Refugee: List 3

by Alan Gratz
Three young refugees — a Jewish boy fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939, a Cuban girl suffering under the Castro regime in 1994, and a Muslim boy trying to escape war-torn Syria in 2015 — make desperate journeys in search of freedom and safety.

This list covers pages 93–120 in the 2017 Scholastic edition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6

Here is a link to our lists for Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz.
15 words 6897 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. panoramic
    as from an altitude or distance
    Bright sunlight streamed in through two dozen windows, offering a panoramic view of the vast blue-green Atlantic and wispy white clouds.
  2. wispy
    lacking clarity or distinctness
    Bright sunlight streamed in through two dozen windows, offering a panoramic view of the vast blue-green Atlantic and wispy white clouds.
  3. obscure
    not famous or acclaimed
    It had gone overnight from an obscure song the Nazis sang at rallies to the unofficial national anthem of Germany — and it was frightening.
  4. dissident
    a person who objects to some established policy
    “He left in the airlifts in the 1970s. The Freedom Flights, when the US airlifted political dissidents off the island,” Lito explained.
  5. pull strings
    influence or control shrewdly or deviously
    “I could have pulled strings,” Lito said. “Called in favors. Gotten me and your grandmother off the island.”
  6. beholden
    under a moral obligation to someone
    “It was a mistake, leaving on this sinking coffin. I should have stayed put. All of us should have. How is Cuba worse now than it ever was? We’ve always been beholden to somebody else. First it was Spain, then it was the US, then it was Russia. First Batista, then Castro. We should have waited. Things change. They always change.”
  7. lenient
    characterized by tolerance and mercy
    “We should go back,” Lito said. He wobbled to his feet. “We’re not too far gone, and with Castro being so lenient right now, we won’t be punished for leaving.”
  8. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    One of the street lamps flickered, giving the street an ominous energy.
  9. dubious
    fraught with uncertainty or doubt
    Mahmoud’s father gave the rest of his family a dubious look and led them under the fence.
  10. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    Schiendick unfurled the red-and-white Nazi flag with the black swastika in the middle, and the passengers gasped.
  11. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    The captain apologized profusely for the disturbance, and the funeral continued.
  12. leviathan
    a massive sea creature
    The tanker emerged from the darkness like some giant leviathan come to swallow them.
  13. maritime
    relating to ships or navigation
    “We don’t want to be seen, you old fool!” he yelled over the growing thunder of the tanker. “If they see us, they’ll have to rescue us! It’s maritime law! And if they ‘rescue’ us, they’ll send us back to Cuba!”
  14. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    The sea swelled in front of the tanker, pushing them higher and away, and for a fleeting moment Isabel’s hopes rose with it.
  15. behemoth
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
    They had missed the huge ship’s prow by mere meters, but the waves the behemoth created as it passed were just as dangerous.
Created on Wed May 22 13:36:54 EDT 2019 (updated Tue Jun 17 13:50:55 EDT 2025)

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