Lu: Chapters 1–5

by Jason Reynolds
In the last installment of Jason Reynolds's Track series, Lu attempts to master the hurdles while adjusting to the news that he is going to be a big brother.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10

Here are links to our lists for the Track series: Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jason Reynolds: When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys, Long Way Down
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. meteorology
    the earth science dealing with phenomena of the atmosphere
    I mean, she know a lot of stuff about stuff because she's a mother and mothers gotta know stuff, but the people who went to school for that kind of thing, like weather people and meteorologists (who should be studying meteors and not weather), they don't even be knowing (because they should be studying meteors and not weather).
  2. virtual
    existing in essence or effect though not in actual fact
    I balled up my fist and slowly moved it over my stomach to demonstrate how they pull out that machine-thing that turns the baby into a blob of virtual reality with the heartbeat and all that.
  3. sonogram
    image produced by reflections of high-frequency sound waves
    "A sonogram." My mother put a name to my brilliant description.
  4. discus
    a circular plate used in throwing competitions
    Too bad his discus ain't never go to the moon.
  5. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    With a smirky smile, she immediately started frantically flipping the pages, searching for the Rs.
  6. yoke
    link with or as with stable gear joining two draft animals
    She jumped up, threw an arm around me, yoked my neck.
  7. mantra
    a commonly repeated word or phrase
    Thought about it this morning when I said my mantra—I'm the man, the kid, the guy.
  8. hurdle
    a light barrier that competitors must leap over in races
    When you look at a hurdle, it don't really seem like that big of a deal until you get right upon it. You gotta time it just right, and pump your heart big enough to get your leg up and over the bar.
  9. heave
    throw with great effort
    People on the block talking, kids tossing a football back and forth across the street, heaving it at just the right height.
  10. spare
    give up what is not strictly needed
    The old man shook his head, hard. "And now this joker here come talking about sparing some change. He got some nerve."
  11. smirk
    smile in a mocking or condescending way
    Coach smirked, yanking the car back in drive.
  12. cocky
    overly self-confident or self-assertive
    "He would talk so. Much. Trash. So cocky, but it didn't matter because nobody could beat him."
  13. impress
    have a powerful and usually positive effect on
    He really wanted to impress the colleges, and by then, everybody knew I had everything.
  14. gape
    look with amazement
    "You sold the Wolf his first hit?" I asked, gaping at my dad, just to make sure I was catching it all.
  15. distinguished
    standing above others in character or attainment
    "Let's see here. The first order is for a man named"—she double-checked the paper—"Charles Ringwald. Hmm. Sounds like a distinguished gentleman."
  16. masterpiece
    the most outstanding work of a creative artist or craftsman
    The thing about this process is that I honestly never knew what she was doing or how she was going to turn whatever fruit we had on the table into some kind of masterpiece.
  17. size up
    look at closely in order to form an opinion about
    "That's it?" I asked, sizing up the art. I tilted my head a little, hoping that it would look more cowboy-y if I checked it out from a side view.
  18. expression
    communication without words
    She set the picture down, then turned to me. "Listen, it's artistic expression. So...let's just box it up, and go, 'kay?"
  19. apparently
    seemingly; as far as one can tell
    "'Oh, oh, if you find a Turkey Wing that is right for youuuuu," I sang, pretending to be a lover boy like Bobby Brown apparently was.
  20. prerogative
    a right reserved exclusively by a person or group
    "Okay, Lu. Okay, okay. You win," she said, changing the station. Next up, a tune called "My Prerogative."
  21. pothole
    a pit or cavity in a road produced by wear or weathering
    I'd been holding the cowboy hat in one of the plastic boxes my mother uses—stickered and ribboned—the whole ride to make sure the potholes ain't ruin it.
  22. mildew
    a fungus that produces a superficial white growth
    And when I tried to "fix" him back, when one day at recess, in the fourth grade, I finally was able to scream out Smellvin! and tell him that his breath smelled like he had a rotten tongue, like his teeth were made of mildew, like he ate scrambled poop for breakfast, like he tried to wash up in his own sweat, like he drank toilet water...with a straw.
  23. conveyor belt
    a moving loop of material that transports objects
    It don't even really look like he was born, but instead was built, put together in some kind of blockhead bully factory. Assembled. Like there was a conveyor belt that just screwed on his arms and legs.
  24. bumble
    walk unsteadily
    I dodged him as he cannonballed toward me, weaving through the swings, bumbling across the field like some kind of corny—but scary—fairy-tale troll.
  25. hack
    cough spasmodically
    I swallowed again, this time forcing down the Good and hacking up, "aft...er...noon...um... ," turning toward the man behind the counter.
Created on Tue Oct 30 16:42:12 EDT 2018 (updated Mon Apr 08 15:12:39 EDT 2019)

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