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klarrja's review against another edition
4.0
The set up is of course the best part of the book. The social media searching and texting was super realistic, and I liked how Arthur and Ben grew closer together.
The main conflict didn’t really feel earned, but I did really like how the book ended.
The main conflict didn’t really feel earned, but I did really like how the book ended.
ihateprozac's review against another edition
4.0
What If It’s Us is a YA contemporary romance for the ages……...or is it? Set in New York, two queer teen boys meet by chance in a post office and begin dating, but none of it is as easy as the rom coms make it seem.
Given that Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera are two of my favourite contemporary authors I had zero doubts that this would be amazing, but I still need to scream about how CUTE it was. I love a good romance where it doesn’t happen like in the movies, so this was totally up my alley!
Everything feels awkward and everything is hard work - just like any real relationship or friendship. The two boys constantly have to work at things and are constantly messing up, which was refreshing (and frustrating) to read in amongst the less realistic and more fluffy contemporaries of the genre.
I’m always intrigued about how co-written books work, and I have to say that while the storyline feels more Albertalli, the writing style feels more like Silvera. It’s got the cuteness and awkwardness of Albertalli romances, with the denser writing style of Silvera. While I did devour this in two sittings, it took more concentration and I didn’t breeze through it in 2.5 hours in the way I do with Albertalli novels.
And given that it’s Albertalli and Silvera, you know the diversity is going to be incredible.The story features a male/male romance between a Jewish teen and a white-passing Latinx teen, with a smattering of other minority groups represented on the sidelines. Shout out to Arthur’s queer femme colleague, and I also really enjoyed the discourse about being a white-passing Latinx person and the microaggressions that accompany this.
While I wanted a little more emotional devastation from the story, I still bawled my damn eyes out at the end. I so so so wanted our babies to skip off into the sunset together with. I read this on a sick day home from work and ended up bawling on my couch at 11am, and for the rest of the day I kept welling up as I recalled that one line that sent me over the edge:
YES HELLO I would like to address my cheque for personal therapy to Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.
;_______________;
Given that Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera are two of my favourite contemporary authors I had zero doubts that this would be amazing, but I still need to scream about how CUTE it was. I love a good romance where it doesn’t happen like in the movies, so this was totally up my alley!
Everything feels awkward and everything is hard work - just like any real relationship or friendship. The two boys constantly have to work at things and are constantly messing up, which was refreshing (and frustrating) to read in amongst the less realistic and more fluffy contemporaries of the genre.
I’m always intrigued about how co-written books work, and I have to say that while the storyline feels more Albertalli, the writing style feels more like Silvera. It’s got the cuteness and awkwardness of Albertalli romances, with the denser writing style of Silvera. While I did devour this in two sittings, it took more concentration and I didn’t breeze through it in 2.5 hours in the way I do with Albertalli novels.
And given that it’s Albertalli and Silvera, you know the diversity is going to be incredible.The story features a male/male romance between a Jewish teen and a white-passing Latinx teen, with a smattering of other minority groups represented on the sidelines. Shout out to Arthur’s queer femme colleague, and I also really enjoyed the discourse about being a white-passing Latinx person and the microaggressions that accompany this.
While I wanted a little more emotional devastation from the story, I still bawled my damn eyes out at the end. I so so so wanted our babies to skip off into the sunset together with
Spoiler
nobody moving across the country but alas, it wasn’t meant to beSpoiler
”you can’t be someone I just knew for one summer. I have to know you every summer.”YES HELLO I would like to address my cheque for personal therapy to Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.
;_______________;
brookcsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This was cute but the ending sorta made me sad. I hope the second book does the couple justice !
indiekay's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I really liked the first half of this book, with the miss-connections vibes. That was really fun. The second half was less fun, but still good, in an awkward way.
I also really liked the ending? For a YA, it felt like a realistic hopeful ending.
I really liked the first half of this book, with the miss-connections vibes. That was really fun. The second half was less fun, but still good, in an awkward way.
I also really liked the ending? For a YA, it felt like a realistic hopeful ending.
johnny92m's review against another edition
5.0
I REALLY should have spend my Sunday cleaning house for guests, but I couldn't pull myself away from these boys and their story! Two incredibly talented authors link up to create an epic meet-cute love story, that not only touches on romantic love, but what self-love and forgiveness should truly mean.
For 400+ pages, this book seemed to FLY by. Chapters switch between Arthur and Ben so breezily, you can't help but want to keep going just "one page more". Both Albertalli's quirky optimism mixed with musical theatre adoration (which I relate to TOO MUCH) and Slivera's darker lens of "happiness through the imperfections" shine through to create a truly engaging tale.
For 400+ pages, this book seemed to FLY by. Chapters switch between Arthur and Ben so breezily, you can't help but want to keep going just "one page more". Both Albertalli's quirky optimism mixed with musical theatre adoration (which I relate to TOO MUCH) and Slivera's darker lens of "happiness through the imperfections" shine through to create a truly engaging tale.
icedviennalatte's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars- This was an adorable story that perfectly captures first love. It was an easy, enjoyable read, but the plot wasn't strong. It just felt...directionless and all over the place, like it was just teenagers running around the city doing things and all of a sudden they're in love. It was still a pretty solid LGBTQ teen romance and I appreciated the casual ADHD representation.
alx7p's review against another edition
3.0
Insomma…forse davvero troppo infantile! Scritto bene e scorrevole, rimane comunque una storia molto acerba.
burrowsi1's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75