What If It's Us

Having heard such a lot about Becky Albertalli's successful and young adult novels over the past couple of years, and having been meaning to pick one of them up a lot sooner I thought this was a perfect time to do so. Let's just say I was so enamoured by it that I immediately grabbed hardback copies of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (published in 2015) and Leah on the Offbeat (published in 2018) both for myself and my nieces who I know would find this very entertaining but not only that, this book has some important messages for its young readership. I have always thought that the young adult genre is one of the most influential and YA authors have an unspoken duty of care to their young readers almost as celebrities have a duty to be mindful as to how they behave or what they let escape their mouths - role models if you will. I would venture a guess that Ms Albertalli has likely gotten another bestseller on her hands with this beauty!

There is such a lot to love about What If It's Us that it's going to be a struggle to mention them all, however, I will, of course, mention those I deem to be most important. Essentially, this is a beautiful love story between Arthur and Ben but it also explores racism, class prejudice and homophobia too. This is on top of all those pesky challenges that every teenager is subjected to. Both of the boys' friends are people that any teenager would be blessed to have in their corner - they are so supportive and reliable and what I would term "keepers" or "friends for life". Anybody would be incredibly lucky to count these guys as friends! The fact that the book explores the relationship between two gay teenagers in love and dissects their relationship makes this a gorgeous book for those like myself - a huge proponent of equality and LGBTQIA+.

It deals with topics sensitively throughout but doesn't shy away from exploring or highlighting particular issues and always does so with the utmost respect. What really impresses me about this book is that it is a fun, fast and light read that is bold enough to approach many issues that are important in the lives of youngsters but without compromising the story and making it feel heavy - not an easy thing to pull off, it shows just how masterful these authors are. Authentic feeling and realistic, it picks up on many topics that most youngsters will be able to relate to and empathise with. The many references to pop culture are obviously targeting the books main audience so will either hit the spot or go completely over your head depending on your age. I enjoyed this immensely, it is a quick read that has so much substance to it. I feel if you loved <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda</i>, you'll fall hard for this too - just as I did! It captures your attention firstly before swiftly following suit with your heart, Cute, quirky, unmissable and utterly UNFORGETTABLE!

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster UK Children's for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

The story of Ben and Arthur and young love. The problems of a teenager in love while overcoming social issues of race and discrimination and homophobia on top of being a gay teenage boy dealing with being a teenager in a world of confusing times.

The part I loved about this book the most was the supporting friendships of both Arthur and Bens friends but especially of Dylan as his love for Ben was unconditional and brutally honest!

If you loved Simon vs. The Homo-sapiens (Love, Simon) you will love this book!

I'm a sucker for Becky Albertalli's particular brand of bittersweet romances, but had never read anything by Adam, so came into this cautiously optimistic. And what a read! I think this might be one of my favourite reads so far. There's some beautifully sweet romantic moments, I loved all the musical references far too much and Arthur and Ben are brilliant main characters. Really sensitive issues like money problems and feelings of academic failure are covered brilliantly too. I liked the ending too, felt very realistic rather than very romantic.

Highlights

Cuteness levels

Both main characters

Dylan 😍

Overall

I just had a really stressful week which ended on a bad note, and I came home to this book. It was totally what I needed and I loved every single piece of it. I completely forgot time on Friday evening and ended up reading until 1am which is a very rare occurrence for me. I loved this book! ❤️

This book made me very happy and fluffy 😊


The Story

The story is dual perspective between Arthur and Ben, and follow their summer in New York trying to find each other, figure each other out, and figure out what the universe is planning for them.

There are sociologically interesting elements touched on in this books too. The is a homophobia scene, a racial moment, a clash of religion moment, and the meeting of two economically different families. All of these scenes and moments were done very well.

The Characters

Arthur is staying in New York for the summer working as an intern for his mom's law firm. He is a musical buff and is a person who loved life and feels the universe is on his side. I really liked Arthur as the little naive, inexperienced, cute boy in the big city type.

Ben is the New Yorker in summer school. I prefer Ben to Arthur, or sure why but he was probably my type of guy. He is Porto Rican and from the more middle-class area of New York.

Arthurs friends and Bens friends are also there. They all give you a better understanding of who the main characters are. Arthurs friends from home set the scene of who the trio is at home. Same with Ben and Dylan. But Dylan is very funny and I absolutely loved him as a character. Come to think of it, Dylan might be one of the reasons Ben was my favourite character, I would love to have a friend like Dylan.

LGBT+?

Oh, Holy Hell Yes!! The entire book is centred around a m/m romance and it's the cutest 😍

Writing

Loved it. On occasion, I found it difficult to differentiate between the two narratives and I got confused to who was talking/narrating sometimes, especially in dialogues between Ben and Arthur.

Apart from that, I loved how the texts are displayed and the overall writing was very easy to read.

Considered this book is co-authored, I couldn't tell whilst reading. I don't really know either of these authors books or writing styles, so I wouldn't know them anyway. 

Summary

Loved it!

I will totally live on this cuteness for a while.

I've already pre-ordered a copy for myself

Hey! Netflix! You looking for something else to adapt? Look no further!! I demand you to adapt this!

A love story but also so much more than a love story - that's what Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera wrote here. And I loved all of it so very much.

These two authors, brilliantly on their own and even more so together, wrote a story about two gay teenagers falling in love that somehow both manages to be very cliché and adorable but also distinct and unexpected.

The main characters, Ben and Arthur, jumped up from the page immediately and I felt connected to and interested in them from the very beginning. Their adventure is fun and heartbreaking and dramatic and everything I expected from these authors plus a lot more.

Ben and Arthur try to have a perfect romance but it doesn't work out that way. Nothing is perfect but they still find something so beautiful that helps both of them grow and accept some of their flaws and it connects them more or in a different way to people that are very important to them.

I did not expect to read so much about complex friend groups that aren't what they used to be and complications with all parts of life but here we are.

This book really is the best of both worlds - Silvera's sad love story and Albertalli's sweet teens who make way too many pop culture references. What If It's Us made me smile like an idiot and nearly cry and it never let me go. I always wanted to know what happens next and where the story ends.

This book has some very unexpected twists and that makes it such a unique and even more wonderful story than all the other amazing things about it.

What a perfect story. I always love books that have multiple perspectives. And what a joy these characters are.
The story is full of hope, joy and a dash of realism for those wanting it.
It would make the perfect Christmas present for the teen in your life x

Two of my favorite authors have come together to create MAGIC! This story is sweet, engaging, adorable and well crafted MAGIC. I can't think of another word to describe it right now. We need more stories about gay men in love and they need to be read by everyone! I'm so happy i got to read this and i'm telling all my friends to read this because it's such a wonderfully written and moving story.

This book was honestly so cute, but also an emotional roller coaster!! But to be honest, I didn't expect any less of these two authors! I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it :) However, there were some little things that frustrated me and got me a bit disappointed (like the ending).

What a lovely read!
I had only read one of Becky Albertalli's books before and none of Adam Silvera's but this cute fun read made me want to rush out and get them all.
There are lots of fun references to pop culture and fancoms which i think will appeal to anyone and the friendship dynamics are realistic and sweet.
This book tackled some difficult topics but did so tastefully and respectfully.

I enjoyed this immensely and recommend to all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I am a fan of both Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli and personally I thought that their voices blended together to form this narrative.

There is so much to love about this story, but what really captures your heart is the love story between Arthur and Ben. They are both such engaging and empathetic characters and you find yourself cheering for them to succeed.

As well as being a touching love story, What If It’s Us also touches on more serious issues of racism, homophobia and class prejudice. Both authors deal with these issues in a sensitive manner that is woven into the main body of the story so they are brought to the reader’s attention in a subtle way.

If you are a fan of either of these authors I would definitely recommend this read!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an e-copy of this book, I also managed to grab an physical arc in a trade!

Okay, so, I gotta begin this quick review by saying that this is such an amazing, adorable book! I absolutely loved it and I want more!

There are two points of view in this book, Arthur and Ben. They have their meet cute in a post office in New York but they never get each others contact details so they both end up trying to look for each other, Arthur does try a hell of a lot harder than Ben does though but they finally get to meet and have their summer of romance!

I was so excited to read this book that I actually ended up hesitant for a hot minute because what if I didn't like it? What if it didn't live up to my expectations? TURNS OUT IT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE! I've not actually read a single Adam Silvera book before this so I know I need to get to his other books (I only own History is all You Left Me) but I have read all of Becky's books prior to this!

I very highly recommend this book, I just flew through it, it was absolutely everything! You are all going to love it!! The ending was perfect, wasn't predictable in the slightest as it wasn't how I thought it was going to end whatsoever so I love how well rounded the ending was :3

Buy it. Read it. LOVE IT! I'm excited for my full cover copy to come next week and I'm hoping to eventually read Adam Silvera's books soon.

Well, that was a rollercoaster and a half of a read. Since the announcement that Becky and Adam were going to write a book together, it seems like every YA reader has been desperate to read the end result. I was fortunate enough to have an awesome friend who booked us tickets to meet both authors in London later this month [so stay tuned for that] and we get a copy of the book with the event. I was planning on just waiting it out, but then Netgalley had e-book ARCs to request and I went and hit the button…

Anyhow. Prepare for all the feels. Honestly, this book will make you laugh and then sob and then repeat that process over and over again. Honestly, I was expecting it a bit, especially considering Adam has a knack for messy-cry books, but I feel like Becky has gone and joined the dark side of authors who wish to crush my heart with feelings.

The book is very funny, I’ll give it that. I loved seeing so many nerdy jokes in there, alongside about a gazillion Hamilton references. There was so much culture packed into the pages, that you really couldn’t help but be swept along by it. I almost felt like I was in New York right alongside the characters. And then there’s all the meet cute bits that made me die a little inside [in a good way] because it seems like Arthur is the most cinnamon roll character ever. Like, I thought Simon from Simon Versus… was a cinnamon roll, but this reaches new heights and OMG. Obviously, as with every other Adam and Becky book, the characters are one hundred percent awesome and lifelike and you kinda just want to wrap them up in a giant blanket and smother them with affection [again, in a good way]. I liked how they seemed so like real people, in fact they reminded me of my own friends.

Also, I just love that this book is simply about two boys having a romantic relationship. Sure, there are moments when issues like ‘coming out’ and homophobia are tackled, but it’s clearly not a book that’s meant to deal with that. Which I am really pleased about. We have lots of books about characters discovering their sexuality, or about them braving telling parents etc, and while I love those books too [including ones written by Adam and Becky] I’m also pleased that there’s an LGBTQ book which is just about the gloriously fluffy romance. Both characters are already ‘out’ in the book, both sets of parents already know. And that’s just great really.

On the slightly more critical side, I do think some of the drama was a bit overblown. I won’t get into it too much in this review, because the book is only just coming out now and I don’t want to have spoilers for people, but some of it made me roll my eyes a bit. I’m not sure if its just that I’m jaded and that I’m now in a long-term relationship, but some of the arguments and the secret-keeping and the jealousy just seemed… unnecessary. Some of it really wasn’t a big deal, but the book turned those molehills into mountains. I get that its a YA book, and that almost guarantees a certain level of angst, but maybe dialing it down a notch would still make it a brilliant book.

Overall, I’m giving What If It’s Us? 9/10 stars. I loved the fluffy romance and the characters, but I do wish that there was a touch less drama going on.

I’m definitely recommending this book if you want your dose of cute, fluffy LGBTQ romance with a big scooping helping of ugly crying. Trust me, keep the tissues handy. What if It’s Us? will be released in the UK on the 18th October.