Sal and Gabi Break the Universe: Chapters 19–26

by Carlos Hernandez
Sal Vidón is a 13-year-old who is struggling to adjust to a new school — and whose magic tricks can disrupt time and space. When he befriends Gabi Reál and attempts to use his powers to help her sick brother, neither seventh grader is prepared for the consequences.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–18, Chapters 19–26, Chapters 27–34, Chapter 35–Epilogue
35 words 13 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. grudge
    a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
    In fact, I’m pretty sure she was enjoying watching me squirm. Still getting me back for the GOTCHA! stamp, I think. That girl could hold a grudge like a Disney witch.
  2. hypothermia
    subnormal body temperature
    “We’ve got to get a new water heater in this house. You’re going to give your whole family hypothermia one day.”
  3. hokey
    obviously artificial or phony
    ...a fake tarantula, four fake cockroaches, and a rubber rat with red LED eyes; a ball of twine and a ball of rubber bands; those hokey X-ray glasses that everyone knows don’t work but are still great for misdirection; and a magic wand that turned into a bouquet of flowers.
  4. putrid
    in an advanced state of decomposition and having a foul odor
    And that’s why our mascot is basically a putrid Humpty Dumpty in a cape. Our motto is “Fiat Fetor,” which is Latin for “Let there be stink.”
  5. thespian
    a theatrical performer
    But I knew as soon as I saw Culeco’s schoolyard full of artists arting, ballerinas balleting, thespians thespianing, and cosplayers cosplaying, I’d be 100 percent again.
  6. caricature
    a representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect
    Every kid in the courtyard—every caricature artist, mime, saxophone player, Broadway hopeful, alien smuggler, robot warrior, spandexed defender, and magical sailor from various planets and moons—stood around reading the school newspaper.
  7. snooty
    overly conceited or arrogant
    “May I help you?” I asked her like the snootiest British butler in the world.
  8. unprecedented
    novel; having no earlier occurrence
    In “what represented the biggest mystery in Culeco’s history,” a whole chicken that “sources report was of the golden-fryer variety” fell out of “noted dancer Yasmany Robles’s locker,” landing in an “explosion of blood and chicken bits” and “generating unprecedented mayhem and confusion amongst the students of Culeco.”
  9. inexplicable
    incapable of being explained or accounted for
    Her finger pecked at a paragraph in the center of the article that began “At the center of these inexplicable events stands a mysterious new student, Salvador Vidón.”
  10. stupefy
    make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow
    Apparently, I use my “unnerving, mesmerizing eyes” to “stun and stupefy anyone foolish enough to return my gaze.”
  11. precipitous
    extremely steep
    ‘“It is he,”’ I read out loud, “‘who caused poultry to plunge precipitously from its perch and propagate a possible food-poisoning pandemic.’”
  12. propagate
    transmit or cause to broaden or spread
    ‘“It is he,”’ I read out loud, “‘who caused poultry to plunge precipitously from its perch and propagate a possible food-poisoning pandemic.’”
  13. pandemic
    an outbreak of disease that is geographically widespread
    ‘“It is he,”’ I read out loud, “‘who caused poultry to plunge precipitously from its perch and propagate a possible food-poisoning pandemic.’”
  14. wayward
    resistant to guidance or discipline
    ‘As of the publication of this article, Robles is awaiting punishment for his attempted bullying of Vidón, as Principal Torres, a moral lighthouse amid a sea of wayward ships’....
  15. amends
    something done or paid to make up for a wrong
    The editors of the Rotten Egg only hope that she will show Robles mercy so that he can try to make amends for his unacceptable actions.
  16. arcane
    requiring secret or mysterious knowledge
    Perhaps Vidón’s illusions aren’t illusions at all, but actual magic: some powerful, arcane spell that he used to conjure and then disappear a haunted, hoary hen.
  17. hoary
    covered with fine whitish hairs or down
    Perhaps Vidón’s illusions aren’t illusions at all, but actual magic: some powerful, arcane spell that he used to conjure and then disappear a haunted, hoary hen.
  18. seethe
    be in an agitated emotional state
    I was seething. The heat of my anger made my words evaporate before I could say anything.
  19. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    I smoothed out the newspaper ball against my right leg, then snapped it taut a few times for effect.
  20. utter
    complete
    But I swear I didn’t know that some people live in utter mind-erasing terror of spiders.
  21. novelty
    a small inexpensive mass-produced article
    The underside had raised writing on it: FOOL ME ONCE NOVELTY CORP. MADE IN AMERICA.
  22. digest
    arrange and integrate in the mind
    And once she’d digested my words, she regained her composure enough to bury her face in her hands and weep uncontrollably.
  23. whorl
    a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles
    And the scarf she was making? It was so complicated and beautiful and twisty and decorated with dips and whorls that I could hardly believe it existed, even when I was looking straight at it. It was like math done in yarn.
  24. sullenly
    in a manner showing a brooding ill humor
    No, seriously, tell me how?—he brought the ojo turco scarf over to where my Gladis was sullenly knitting by herself and presto-chango-switcheroo!
  25. foremost
    ranking above all others
    “If you happen to see a student in detention who needs help with a paper on, say, diabetes, perhaps you could lend him a hand? I daresay you’re the school’s foremost expert on the subject.”
  26. vamoose
    leave suddenly
    And then I vamoosed.
  27. ornery
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    “Sal,” said Mrs. Waked, “goats are brilliant and ornery. They like to hop around, headbutt people, scale mountains, and eat homework. Now I ask you, are you a goat, or are you merely a child in a goat mask?”
  28. pratfall
    a tumble backward, especially for comic effect
    I didn’t need to be told twice: I got on all fours and rammed her in the gut (super gently, of course—this was acting class). She did a pratfall and shot an egg out of her dress, then applauded me from the floor.
  29. paisley
    a fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
    He looked like a leprechaun reporter from the 1920s—green jacket, yellow vest, paisley tie, white shirt, brown tweed pants, and boots with way more buckles than were humanly needed.
  30. scour
    examine minutely
    Daniel found books and docs on diabetes that we all scoured for information.
  31. encompass
    include in scope
    Daniel gestured widely with his hands, encompassing all the possibilities the commons offered.
  32. sprawling
    spreading out in different directions
    We both fell sprawling to the floor.
  33. expletive
    profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
    “¡Ey!” is a very special Cuban expletive. I’m not even sure how you spell it. It’s not the kind of word you write down. Also, it’s hard to translate into English, because it can mean a lot of things.
  34. maintain
    state or assert
    “So let me get this straight, Sal. Despite the fact that you confessed to ripping a hole in the universe, despite the fact that you put your arms through solid metal and concrete to pull a chicken out of who-knows-where, and despite the fact that a weird lady popped out of the locker to get her chicken back, you maintain that you do not possess supernatural powers. Is that correct?”
  35. waver
    move in a rising and falling pattern
    She thought about that for eight steps, as the heat rising off the sidewalk made the whole world waver before our eyes.
Created on Wed Dec 11 10:48:20 EST 2019 (updated Tue Dec 17 13:13:07 EST 2019)

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