Watch Us Rise: Chapters 1–7

by Renée Watson, Ellen Hagan
Told in alternating perspectives, this novel follows the ups and downs of Jasmine and Chelsea, two girls who start a club to give young women at their school a voice.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–15, Chapters 16–22, Chapters 23–29, Chapters 30–37

Here are links to our lists for other works by Renée Watson: Piecing Me Together, Betty Before X
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. remission
    an abatement in intensity or degree
    I don’t really hear all of what Mom and Dad are saying. Just the important words like “cancer” and “out of remission” and “stage four.”
  2. syncopation
    a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat
    So when he asks, “What have you all been up to this summer?” and we answer in syncopation with shrugging shoulders, saying I don't know, he says, “you mean to tell me you all haven’t created anything this summer?”
  3. ailment
    an often persistent bodily disorder or disease
    “I’m okay. I’m okay. Just allergies,” Dad says. “Dying people have regular ailments too.”
  4. frail
    physically weak
    Chelsea wipes a tear from her face. “My mom and dad told me to ask if there is anything we can do?” Her voice sounds frail, and that is never, ever a word I think of to describe Chelsea.
  5. ellipse
    a closed plane curve with an oval shape
    All of us riding each wave
    toward eclipses & ellipses always
    the ongoing.
  6. superficial
    only concerned with what is apparent or obvious
    I put on a pair of skinny jeans (ugh, labeling pants with the word “skinny” is completely superficial and against everything I stand for, but still...) and a floppy straw hat that I got over the summer.
  7. prim
    affectedly dainty or refined
    Be cocky at school. Have a fresh mouth.
    Don’t let them tell you what’s prim & proper.
    Not your ladylike. Don’t be their ladylike.
    Their dress-up girl. Not their pretty.
  8. gilded
    made from or covered with gold
    Don’t be their bottled. Saturated. Dyed. Squeezed.
    SPANXed. Be gilded. Gold. Papyrus.
  9. balk
    refuse to proceed or comply
    A parakeet’s balk & flaunt. Show up uninvited.
  10. expanse
    a wide and open space or area, as of land, sea, or sky
    Be tight rope & expanse. Stay hungry.
    Be a mouth that needs to get fed. Ask for it.
  11. unfettered
    not bound or restrained, as by shackles and chains
    Stay alert—lively—alive & unfettered.
  12. patriarchal
    of a social organization with the male as the head
    We are gonna totally shut down the patriarchal systems of oppression this year!
  13. bodega
    small shop selling groceries, especially in a Hispanic area
    We head to school, stopping to get Mia a bacon, egg, and cheese at the bodega, and run into Isaac on the corner of 181st Street and Wadsworth.
  14. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    Everywhere I turn, I am reminded that something is wrong with me. Today, it’s the posters plastered on the dingy tile walls of the subway station at 135th and St. Nicholas.
  15. excursion
    a journey taken for pleasure
    That whole Brown Art Challenge excursion didn’t even happen—not for me anyway.
  16. ensemble
    a cast other than the principals
    We’re known all over the city for being one of the best theater ensembles for teens, and we put plays on every year, inviting the whole community.
  17. nemesis
    a personal foe or rival that cannot be easily defeated
    The rest of us are sophomores and juniors, and one lone senior...my nemesis: Jacob Rizer.
  18. concoction
    any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients
    He is standing next to Mom, making his garlic-butter concoction for dipping.
  19. trivial
    (informal) small and of little importance
    He asks me about my day, but I just answer with fine because usually everything feels so trivial once I am standing in his room, looking at his face that still has life but won’t soon.
  20. gentrification
    change in poorer areas due to an influx of wealthier people
    “But isn’t it about learning statistics and understanding how those stats impact Washington Heights and other neighborhoods in New York?” I ask. “I think they talk about redlining, gentrification, and—”
  21. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    What hurts is the disgust in their voice, the visceral fear in their tone, like gaining weight would be the absolute worst thing to happen to them.
  22. debrief
    elicit a report from someone about a mission, job, or event
    “Check to see who you’ll be running with and where, and I expect to see you all back here at 3:05 p.m. so we can debrief and pack up for the day. All good?”
  23. stereotypical
    lacking spontaneity or originality or individuality
    “Okay, fine. They are stereotypically hot. They’re like the male fantasy.”
  24. slew
    a large number or amount or extent
    On my way home from school, I send Jasmine a slew of texts:
    First of all, my legs are insanely sore, because I ran (walked) two miles.
    And do you know who I ran/walked with?
    JAMES BRADFORD
  25. misogynist
    a misanthrope who dislikes women in particular
    “And you also always say that this kind of misogynistic dialogue is exactly what puts women at odds with each other. This is the kind of garbage that paints women in a very unflattering and superficial way,” she finishes, smiling at Jasmine and making room on the couch.
  26. desensitize
    cause to be less responsive to or affected by something
    Half the class thinks the assistant was just saying that working on bodies for the sake of science can desensitize you and that even if Henrietta was a white woman, the assistant would have said the same thing.
  27. exploitation
    the act of making use of and profiting from resources
    1 in case you need proof of black women’s humanity
    2 know that we bleed too, red.
    3 our bodies are not for your experimentation, exploitation.
    4 we cry and laugh and create and sometimes, we paint our nails. Red.
  28. adorn
    make more attractive, as by adding ornament or color
    5 know that we get sick and feel pain, like you.
    7 we breathe and die and leave loved ones behind who adorn our graves with red flowers.
  29. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    Somewhere in me there must be profound sorrow since it doesn’t take much for me to play the roles that call for heart-wrenching wailing.
  30. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    Somewhere inside me there must be an inherited wisdom from my ancestors since I can muster up the ability to play roles that offer guidance and strength.
  31. angst
    an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety
    When he says this, I think maybe I can turn the poem I wrote for Henrietta Lacks into a monologue or maybe write a solo show about black women—our bodies and the stories they hold. And not just poems of sorrow or angst.
  32. monologue
    a dramatic speech by a single actor
    I want to write a solo show that has monologues where black girls stand up and speak out.
  33. sassy
    improperly forward or bold
    I can’t believe that after the variety of roles I performed, he is most enthusiastic about me acting sassy and being an angry and emotional woman.
  34. resonate
    evoke or suggest a strong meaning or belief
    Even after he’s seen me perform Beneatha Younger’s monologue—which was all about why she dreams of being a doctor, how she believes giving people medical attention is one of the most powerful things a person can do, how it is the closest thing to being God—all that resonated was sass and anger.
  35. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    I’m saying I’d like you to consider exploring this new voice you discovered today. I think there’s some nuance we can build into that character.
Created on Wed Mar 06 11:28:30 EST 2019 (updated Tue Mar 19 13:42:52 EDT 2019)

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