72 pages • 2 hours read
Rodman PhilbrickZane and the Hurricane
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Vocabulary
Chapters 1 - 6
1. induction (noun):
the process of bringing someone into a new job or position, including enlistment in military service
“Didn’t ever have much to say about his family, or what happened in the years before we met, but Gerald was living in Biloxi when he enlisted in the Air Force, I always knew that for sure, it’s right there on his induction form.” (Chapter 1, page 3)
2. understatement (noun):
a comment that makes something seem less important or smaller than it really is
“To call that bad timing would be, as Mom later said, the understatement of the century.” (Chapter 1, page 5)
3. rotary dial (noun):
a circular disc found on old telephones that has holes around its edge which line up with numbers; users put their fingers in the hole of the number they need and rotate the dial until they hear a click, then do the same with the next number to dial the complete phone number
“The telephone is this big black thing with a rotary dial instead of buttons, and a receiver so heavy she has to lift it with both hands.” (Chapter 4, page 13)
4. riled up (past tense verb, idiom):
bothered, annoyed, or anxious
“Mom calls my cell phone every day, usually in the morning, and for the past couple of days she’s been concerned about this hurricane out in the Atlantic somewhere, which was supposed to be over once it hit Florida, but the weather channel has got her all riled up.” (Chapter 4, page 15)
5. muggy (adjective):
warm and humid
New Hampshire won’t be as hot and muggy as New Orleans, that’s for sure.” (Chapter 5, page 17)
6. parishioners (plural noun):
people who attend a local church
“Many of our parishioners have already gone.” (Chapter 5, page 21)
7. mandatory (adjective):
ordered or required
“This very morning the mayor has issued a mandatory evacuation!” (Chapter 5, page 23)
8. levees (plural noun):
a natural or man-made wall that acts like a dam to keep a body of water from overflowing.
“They saying the hurricane may push a great wave of water, overtopping the levees and flooding the city…” (Chapter 5, page 23)
9. slavering (present participle verb):
drooling
“And now they’re barking worse than ever, slavering and biting at the window glass, trying to chew their way out of the SUV to chase after Bandy.” (Chapter 6, page 27)
Chapters 7 - 12
10. slotting (present participle verb):
inserting something into a narrow space in a machine
“I’m slotting the numbers in that rotary dial, heart pounding, afraid of what she’ll say.” (Chapter 7, page 34)
11. eerie (adjective):
weird, strange, and frightening
“The eerie snap! and ping! as phone lines and power lines break away from the poles, uncoiling against the wet ground like giant whips.” (Chapter 8, page 39)
12. geyser (noun):
a giant column of water
“A manhole cover pops into the air, releasing a geyser of brown water.” (Chapter 8, page 40)
13. slog (verb):
walk slowly and heavily
“I slog through the flood, fighting my way into the kitchen.” (Chapter 9, page 43)
14. maneuver (verb):
to move with skill and care
“He’s trying to maneuver the canoe alongside the edge of the roof when all of a sudden Bandy gives a mighty yelp of frustration and launches himself through the air.” (Chapter 11, page 55)
Chapters 13 - 18
15. landline (noun):
a telephone that is connected by wire to a network
“Sometimes a landline phone will work even when the power’s out.” (Chapter 13, page 65)
16. jaunty (adjective):
expressing cheerfulness, energy, and self-assurance
“Without the jaunty hat he looks older.” (Chapter13, page 66)
17. warily (adverb):
cautiously, with an awareness of potential dangers
“’Ain’t a safe place round here,’ Mr. Tru says, looking warily out at where guns were shooting last night.” (Chapter 15, page 75)
18. pirogue (noun):
a flat-bottomed wooden boat like a canoe that can stay afloat in shallow water, often used by the Cajun people in Louisiana to cross shallow swampland
“Rowboats and motorboats and noisy airboats with big props pushing wind, and a flat kind of boat that Mr. Tru calls a ‘pirogue.’” (Chapter 15, page 76)
19. indulgently (adverb):
overly kind, generous, or tolerant; showing a soft heart
“’You killin’ us, dawlin’,’ Mr. Tru smiles indulgently.” (Chapter 15, page 79)
20. undulating (present participle verb):
moving in a smooth, rolling, up-and-down motion
“Some as thick as my wrist, others as small around as my little finger, but all of them undulating and angry, as if they’d like to bite one another, but they can’t tell where one snake ends and the next begins.” (Chapter 15, page 80)
21. deft (adjective):
skillful, quick, and clever
“He gives me a tight smile, and then in one deft move he slips the paddle under the snake and flips it high into the air, out of the canoe.” (Chapter 15, page 81)
22. grimaces (verb):
twists one’s face and mouth into an expression of pain or disgust
“That’s the first time I notice his foot hurts, because as he gets out of the canoe he grabs his leg and grimaces in pain.” (Chapter 16, page 83)
23. saunters (verb):
walks slowly in a laid-back way, without rushing
“And then he saunters back to the grill, holding out his plate for another helping.” (Chapter 17, page 91)
Chapters 19 - 24
24. stifling (adjective):
oppressively hot, making it hard to breathe
“...and old people hadn’t been left behind to drown or die in the awful, stifling heat.” (Chapter 19, page 97)
25. hellion (noun):
a person (usually a kid) who is unruly, troublesome, mischievous, or annoying
“’Keep hold of this little hellion,’ he commands.” (Chapter 20, page 105)
26. predations (noun):
attacks against others or the theft of their goods
“…we have the right to defend this property against the predations of looters, using whatever force deemed necessary.” (Chapter 20, page 105)
27. deemed (past tense verb):
determined, judged
“…we have the right to defend this property against the predations of looters, using whatever force deemed necessary.” (Chapter 20, page 105)
28. hemming and hawing (verbal phrase, idiom):
avoiding giving a straight answer to a question, talking around a subject
“No hemming and hawing, no lies, are we clear?” (Chapter 20, page 105)
29. sabotage (verb):
to deliberately damage something for gain
“So they can sabotage the helicopter, is that your plan?” (Chapter 21, page 109)
Chapters 25 - Epilogue
30. melding (present participle verb):
combining two things
“Mind melding, my mom calls it.” (Chapter 26, page 140)
31. bantering (present participle verb):
exchanging jokes or teasing remarks
“It does my heart good to hear the two of them bantering again.” (Chapter 28, page 149)
32. dehydrate (verb):
to lose water from the body
“Can’t stop that, but we can keep him warm and make sure he doesn’t dehydrate while we deal with his wounds.” (Chapter 29, page 158)
33. sedation (noun):
the giving of drugs that make someone fall asleep
“Step two, administer sedation.” (Chapter 29, page 158)
34. camelback house (noun):
a long, narrow house with a second floor over the back part of the house, resembling a camel’s hump
“He tries his best to distract me with stories about his little cousin Belinda that lived next door, in the other half of what he calls a ‘camelback house’ on Charbonnet Street…” (Chapter 29, page 159)
35. prosthetic (adjective):
describing an artificial body part that replaces a natural body part lost through trauma or other means
“We got him this prosthetic paw that slips over his wounded leg and he can run full blast on all four legs and do everything he could do from before, like chase squirrels.” (Epilogue, page 170)
Related Titles
By Rodman Philbrick
