Title: What If It’s Us?

Author(s): Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Genre: LGBTQIA+, YA, Romance

Summary: 

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?

Review:

Here it is folks! My first review of 2019 and I am so glad to spend it on a book that made me happy while I was reading it.

This book is like a lot of others in the YA genre in that it contains a lot of different common elements: references to Harry Potter, fandom,  and fan fiction.

You have Arthur, who is sweet and a little bit fluffy and so in love with Hamilton that I couldn’t help but love him. Because Hamilton is not just a play, it’s a lifestyle. He is insecure, and maybe a bit touchy and I love him.

Ben is a little more jaded, in part due to his cheating/sort of cheating ex-boyfriend. He doesn’t seem to really know what it is that he wants in life, or how to go for it. He is insecure in a way that is less obvious because he’s better at playing confident than Arthur.

The background characters are just as entertaining (if not more sometimes) as the main characters within the novel, and not everything is the way it seems.

I can see why some people might not like this novel too much. It is sometimes over the top and could be seen as fluffy, but the back and forth, and the indecision are what drew me to it.

And though the ending may not be the happiest one, it is one of the most hopeful ones I’ve read in a long time. This book was thoroughly enjoyable for me.

Read If:

• you liked Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (it had a very similar feel to me)
• you waste hours playing the Sims
• you have ever wished for something interesting to happen in or in front of a Post Office
• you read fic and love coffee shop AU
• you want hopeful endings
• you don’t mind angst with a side of more angst