Leeva at Last: Chapters 38–54

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
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. anguish
    extreme distress of body or mind
    Oh, the anguish as they were dragged off. Oh, the loneliness and menace in those dark, bare cells!
  2. goggle
    look with amazement
    Osmund stared at her, mouth agape.
    “I am a Thornblossom,” Leeva said. “And I need your help.”
    Osmund goggled at her some more and then turned back toward the library.
  3. gravely
    in a serious or solemn manner
    Osmund nodded gravely. “We’re going to need a lot. And you’re going to need a suit.”
  4. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    Osmund hesitated, as if he was trying to find a trick in Leeva’s question, then nodded reluctantly.
  5. bracken
    large coarse fern often several feet high
    “The bracken fern is poisonous. It can cause blindness and hemorrhaging.”
  6. hemorrhage
    lose blood from one's body
    “The bracken fern is poisonous. It can cause blindness and hemorrhaging.”
  7. languor
    a relaxed comfortable feeling
    “You don’t have to watch everybody?”
    “Not anymore,” Fern said, sweeping the thought away with a dramatic wave of languor. “My great-grandparents have gotten so vimful and vigorous they take care of my brothers and sisters. I’m a lady of leisure now. What’s your mission?”
  8. gusto
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    Well, Bob went through the plaster as if it were frosting, and began gnawing with gusto on the wooden laths beneath.
  9. breach
    make an opening or gap in
    In a few moments, he breached the wall and disappeared.
  10. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    Finally Osmund heaved a resigned sigh. “We’ll find out tomorrow.”
  11. assess
    estimate the nature, quality, ability or significance of
    Leeva got out to assess the situation up close, then dashed into her house.
  12. alacrity
    liveliness and eagerness
    Leeva was tempted to use the word alacrity—she’d always wanted to use a word the same day she’d learned it—to describe his driving, but she didn’t because while he did display an admirable readiness behind the wheel, it was by no means brisk or cheerful.
  13. subtle
    able to make fine distinctions
    Harry had told her recently that acting could be subtle or broad. He himself leaned to the Subtle school of acting, and he’d demonstrated by lifting one of his eyebrows a fraction of a hair.
  14. prone
    having a tendency
    Leeva saw that this director was a Broad type, prone to throat clutching and temple grabbing as he instructed the class.
  15. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    Osmund, go pry off one of those Cheezaroni blocks, bring it here, please.
  16. bound
    move forward by leaping
    Bob sprang out and bounded over to the other badger to give it a nuzzly greeting.
  17. decisive
    characterized by resoluteness and firmness
    Osmund took several sharp breaths in and out through his nose. Finally he straightened up with a decisive shake. He pointed at the comb in Leeva’s hand. “Give it to me.”
  18. stout
    fairly large
    After a moment, a short, stout woman in a black-and-white dress opened the door.
  19. meekly
    in a submissive or spiritless manner
    “I’ll get Principal Heckstrom,” she mumbled meekly, backing into the building.
  20. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    “Everyone?” Fern blanched, hand to her throat. “That’s a lot of people! Make sure you sit up front, where I can see you.”
  21. lapel
    a fold of fabric below the collar of a coat or jacket
    Leeva knew it was him because he wore a large lapel pin that read Principal Buggums.
  22. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    Also because he was flanked by two men wearing lapel pins that read Principal Buggums’s Staff.
  23. incriminating
    charging or suggestive of guilt or blame
    Before she could hide a single incriminating sheet of newspaper, her father stumbled in, red-faced and sweating, with a month’s worth of Cheezaroni.
  24. crafty
    marked by skill in deception
    He nodded with a crafty smile. “Yes, good,” he crooned. “I won.”
  25. flummox
    be a mystery or bewildering to
    She stopped in the center of the kitchen. She gaped at the appliances. She spread her hands in flummoxed bewilderment.
  26. slog
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    She slogged from room to room picking things up, dusting and wiping, but now it nearly numbed her into a coma.
  27. duly
    in an appropriate or proper manner
    She duly scissored herself into the air for the opening jumping jacks on Vim and Vigor at Any Age, but when the trainers cried, “You can do it, you are vimful and vigorous!” she sobbed back, “No, I can’t, Jim! No, I’m not, Jilly!” and then snapped off the television.
  28. gloat
    dwell on with satisfaction
    “I’ll be so famous!” her mother crowed, between glugs of coffee. “Admission, ten dollars!” her father gloated over his Cheezaroni.
  29. engrossed
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    Mr. Thornblossom didn’t even look at her when she set his plate down. He was pretending to be fully engrossed in an ad.
  30. utterly
    completely and without qualification
    Leeva, herself, had been utterly lonely her whole life, until this summer.
  31. preen
    pride or congratulate oneself for an achievement
    The fencing widened into a ring, lit by spotlights, around the statue pedestal. Her mother preened on tall scaffolding beside it and her father clutched a shoebox.
  32. whir
    make a soft continuous sound, as of something in motion
    As it grew closer, the dot revealed itself to be a helicopter, whirring and thumping across the night sky.
  33. canopy
    the uppermost layer of branches and foliage in a forest
    The helicopter hovered over the park and began its descent, its blades churning the trees’ canopy.
  34. heed
    pay close attention to
    Everyone heeded Osmund’s order.
  35. abide
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    Everyone heeded Osmund’s order. Except for the one person on the scene who could not abide being told what to do.
  36. scaffold
    provide with a temporary arrangement for support
    Up on the scaffolding, Mayor Thornblossom howled like a wounded hyena, then dove headfirst into the pit after her likeness.
  37. torrent
    an overwhelming number or amount
    His microphone picked up a torrent of words from the pit, which would have to be bleeped out.
  38. wield
    handle effectively
    They watched the mayor lunge at the reporters, wielding the giant crystals from the statue’s shoes.
  39. infinitesimal
    immeasurably small
    On her face was a hint of Grateful Relief. It was so infinitesimal that only a person who had spent years studying facial expressions could hope to discern it, but Leeva was such a person.
  40. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
    On her face was a hint of Grateful Relief. It was so infinitesimal that only a person who had spent years studying facial expressions could hope to discern it, but Leeva was such a person.
Created on Fri Jul 12 11:35:02 EDT 2024 (updated Sat Jul 13 14:07:43 EDT 2024)

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