Leeva at Last: Chapters 22–37

by Sara Pennypacker
The daughter of the mayor and treasurer of Nutsmore, eightish-year-old Leeva Spayce Thornblossom rebels against being treated like an employee who must work to increase her parents' fame and money.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–21, Chapters 22–37, Chapters 38–54
40 words 9 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    Around midnight, Leeva awoke to a frantic scrabbling under her bed.
  2. disposition
    your usual mood
    He slept most of the day, and when he wasn’t sleeping, he mainly waddled around and dug holes. His disposition was uniformly crabby.
  3. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    “There’s a famous poem: It goes, ‘Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth,’ and you’ll know just what it means when you press Up.”
  4. luminescence
    the emission of light without heat
    The word of that week was Luminescence—the emission of light by an object that has not been heated.
  5. salinity
    the relative proportion of salt in a solution
    By the end of that week, she could recite the depths of all the lakes in the world, the heights of the mountains, the lengths of the rivers, the salinity of the seas.
  6. crypt
    a cellar or vault or underground burial chamber
    Lying in bed with Bob curled by her side, deep into The Golden Compass, she came upon the word crypt. Crypt was a terrific word on its own—an underground chamber used to store bodies!—but it was also the very first word she’d learned from the column, and so it held a special place in her heart.
  7. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    And then Dolton Thornblossom had one of his fleeting moments of clear thought.
  8. befuddlement
    confusion resulting from failure to understand
    Mr. Thornblossom’s face slumped back into its usual expression of befuddlement.
  9. lumber
    move heavily or clumsily
    Leeva’s father lumbered out.
  10. scrawl
    write carelessly
    Across the cover, in big bold letters, she scrawled I quit!, then put back the manual and slid the pen into her pocket.
  11. beckon
    appear inviting
    She pulled out her map and spread it out on the book drop, training her headlamp over the streets she knew so well now. They all seemed to beckon.
  12. scud
    run or move very quickly or hastily
    She looked up—the stars had disappeared behind a layer of scudding clouds.
  13. amok
    wildly; without self-control
    Last week, he had told her that his aunt had taken him in when he was only two, after a tragic accident—hippopotamuses run amok—had squashed his parents.
  14. abate
    become less in amount or intensity
    As the storm abated, she congratulated herself on her shelter strategy.
  15. barge
    push one's way
    It was a relief to know that her parents wouldn’t come barging in, and comforting that Harry and his aunt were close by.
  16. claustrophobic
    uncomfortably closed or hemmed in
    “You must feel claustrophobic in here,” she said.
    As if to prove it, Bob started clawing.
  17. patter
    a quick succession of light rapid sounds
    When she reached The End, she clicked off her headlamp and fell asleep to the patter of rain on the metal roof.
  18. trowel
    a small hand tool with a handle and metal blade
    Then, using the trowel that lived in a pot of parsley, Leeva scooped back all the earth Bob had excavated and covered the area with pine needles from under the hedge.
  19. peal
    a deep prolonged sound
    As she left, the Town Hall clock struck eight. This close, the peals seemed to ring in her bones.
  20. heft
    bulk or weightiness
    Leeva put the thermos in her backpack next to Bob and strapped it onto her shoulders. It was heavier than when she’d walked in a few hours ago. The additional weight was not a burden, though, because it was the good solid heft of having.
  21. casually
    in an unconcerned manner
    Instead, she asked if he’d noticed any unusual activity on his way here. She asked it casually—the book she’d read last night had taught her some valuable detective skills.
  22. shabby
    showing signs of wear and tear
    He had stopped in front of a shabby old house, lettered with the number 222.
  23. pore
    direct one's attention on something
    There sat her parents’ car all by itself—no police cruiser beside it, no search dogs, no detectives poring over clues.
  24. clamor
    loud and persistent outcry from many people
    Yes, it was loud there—seven little boys and girls shrieking and laughing—but it was a happy clamor, and so it made Leeva feel happy, too.
  25. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    “Have you ever noticed what high hair Mayor Thornblossom has?” she asked in the most admiring tone she could muster.
  26. sashay
    walk with a lofty proud gait, often to impress others
    On that fourth morning, she practically sashayed up the library steps. As she walked inside, she actually opened her mouth to call out, “I’m here!”
  27. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    “This is a public building. All public buildings must put up my portrait.” An ominous scritching accompanied the words.
  28. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    Leeva picked up the toast. The scent, wafting up this close, nearly made her swoon.
  29. swoon
    be overwhelmed with ecstasy, especially when encountering something or someone you admire
    Leeva picked up the toast. The scent, wafting up this close, nearly made her swoon.
  30. ecstasy
    a state of elated bliss
    She took a bite. Crunch! Her eyes closed in ecstasy.
  31. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    As she swallowed the last morsel, she opened her eyes, half-surprised to find she was still on earth.
  32. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    Then came the screech of cleaved metal.
  33. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    Harry appeared by her side, ashen-faced. He picked her up and navigated the tricky spiral stairway, carrying her as if she were a large, fragile egg, and set her down at the bottom.
  34. sheepishly
    in a manner showing embarrassment or shame
    One by one, all ten men answered sheepishly when she called their names.
    “I’ve known you since you were little boys. And now you’ve all become thieves?”
  35. fickle
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    “Fear not the fickle storms of fate!” he cried. “Welcome instead the steady currents of your soul!”
  36. reverberate
    ring or echo with sound
    His voice rose as he went on, until the words reverberated like thunderbolts.
  37. noble
    having high or elevated character
    You may have grand adventures or quiet wanders in this car. You may run noble errands, or simply zip around for the fun of seeing what’s around the next corner.
  38. dismal
    causing dejection
    “Rat bites! Rats love water! Bad things happen, Leeva!”
    “Good things happen, too, Osmund!” Leeva shouted. She sighed. It was clear where Osmund had gotten his dismal point of view.
  39. sustain
    undergo, as of injuries and illnesses
    “And without seat belts, riders sustain much more serious injuries.”
  40. embezzle
    appropriate fraudulently to one's own use
    “Your father embezzled the money from the town.”
    “He cooked the books,” Harry confirmed.
    “Cooked the books?” Leeva asked.
    “Cheated, by using shady accounting.”
Created on Fri Jul 12 11:34:37 EDT 2024 (updated Sat Jul 13 12:44:25 EDT 2024)

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