What If It's Us: Chapters 5–11

by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera
Arthur and Ben couldn't be more different. Arthur, a Jewish teenager from Georgia, is in New York City for a summer internship that he hopes will help him get into an Ivy League college. Ben, a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, is attending summer school so that he can avoid repeating 11th grade. Find out what happens when a series of coincidences brings these two together.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–11, Chapters 12–21, Chapters 22–32, Chapter 33–Epilogue

Here are links to our lists for other works by Becky Albertalli: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Leah on the Offbeat

Here is a link to our lists for another work by Adam Silvera: They Both Die at the End
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. irrevocably
    in a manner that cannot be taken back
    On the subway ride home, it hits me: I really, truly, irrevocably messed up.
  2. sarcophagus
    a stone coffin, usually bearing sculpture or inscriptions
    My great-uncle Milton’s apartment has two bedrooms, and I guess it’s considered big for New York. Even so, it makes me feel like a mummy in a sarcophagus.
  3. regal
    belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
    There’s never been a time where my parents are both sitting at the heads of the table. Ma says it feels too regal, like we’re eating a feast in some castle’s massive dining room instead of a super-cozy two-bedroom apartment.
  4. contradict
    be in opposition to
    We’re not old-school Catholics who live by the Bible and conveniently ignore all the verses that contradict the hate coming out of their mouths.
  5. modest
    not large but sufficient in size or amount
    This evening Ma is thanking God for the food on the table, for my abuelita who fell getting out of the car and my aunt who’s taking care of her, for Pa’s modest pay raise kicking in at Duane Reade, and for everyone’s well-being.
  6. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    Mom scoffs. “Is that why you keep rolling into the office at nine fifteen?”
  7. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    She’s regained her chill now that we’re moving, but she’s watching me intently, and I think that’s almost worse.
  8. libretto
    the words of an opera or musical play
    They might as well write musicals about Milton, Georgia. We’d open with a ballad: “Sunday at the Mall.” And then “I Left My Heart at Target.” If Ethan were here, he’d have the whole libretto written by the time we stepped out of the car.
  9. unabridged
    not shortened by condensing or rewriting
    I’d give Ethan and Jessie the full, unabridged post office story, and we’d probably make a football-style Operation Hudson game plan in my notes app.
  10. tasteful
    in keeping with what is considered appropriate and stylish
    If the girls and I are lunch friends now, we’re probably on track for tasteful matching BFF tattoos by next week.
  11. iconic
    relating to a symbolic figure
    Ethan and Jessie can spend the rest of their lives eating at chain restaurants. From now on, I’ll only eat at farm-fresh artisan food trucks and iconic celebrity delis.
  12. interject
    speak abruptly, especially as an interruption
    ...Namrata interjects, drifting back from the counter.
  13. apprehensive
    mentally upset over possible misfortune or danger
    And the boy turns around, looking slightly apprehensive. “Do I know you?” he asks Namrata.
  14. bewildered
    extremely confused and uncertain what to do
    He’s staring at us now, looking bewildered...
  15. pretentious
    creating an appearance of importance or distinction
    The coffee shop smells like pretentious writers who would hate the stuff I write.
  16. valedictorian
    the student with the best grades
    “He told me everything about the graduation that I could use as keywords for Twitter searches, like the ugly beige gowns and some quotable moments from the valedictorian’s speech. But then we just went down a rabbit hole of the graduation’s hashtag on Instagram and found her. Turns out she doesn’t have Twitter.”
  17. incentive
    a positive motivational influence
    “He’s leaving at the end of summer,” I say. There’s no point.
    “Incentive to work faster!”
  18. specious
    plausible but false
    Suddenly, Juliet’s logic seems specious at best.
  19. churn
    be agitated
    Box Boy would be following him on Instagram, right? At least they’d be tagged in pictures together. Which kind of makes my stomach churn, but whatever.
  20. contour
    form the outlines of
    She posts a lot of selfies with dramatically contoured cheekbones and intricate eyeliner patterns, and now I can’t stop looking through them.
  21. compulsion
    an irrational need to perform trivial or repetitive actions
    It’s my self-sabotaging fingers and their unstoppable compulsion to pinch and zoom.
  22. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    It’s being handed everything you’ve ever longed for, only for it to slip through your fingers. And there’s no way to fix it. Nothing you can do but slink toward the kitchen counter in a full-body mope.
  23. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    He’ll be behind the counter, bored and dreamy and adorably disheveled.
  24. alias
    a name that has been assumed temporarily
    “We should have aliases,” Dylan says.
  25. wholesome
    characteristic of physical or moral well-being
    The guy is really cute and definitely breakfast-date wholesome—dark brown skin, peach blazer, white T-shirt, navy slacks that end above his ankles, and white low-top sneakers that probably cost more than what I spend on clothes in three months.
  26. hijab
    a headscarf worn by Muslim women
    I’m not big on talking to strangers, like I wouldn’t have ever approached Arthur, but there’s an opening here, so I drag Dylan with me to go say hi to this guy while he’s in the middle of a conversation with a girl in a radiant yellow hijab.
  27. riveting
    capable of arousing and holding the attention
    “Sounds way more fun than Ethics, Politics, and Economics,” Kent says. “Fun times.” Oh good, he’s not so full of himself that he thinks his major is riveting stuff.
  28. complimentary
    costing nothing
    While I’m pouring some complimentary water into a plastic cup, I check out this bulletin board with tons of flyers for campus internships, a Resist poster, some phone numbers, dog walker job listing, random ads and—
    My face.
    My face is on the bulletin board.
  29. preamble
    a preliminary introduction, as to a statute or constitution
    I skim their subject lines quickly. The first one says, how old are you. No punctuation or preamble.
  30. exquisite
    lavishly elegant and refined
    And by good, I mean great. I mean exquisitely perfect. I mean I’m living in a Broadway musical.
Created on Thu Dec 13 15:16:05 EST 2018 (updated Mon Dec 17 14:09:34 EST 2018)

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