Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky: Chapters 1–7

by Kwame Mbalia
After the death of his best friend, grieving seventh-grader Tristan Strong goes to Alabama to spend a month with his grandparents. There, he accidentally opens a portal to a world populated by African gods and African-American folk heroes.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–17, Chapters 18–28, Chapters 29–40, Chapters 41–51
40 words 1043 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bout
    a period of indeterminate length marked by some condition
    She was still wearing the TEAM STRONG T-shirt from last night. I don’t think any of us had gotten much sleep after we came back from my first bout.
  2. apprehension
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    Mom mistook my confused frown for apprehension as she slipped the book into my bag. “He wanted you to have it, Tristan. I know it’s tough, but...try to read it when you can, okay?”
  3. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    Thick gray clouds huddled in the distance, and I added that to the list of totally not ominous things.
  4. emboss
    raise in a relief
    Now a weird symbol appeared to be stitched into it, like a sun with rays that stretched out to infinity, or a flower with long petals. The same symbol was embossed on a carved wooden charm that dangled from a cord attached to the journal’s spine.
  5. trinket
    a small cheap ornament, knickknack, or piece of jewelry
    And, even more weirdly, the trinket pulsed with green light, too.
  6. shaft
    a long rod or pole, especially the body of a weapon
    John picked up the log, except it...wasn’t a log. It was a handle—the smooth shaft of a massive hammer.
  7. marred
    blemished by injury or rough wear
    The hammer’s head—a thick metal block marred with pits and scrapes—began to glow with blazing, red-hot light, and John pressed it against a tangle of roots.
  8. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    I slipped Eddie’s journal into my backpack, then stretched and looked warily out the window.
  9. liable
    likely to be or do something
    “I don’t want you messing around over there. Them old trees aren’t for playing on. You liable to hurt yourself.”
  10. mantra
    a commonly repeated word or phrase
    "...Strongs keep punching, you get me?”
    I felt silly saying it, but Dad’s mantra gave me courage.
  11. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    In the beam of my flashlight, the gnarled trunks looked like faces.
  12. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    Sentinels on watch, they eyed me suspiciously.
  13. headlong
    in a hasty and foolhardy manner
    One deep breath, then another, and I ran headlong into the forest.
  14. onslaught
    an offensive against an enemy
    She unleashed a miniature onslaught, and it took everything I had to shield myself as her tiny fists and feet pummeled me.
  15. squelch
    make a sucking sound
    I grabbed one strap of the pack, ignoring the sticky residue squelching under my hands, and pulled it out of the tree, stumbling backward.
  16. ensue
    take place or happen afterward or as a result
    Gum Baby hung on to the other strap, and the weirdest game of tug-of-war ensued in the middle of the clearing.
  17. chasm
    a deep opening in the earth's surface
    The wind howled in agony, the forest roared in pain, and a chasm ripped open at the foot of the tree. A giant sucking sound filled the clearing, like air rushing toward a hole.
  18. fissure
    a long narrow opening
    The fissure split and grew, like those scenes in disaster movies when an earthquake cracks the streets apart and chases the hero.
  19. precariously
    in a manner affording no ease or reassurance
    Eddie’s journal teetered there precariously.
  20. rustic
    characteristic of rural life
    I was lying in the middle of a rustic room, like the inside of a cabin or a wooden shed.
  21. dally
    waste time
    I need that book, Tristan, so when you find it, you bring it to me, and we can get this party started, you hear? Don’t you tell a soul, boy, and don’t dally....
  22. leviathan
    monstrous sea creature symbolizing evil in the Old Testament
    Then I saw a long shadow pass underneath me—a leviathan somehow lit from beneath—and I gulped.
  23. hull
    the frame or body of a ship
    A vessel unlike any I’d seen before rose from the deep. Its hull was two giant white hands cupped together, the fingertips touching at the prow.
  24. prow
    the front part of a vessel
    A vessel unlike any I’d seen before rose from the deep. Its hull was two giant white hands cupped together, the fingertips touching at the prow.
  25. flounder
    move clumsily or struggle to move, as in mud or water
    I shivered despite the hot water, floundering with one arm, the other supporting Eddie’s journal and Gum Baby. “I can’t swim and hold you,” I said.
  26. maw
    the mouth, jaws, or throat
    I turned to see the Hands open again, the hungry maw between the fingertips dark and foul.
  27. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    The rope grew taut, and whoever was on the raft pulled us up.
  28. bangle
    jewelry worn around the wrist for decoration
    A short round girl with honey-brown skin and gold snake bangles curling up her arm glared at me.
  29. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    A group of about a dozen clustered together, all wearing long, dingy gray cloaks with hoods that hid their faces.
  30. sear
    burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color
    But the person—it had to be a person—turned away as a bright orange flash seared the night sky.
  31. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    Ayanna blanched. “Why are there so many ships?” she whispered.
  32. wispy
    thin and weak
    As we sank through wispy white clouds, leafless dead trees appeared, leaning out of the water like spears.
  33. bog
    cause to slow down or get stuck
    “Gather whatever you have left. We’ve made it to the shallows—we can wade to shore from here. I’d rather land now than try to navigate through that mist and those trees. Leave what you can’t carry, or anything that would bog you down. Head for the trees, follow the signs, and we’ll be back in the Thicket before you know it.”
  34. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    It—he—stood on his hind legs, and his muzzle twitched in wry amusement.
  35. slog
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    We slogged through the foggy shallows. The height of the water slowly dropped until Brer Fox and I splashed instead of waded.
  36. mangle
    destroy or injure severely
    Brer Fox licked his graying muzzle, and his left ear twitched forward. The right one was mangled, as if something had once chewed on it.
  37. sprawling
    spreading out in different directions
    The water was only ankle-deep now, and the mist cleared a bit to reveal glimpses of a sprawling forest of moss-covered trees.
  38. prime
    the time of maturity when power and vigor are greatest
    In his prime, Brer Fox would have been glorious and fearsome. Even now I could see traces of his red and-silver fur through the gray.
  39. loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    His tongue lolled out as he panted with exhaustion, and his teeth still looked wicked and sharp.
  40. aground
    with the bottom lodged on land
    The raft ran aground—now the Midfolk would have to continue on foot to this Thicket place.
Created on Mon Nov 18 16:33:44 EST 2019 (updated Fri Nov 22 10:43:33 EST 2019)

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