pesterverb

To bother; annoyKenny had stormed upstairs after losing his game and had not come back down again to pester us, thank goodness. (pg. 36)

jostledverb

Pushed and shoved around

Ideas jostled around in my brain and I tried to get them organized. (pg. 36)

artificialadjective

Made by humans; not natural; fake

“There’s something called artificial silkworm food,” Patrick said. (pg. 41)

fluorescentadjective

Glowing with vivid or bright colors

We printed them on fluorescent green paper, and I made the font really big so you could read it from far away. (pg. 48)

flakyadjective

Crisp fragments; oddShe gave each of us a bite or two and then would ask a million questions about the crust. “Was it flakier last week?” she’d say, or, “It’s still not flaky enough, is it?” (pg. 50)

fidgetverb

To move nervously or restlessly

I tried not to fidget. Why was she telling us this? (pg. 51)

lurchedverb

A staggering or tottering movement; sudden rolling

My stomach lurched a little. (pg. 52)

crosslyadverb

In an angry manner

“What about Monday?” I said crossly, pulling my arm away from him. (pg. 54)

reconnoiterverb

To inspect, especially to gather military information

For me, it was more like Agent Song having to locate and reconnoiter the enemy’s headquarters before being able to carry out orders. (pg. 64)

prejudicedverb

Making a judgment or opinion without knowledge or examination of the facts

I hated thinking of her as someone who might be prejudiced against black people. (pg. 68)