What If It's Us
by
Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli
Edition: Hardcover + ebook
Expected publication: October 9th, 2018
I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A huge thank you to the publisher for sending it over.
Rating: ★★★★/★★★★★ (4.5/5 stars)
“I don’t know if we’re in a love story or a story about love.”
I am so excited for this book to be shared with the rest of the world! I got the honour to read and review this book early and as always, these authors didn't disappoint me. While I don't read many contemporary books anymore, I always end up reading both Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera's books. They both write quite differently as Adam Silvera writes incredibly deep and emotional books and Becky's books can get emotional but are usually pretty lighthearted. This book is a perfect combination of what real love feels like when it hurts and when it's the only thing you can think about.
It all begins with two teenagers named Arthur and Ben meet in a New York post office on accident. It's definitely a bitter sweet meet-cute considering they flirt but don't exchange any contact information, not even a name, so all they do is think about each other afterwards. They search craigslist, have a friend internet stalk one another, etc. and soon enough, they're together again on their first date. As the expectations are high, things start to disappoint when their multiple dates don't end up as planned. But, they keep trying anyway to make their story as picture perfect as possible. Unfortunately, love isn't always that simple. Was the universe helping them or not?
I have to admit: Arthur and Ben's messy love story was hard to read at times but it's definitely worth it. It shows that not all relationships are perfect and there's definitely struggles whenever it comes to love but it's the ride that counts. They did over their first date in attempt to have the perfect one but it never seemed to work out. Arthur was jealous and insecure at times and Ben didn't quite understand. They were troubled and made many mistakes but that's the reality of it all. It wasn't insta-love or perfect like they wished but it was real. That's what makes this story so genuine and heartfelt.
The characters alone didn't need each other to be interesting because of how descriptive and intriguing their personalities were. Becky Albertalli wrote Arthur, a broad-way obsessed teen who's living in New York over the summer. The mentions of Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen were an excellent plus. Adam Silvera wrote Ben, a New Yorker who just got out of a relationship and is struggling with summer school. Not only are these characters both gay but Arthur is a Jewish boy with ADHD and Ben is Puerto Rican. As readers, we explore Ben's struggle with his racial identity because he doesn't exactly look Puerto Rican. Not only that, but we get insight on Arthur's personal struggle living with ADHD. As we get introduced to both Ben and Arthur, we meet several side characters who play important roles in their lives and are diverse. We meet their closest friends, their significant others and their families but it's still crucial to the plot. We experience their families meeting at Arthur's home and their world's colliding. It was so wholesome seeing their parents talk about each other as a couple.
The only problem I found while reading was that Arthur and Ben felt a lot older than they were (I believe they're like 15-16?). They felt much older, like college students but it might've been the fact they're living in NYC and they were quite independent. Also, some of the conversations were just weird (those roommates?? lol).
It was so refreshing to read a LGBT+ love story that was genuine and normalized. It was a bitter sweet romance during the Summer in New York. I could see the ending clearly but I didn't want to believe it. What's better than a realistic romance in New York with two incredibly diverse characters with outstanding personalities? Not to mention, I fell in love at all of the broadway references and how they mentioned real bookstores like Books of Wonder. It was like the icing on top of the cake (cliche, I know) but I loved everything about this book.
I sincerely cannot wait for it to be released so everyone else can understand how lovely it is as well. I think we all need a good LGBT+ love story by the king and queen of YA Contemporary.
Are you going to be picking up What If It's Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli? Let me know!
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