And Then, Boom!: List 1

by Lisa Fipps
In this novel in verse, preteen Joe Oak is abandoned by his mother and loses his beloved grandmother, but kindness from friends, family, and strangers helps him get back on his feet again.

This list covers vocabulary from "Just Like Superman"–"Frank-Mart."
Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6
25 words 177 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ability
    the quality of having the means or skills to do something
    But
    I don’t have any special powers—unless
    you count my ability to be invisible,
    and to survive.
  2. crumple
    fold or collapse
    When Superman summons every ounce of his strength
    to survive something others can’t even imagine,
    he’s the same person he was when
    he crumpled to his knees,
    left helpless by Kryptonite.
  3. tick
    put a check mark on or near or next to
    They start ticking boxes on a checklist.
  4. pendulum
    an apparatus in which an object is mounted to swing freely
    Swings like a pendulum
    from sad
    to mean
    and back again.
  5. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    I flinched
    when the screen door banged
    as Mom went inside the house.
  6. jingle
    make a sound typical of metallic objects
    She came back out
    with her purse slung over one shoulder
    and her keys jingling, jangling.
  7. tinker
    try to fix or mend in an unskilled manner
    He bought this one called a Pacer
    for a few hundred bucks and spent
    tons of time tinkering with it.
  8. refund
    money returned to a payer
    We could usually count on catching up, though,
    when Grandmum got her tax refund.
  9. splurge
    indulge oneself
    Then all the bills got paid at once for a change, and
    sometimes we had enough left over to splurge some.
  10. bail
    money forfeited if the accused fails to appear in court
    Long story short,
    Grandmum had to put the house up for bail
    to get Mom out of jail,
    and then,
    BOOM!
    Mom took off again
    and didn’t show up for court.
  11. circulate
    move through a system and return to the starting point
    Her blood doesn’t circulate so great.
  12. scent
    a distinctive odor that is pleasant
    I pick one up and breathe in the cocoa scent so sweet.
  13. lather
    rub soap all over, usually with the purpose of cleaning
    I turn on the faucet and
    bend my head over the sink,
    using one hand to splash water on my head
    and the other to lather dispenser soap into my hair.
  14. grimy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    I’m cleaner, but
    getting washed up in a grimy public restroom
    makes me feel so dirty.
  15. wolf down
    eat quickly
    After wolfing down the cake in five big bites, I let the frosting melt in my mouth.
  16. cavity
    a soft, decayed area in a tooth
    The gritty grains of sugar turn into
    Sabretooth’s claws digging fast and furious
    into the ever-growing cavity in my back right molar.
  17. violator
    someone who breaks the law
    Violators’ vehicles towed at their expense.
  18. snorkel
    device allowing a swimmer to breathe while face down
    I doodle
    snorkels on Grandmum and me
    because there’s so much water,
    we’re drowning.
  19. humongous
    very large
    Then I doodle
    The Fishbowl driving down Duchess Drive
    and parking outside a mobile home
    next to a humongous oak tree
    and all the water in The Fishbowl pouring out.
  20. cramped
    small, constricted, and uncomfortable
    It’s a little cramped
    inside The Overripe Banana.
  21. vacant
    not containing anyone or anything; unfilled or unoccupied
    Then he says,
    The mobile home had been vacant for a while.
  22. siren
    a warning signal that is a loud wailing sound
    If you hear the tornado warning siren, scram!
  23. tarp
    a sheet of waterproofed canvas
    When I flip back a tarp and see a TV,
    I hesitate.
  24. quiver
    shake with fast, tremulous movements
    But I see her lips quiver like she’s about to cry.
  25. mumble
    talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
    Grandmum’s face blushes strawberry red
    and she mumbles,
    We’re probably out of gas, I’m afraid.
Created on Thu May 08 03:40:48 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 10 11:21:25 EDT 2025)

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