Books I've read: What If It's Us

Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli are two of my favourite writers.  I don't read the blurbs when I see a new book by either of them; just pick it up.  So when NetGalley offered me the chance to read this one in advance, I leaped at the chance.  Thanks NetGalley!

It's a dual POV book about two guys, Ben and Arthur, who meet by accident at the post office. Arthur is only in New York for the summer, and Ben lives there year round.  Arthur adores Broadway shows and believes in love even if he's never been in it.  Ben is more cynical, having just broken up with his first boyfriend.  Which was the reason he was in the post office to begin with - he was trying to return his ex's stuff.

The book follows Ben and Arthur through the rest of the summer as they meet, part, reunite and try again and again to make their first date perfect.  Then a second.  They are quite different people and even though they really like one another, their differences start to grate on each other.  Ben is always late, which irritates Arthur.  Arthur doesn't like arcade games which Ben loves.  Ben is in summer school while Arthur has been accpted at Yale.

While the pair struggle to figure out how to make their lives fit together despite their differences, both boys start to wonder if maybe the universe doesn't mean for them to be togther.  

But maybe it does...

I really enjoyed this book.  The meet-cute was adorable, and everything that came after was too.  I found myself reading with a grin on my face most of the way through.  Arthur and Ben are great characters and the supporting ones, especially Ben's bestie Dylan, are pitch perfect.

If I had one quibble, it would be that it was hard to distinguish the two different voices.  Even though this book was written by two authors and I imagine each wrote one POV, both boys sounded very similar, despite being distinctly different characters.  When I put the book down and came back to it, I often had to check to see whose POV I was in because it wasn't immediately apparent until one boy referenced another by name.

But overall, I loved this book.  Even the ending which I won't give away here.  Sometimes an ending can be happy even when it isn't the ending you expect.  This one felt very realistic which was refreshing in a romance.

So, I definitely recommend this one.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:


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?