I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980: Chapters 1–7

by Lauren Tarshis
In this fourteenth book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old Jessie Marlowe and her best friends go into a Washington forest to look for proof of a legendary Skeleton Woman and end up shaken.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–16
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. molten
    reduced to liquid form by heating
    It was a dangerous volcano, a deadly cone filled with molten rock and poisonous gases.
  2. peak
    the highest point of something
    St. Helens rose up over them, its perfect triangle peak sparkling with snow.
  3. pelt
    cast, hurl, or throw repeatedly with some missile
    Hot rocks pelted her like bullets shooting down from the sky.
  4. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    Then, whoosh, a blast of wind exploded out of the mountain, a white-hot mix of ash and gas and shards of rock.
  5. avalanche
    a slide of large masses of snow, ice and mud down a mountain
    The eruption had shattered the mountain, and now a fifty-mile-wide avalanche of rock and mud and melted ice was taking aim at the valley below.
  6. lurk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    According to the old legend, she lurked in the dark forests that covered the slopes of St. Helens, the mountain that rose up over this whole valley.
  7. insist
    assert to be true
    “That’s not true,” Jess said.
    “They saw her, Jess!” Missy insisted.
  8. scoff
    treat with contemptuous disregard
    “It’s just a dumb story,” Eddie scoffed.
  9. pang
    a mental pain or distress
    She felt a pang of guilt.
  10. smoldering
    showing scarcely suppressed anger
    So it was good to have other things to think about, like an evil old witch with smoldering black eyes.
  11. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    And it wasn’t as tall as Mount Rainier, which loomed over Seattle, about two hundred miles to the north of Cedar.
  12. range
    a series of hills or mountains
    But folks who lived here knew St. Helens was the most beautiful mountain in the Cascade Range.
  13. bicker
    argue over petty things
    Right away, they started bickering about who was the best pitcher on the Seattle Mariners.
  14. optimism
    the hopeful feeling that all is going to turn out well
    And the way he looked at Jess, his eyes bright with hope, she didn’t doubt it.
    Maybe he’d gotten his optimism from his granddad Clive Marlowe.
  15. agony
    a state of acute pain
    He dreaded the moment when a tree started to fall over, how its wood would moan and creak as though it was crying out in agony.
  16. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    Thinking about all of this made Jess feel dizzy, as if she was teetering at the edge of a cliff.
  17. practically
    almost; nearly
    Jess could practically hear a croaking voice whispering to her.
  18. smirk
    a smile expressing smugness or scorn instead of pleasure
    But then she pictured Missy’s smirk.
  19. brace
    prepare for something unpleasant or difficult
    Jess braced herself for a hideous scream, for two rusty-clawed hands to reach out and pull her into the darkness.
  20. stagger
    walk with great difficulty
    The walls trembled and the floor rolled up and down under their feet. Jess staggered and fell to her knees.
  21. buck
    move in a jerky or violent manner
    The ground bucked up and down. The trees swayed back and forth violently.
  22. clod
    a compact mass
    Clods of dirt flew up.
  23. huddle
    crowd or draw together
    Jess and the twins huddled close together, their heads ducked down low, their arms wrapped tight around each other.
  24. burly
    muscular and heavily built
    He came rushing up the trail, moving his burly body way faster than Jess ever thought he could.
  25. seismology
    the branch of geology that studies earthquakes
    “Dr. Timothy Morales,” Mr. Rowan read, “Department of Seismology, University of Washington. You study earthquakes? Well, you came to the right place today.”
  26. dormant
    not erupting but not extinct
    “But no. St. Helens is not extinct. It’s just been dormant, which means it’s been quiet.”
  27. ridge
    a long narrow natural elevation or striation
    “Cedar is up on a ridge. And I don’t think any of the eruptions have reached this far. It’s a safe place."
  28. surge
    a sudden forceful flow
    And I worry about the pyroclastic surge. That’s a wave of hot air that explodes out of the volcano.
  29. devastating
    wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction
    That’s a wave of hot air that explodes out of the volcano. It’s truly devastating. That’s what happened in the eruption of Mount Pelée.
  30. grim
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    “I don’t know if you want to hear about that,” Dr. Morales said. “It’s a grim story.”
Created on Mon Sep 18 09:51:46 EDT 2023 (updated Mon Sep 18 13:11:09 EDT 2023)

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