
sift
He’d get this look in his eyes, like his mind was somewhere else—probably sifting through the ashes in that warehouse.
linebacker
With his blond crew cut and huge shoulders, he looked more like a linebacker than a doctor.
sprain
“We used to think concussions were like sprained ankles,” Dr. Barrett said.
concussion
“You get dinged, you let it heal, and you’re good to go. But now we know that too many concussions can actually change the brain.”
spare
He caught the 7:17 with one minute to spare.
jut
When he got out of the subway, he looked up
 and found his landmark: the two silver buildings jutting into the sky.
trickle
The buildings below looked like toys, the rivers like trickling streams, the cars and trucks looked smaller than the models Lucas and Dad built in the basement.
offhand
He glanced up and gave an offhand smile, obviously thinking that Lucas was just a neighborhood kid hoping to get a peek at the truck.
stride
“Hey, you!” he said with a surprised grin, striding over.
diesel
Lucas breathed in the familiar smell of diesel fuel and sweat.
fanatic
His eight-year-old twin boys were football fanatics, and Mark coached their team.
glint
Lucas turned, and then he saw it too: a glint of silver against the bright blue.
slight
The plane turned slightly, one wing dipping down.
hypnotize
People up and down the sidewalk were stopped in their tracks, hypnotized by the sight of a jet ripping across the sky.
barely
It barely missed the tops of some buildings as it careened through the air.
fiery
Black, fiery smoke gushed out of a huge gash in the building’s side, billowing into the sky.
gush
Black, fiery smoke gushed out of a huge gash in the building’s side, billowing into the sky.
billow
Black, fiery smoke gushed out of a huge gash in the building’s side, billowing into the sky.

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