The Lost Year: Chapters 1–7

by Katherine Marsh
Stuck in his New Jersey house during the Covid pandemic, thirteen-year-old Matthew helps his hundred-year-old great-grandmother organize her stuff and learns about her life as a Young Pioneer in 1930s Ukraine.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–15, Chapters 16–24, Chapters 25–36, Chapter 37–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. atrophy
    undergo weakening or degeneration as through lack of use
    But since I’d been lying there for so long, my ankle gave out and I stumbled.
    Mom sighed. “Your muscles have all atrophied.”
  2. correspondent
    a journalist who supplies stories for news media
    He had taken this
 newspaper correspondent job in Paris, and because of stupid Covid, 
the borders had closed.
  3. jut
    extend out or project in space
    We had a decent-sized backyard with a deck jutting out from the
 guest bedroom/GG’s room, a couple soccer nets, and a tree swing.
  4. blunt
    not sharp (used of a knife or other blade)
    The tips were blunt,
 but they could do more damage than your average suction-cup toy
 arrow, judging from the warning label on the bow in bright red print: ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED.
  5. barge
    push one's way
    Then she barged in for A Talk.
  6. draft
    a current of air
    The world according to Dasha was a dangerous place. She warned
 me constantly—drafts, cats, splinters, irons, bathtubs.
  7. practical
    guided by experience and observation rather than theory
    I had Dasha, who took care of me in a practical
 way, and Papa, who loved me as much as two parents.
  8. scrawl
    write carelessly
    I crouched down and pulled up the envelope—releasing a
 cold puff of December air—and held it up to find my surname,
 Lomachenko, scrawled on it.
  9. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    Dasha raced 
into the foyer, but Papa was faster.
  10. hearty
    without reservation
    I gave the 
troupe a hearty round of applause, but they showed no appreciation.
  11. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Papa glowered at me. “This is not a time for jokes! Lice carry typhus. The enemy was trying to infect us.”
  12. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    “Are you sure?”
    Papa nodded solemnly.
  13. aristocrat
    a member of the nobility
    They were kulaks, wealthy peasants, who,
 along with priests, aristocrats, and tsarist sympathizers, were our class
 enemies.
  14. sympathizer
    someone who shares your feelings or opinions
    They were kulaks, wealthy peasants, who,
 along with priests, aristocrats, and tsarist sympathizers, were our class
 enemies.
  15. collective
    done by or characteristic of individuals acting together
    In the Pioneers, we’d learned all about the importance of ridding society of kulaks, who refused to give up their land to join collective farms and hid their grain so they wouldn’t have to share it.
  16. ration
    a fixed portion that is allotted
    The only reason there were food rations at all in the cities was because of the kulaks and their greed and laziness.
  17. denounce
    accuse or condemn openly as disgraceful
    Pavlik Morozov was a thirteen-year-old Pioneer leader who, in
 September, had denounced his father to the authorities for illegally
helping kulaks.
  18. cheeky
    offensively bold
    “That I am about to get a treat, which I deserve.”
    Papa laughed at my cheekiness.
  19. winch
    a lifting device consisting of a cylinder turned by a crank
    He told me about the Pioneer, not much older than myself, who helped the Red Army defeat
 resistors in Tajikistan, and the fastest winch operator in the coal
 mines in Donbass.
  20. coax
    carefully manipulate, adjust, or bring to a desired state
    In September,
 the propeller shaft broke, and the ship drifted for eleven days before 
the crew improvised sails and coaxed the ship into the Bering Sea


 and on to its final destination, completing a world record.
  21. resistant
    disposed to or engaged in defiance of established authority
    It wasn’t like GG to be 
so resistant.
  22. knickknack
    a small, inexpensive decorative object
    As I hauled it over and scissored open the packing tape, I thought about that public television program where people show experts some old knickknack from their attic that then turns out to be worth a bazillion dollars.
  23. tsar
    a male monarch or emperor, especially in Russia
    Mom once told me GG was born in Ukraine during the Russian Revolution. What if she had something 
like that, maybe some lost treasure of the tsars?
  24. emboss
    raise in a relief
    Embossed on the front of the pin was a woman 
in a knee-length skirt, throwing a bowling ball.
  25. humble
    marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful
    “Did you win tournaments?” I asked.
    “Some.” But I could tell from those score sheets that she was just being humble. Who knew old GG was practically a pro bowler?
  26. rogue
    disposed to or engaged in defiance of authority or rules
    “Seems fair as far as punishments for rogue archers go.”
  27. relentless
    never-ceasing
    Luckily, Dad was always eager to talk about his job.
    “Relentless. I toured one of the city’s busiest Covid units yesterday. It was just devastating..."
  28. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    He rambled on about overworked doctors and patients spilling
 out into the hallways.
  29. adversary
    someone who offers opposition
    Pop sat on one side of the kitchen table, and I sat on the other, glaring at each other like adversaries in a chess match.
  30. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
    I stared at the pale greenish-gray lump sitting in a congealed
 puddle of orange liquid.
  31. fibrous
    resembling or composed of elongated threadlike structures
    I grabbed my knife and stabbed the gray-green skin of the cold
 cabbage roll, cutting through a fibrous white vein, until I had a small
piece on my fork.
  32. churn
    be agitated
    It
 tasted gelatinous, and my stomach churned, but I forced myself to 
swallow.
  33. stifle
    smother or suppress
    When the plate was empty, when there wasn’t a scrap of that
 horrible cabbage roll left, I ran from the table and into my room,
 stifling my cries so as not to wake Peter.
  34. caviar
    salted fish eggs eaten as a delicacy
    She had spread a thick layer of butter onto two slices of rye bread and topped it with a glistening layer of red caviar.
  35. rube
    a person who is not intelligent or interested in culture
    “You eat fish eggs? Yuck!”
    I wanted to tell Irene she was a real rube.
  36. delicacy
    something considered choice to eat
    Black caviar was a delicacy and one of the most expensive foods in the world.
  37. lurch
    move abruptly
    Still, my heart lurched at that white paper lump lying next to
 dirty napkins and apple cores.
  38. titter
    laugh nervously
    I sprang to my feet, accidentally knocking my geography book to the floor. A few of the boys in my 
row tittered.
  39. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    Mom was in the waiting area, slumped in a 
chair, her face ashen.
  40. overwhelm
    charge someone with too many tasks
    I really wanted to turn it off—it was bad enough to sit through all those reports about dying people and funeral homes overwhelmed with bodies every night with Mom—but instead I pulled up a chair and sat there, half watching the TV and half watching GG.
Created on Tue Oct 10 16:27:40 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Oct 13 11:47:36 EDT 2023)

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