To All the Boys I've Loved Before: Chapters 41–72

by Jenny Han
Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean writes letters to the boys for whom she has romantic feelings — letters she never intends to send. When someone starts secretly mailing the letters out, Lara Jean and one of the recipients, Peter, decide to team up and fake a relationship to make their current crushes jealous.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–27, Chapters 28–40, Chapters 41–72
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. petty
    preoccupied with unimportant matters in a spiteful way
    Maybe Peter had a legitimate reason for not coming over. Maybe he wasn’t with Genevieve and now I’ve just done a very petty thing out of spite.
  2. patronizing
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    “No.” Josh sighs and says, “Just be careful.” He says it in a patronizing older-brother kind of way that makes me want to scream.
  3. chasten
    censure severely
    Chastened, he says, “Sorry.”
  4. sheepish
    showing a sense of shame
    It’s Josh. He smiles at me sheepishly. “Hey. Can I hang out here for a bit?”
  5. endearing
    lovable especially in a childlike or naive way
    He’s so proud of himself for the Hogwarts reference, it’s kind of endearing.
  6. impulsive
    without forethought
    Impulsively I get up on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek, and he jerks back in surprise.
  7. gripe
    complain
    “The ice cream’s going to be all melted by the time we get home,” Kitty gripes.
  8. folksy
    characteristic of country life
    I can’t decide if I want doo-wop or folksy guitar, but then at the last second I put in “Video Killed the Radio Star,” for Margot.
  9. prod
    urge on; cause to act
    “So you were saying?” Josh prods.
  10. dubious
    not convinced
    Josh gives me a dubious look. Then he dunks half his sandwich into the soup and says, “You already said that.”
  11. smitten
    marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness
    “It means he’s charmed by her,” Daddy explains. “He’s smitten.”
    “Well, what’s smitten?”
    He chuckles and stuffs the roll in Kitty’s open, perplexed mouth. “It means he likes her.”
  12. jut
    extend out or project in space
    She juts her chin at me.
  13. earnest
    not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal
    I make up a green-bean dish with orange peel and dill, in an earnest effort to be jazzy and inventive.
  14. perennial
    recurring again and again
    Kitty keeps a list of which cookies we’re definitely doing and which ones we’re maybe doing. There are a few perennials.
  15. futile
    producing no result or effect
    “It’s pretty much futile,” I agree.
  16. grouse
    complain
    I give him a strange look. Just a second ago he was grousing, and now he’s happy as a clam. I don’t get boys.
  17. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    After Josh leaves and Kitty goes upstairs to watch TV, I’m tidying up the living room and Peter’s sprawled out on the couch watching me.
  18. profess
    state freely
    “Just you wait. As soon as you and I are done, he’s gonna pull some cheesy-ass move and, like, profess his love for you with a boom box. I’m telling you, I know how guys think.”
  19. nostalgic
    unhappy about being away and longing for familiar things
    “But colored lights are whimsical,” Josh argues. “I mean, they’re nostalgic.”
  20. intercede
    act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
    And then Josh proceeds to make a case for colored lights, and he and I argue back and forth until Daddy intercedes and says we should just do half and half.
  21. zany
    ludicrous or foolish
    I didn’t know it until now but I think maybe I’ve been counting down to this moment all along. For Genevieve to want Peter back. For Peter to figure out this whole thing has been a zany little detour and now it’s time for him to go back where he belongs. To the person he belongs to.
  22. scrawl
    write carelessly
    When he reads it, he sits up straight and immediately scrawls something back.
  23. vindicated
    freed from any question of guilt
    When Peter stiffens, I am ashamed to say that I feel a little bit vindicated. I wait for him to write back, but he doesn’t.
  24. espadrille
    a cloth sandal with a sole made of rope
    I was wearing espadrilles and my feet were hurting something terrible.
  25. flourish
    a showy gesture
    With a flourish I whip our contract out of my bag. “Null and void. Both parties have hereby fulfilled their obligations to each other in perpetuity.”
  26. perpetuity
    the property of being seemingly ceaseless
    With a flourish I whip our contract out of my bag. “Null and void. Both parties have hereby fulfilled their obligations to each other in perpetuity.”
  27. poised
    marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action
    I hold up the piece of paper, poised to rip it in half, but Peter grabs it from me.
  28. scrimmage
    practice play between two teams
    I get the idea during the morning announcements, when they announce that our school’s hosting a Model UN scrimmage this weekend.
  29. proliferation
    a rapid increase in number
    There are desks set up for each delegate, and onstage there is a podium where a girl in a black suit is making a speech about nuclear nonproliferation.
  30. pine
    have a desire for something or someone who is not present
    “He hasn’t been pining for you, if that’s what you’re imagining,” I say.
  31. charter
    a contract to hire or lease transportation
    Then I spot Peter and his friends messing around outside by the charter bus.
  32. bleak
    offering little or no hope
    I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for Peter but I haven’t seen him yet, and it’s starting to feel a bit bleak out here all alone.
  33. indifferent
    showing no care or concern in attitude or action
    “Nope. I didn’t hear you.” His voice is cold and indifferent and so un-Peterlike, the smile fades from my face.
  34. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    Peter’s still watching me warily.
  35. halting
    proceeding in a fragmentary, hesitant, or ineffective way
    Haltingly, I say, “I-I didn’t know that. I used to like going to your house, because your mom was so nice to me.”
  36. tousle
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel
    Chris tousles my hair. “What else can you do, kid?”
  37. contemplative
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    “What should we name him?” Margot asks. We all look to Kitty, who chews on her bottom lip in a contemplative way.
  38. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    My big sister knows how to hurt me best. Silence from her, being shut out by her, is the worst punishment she could conjure up.
  39. auburn
    (of hair) colored a moderate reddish-brown
    Rochelle had silky auburn hair, and she wore glasses like Margot did.
  40. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    I light up sparklers for each of us, and Kitty starts dancing around the snow making a ring of fire with hers. She’s trying to coax Jamie to jump through but he isn’t having it.
Created on Tue Apr 09 09:24:51 EDT 2019 (updated Tue Apr 09 13:16:00 EDT 2019)

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