WORD LISTS

"I Survived the Wellington Avalanche, 1910" by Lauren Tarshis, Chapters 9–17

Tue Oct 24 18:51:47 EDT 2023
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
In this twenty-second book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old orphan Janie Pryor is carrying stolen jewels to Seattle, Washington, when blizzards throughout the state strand the train, right below a mountain.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–17
flimsy
The cold drilled through Janie’s thin wool coat and up through the patched holes in her flimsy boots.
numb
Janie thought of those many freezing nights she’d spent shivering behind buildings, hiding out from the police. How her hands would get numb.
lurch
Janie lurched forward and thrust her arms into the snow.
devour
After Mrs. Kayden left, Violet devoured a stack of pancakes.
shaggy
“I’m ready for my nap!” he said, rubbing his hands through his shaggy beard.
chap
“The conductor. Mr. Pettit,” said Mr. Riggins. “He’s a good chap.”
stranded
“Just a few years ago, in 1907, there was a train like yours that got stranded. They were stuck for ten days.”
slump
The conductor’s shoulders slumped a bit. Janie could see how exhausted he was.
gripe
“But this place is even more of a dump than Cascade.”
Frederick turned to Janie and rolled his eyes. Everyone was getting tired of Mr. Riggins’s griping.
stagger
A young man staggered in.
tattered
He wore tattered work clothes.
rasp
“I’ve come from Cascade,” the man rasped.
quaver
“There was an avalanche,” he said, his voice quavering.
stammer
“It happened early this morning, before dawn,” the man stammered on. “I heard a terrible sound. At first, I thought it was trains coming. But it was louder than that—I never heard such a sound.”
sharply
“Mr. Riggins, please,” Miss Wade said sharply, cutting Mr. Riggins off and flicking her eyes toward Janie and Frederick.
splotch
Angry red splotches appeared on Mr. Riggins’s cheeks.
clatter
A fork clattered to the floor.
bitter
Food was running low at Bailets; dinner that night was greasy potatoes and bitter fried onions.
assure
“You’re safer here,” Mr. McBride assured Mrs. Letts.
flinch
Janie flinched as she suddenly thought of what might be waiting for her in Seattle. Malvo’s goons. The police. More cold nights hiding in filthy alleys.
elegant
Miss Wade plopped her green feathered hat onto the snowman’s bald head.
“Very elegant,” Mrs. Kayden laughed.
stench
Then they went back to their sleeper car and Janie visited the washroom, holding her nose against the stench.
scamper
Just then she heard little running footsteps. Janie looked up to see Violet scampering toward her, Mrs. Kayden hurrying behind.
squall
Somehow, she hadn’t noticed the jewels—baby Billy was squalling in her arms.
freight
They’d lock her up somewhere—a shed, the freight car—until they could hand her over to the police.
trek
She’d need plenty of strength for her long trek through the snow.
flare
She stared up at the mountain, which was brightly lit by a flare of lightning.
pummel
Snow swirled all around her. It raked her face, rushed up her nose, pummeled her body like hundreds of fists.
flail
Janie twisted and spun, neck whipping, legs and arms flailing, muscles tearing.
sliver
There was just a sliver of space between her mouth and the icy mask of snow. She managed to sip in some small breaths.
muffled
She tried to scream, but she couldn’t fill her lungs enough to make a sound. All that came out was a muffled moan.
frantic
She didn’t hear the shouts of people frantically clearing away the snow and train wreckage that covered her.
debris
An eleven-year-old girl was found alive, buried under snow, fallen trees, and train debris.
bay
She lived with the McBrides now. In their grand house in Seattle, overlooking the bay.
tend
She thought of all those people who had dug through the snow to rescue her. The nurses who had tended to her torn-up hands and broken ribs.

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