Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - What If It's Us

A beautiful story about teenage love and longing (plus how it's possible to be friends with your exes). Totally going to read the sequel if I get chance!

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bumblemee's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was really, really sweet - no highlight for me, but I enjoyed reading it. I liked Ben and Arthur, even though the latter is a little overdramatic, but hey: he's a teenager and a theatre kid, so I guess that's fine. I connected with their interests in creative writing and theatre and liked how they involved the other in their interests.
I must say that I didn't get that invested in the romance, something didn't really click with me. Idk, I didn't really get why they fell for each other, but I did enjoy them as a couple? Can't explain that very well, I think.

All in all a sweet book to read if you're looking for a lighthearted romance with loveable characters. Though, if you are someone who wants to avoid books that contain a lot of Harry Potter references, you should skip this one because there's a lot of them, as well as mentioning appreciation for JKR (book was written before that women unmasked herself though).

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auudrey's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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catdoof's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

Not only was there an obscene amount of pop culture references (here’s a game, take a shot everytime, you won’t even be alive after), the characters are unlovable, cliche, and their issues not relatable, stupid, and lead to literally no where. The book was incredibly frustrating to get through and I constantly found myself rolling my eyes. Moments that were obviously supposed to be emotional and hard hitting generally were not, leading to eye rolls. This book reaches. A lot. Not worth a read.

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soph05's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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befrazzledenby's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

Very cute, very gay, very YA—definitely want to read more Albertalli. This was a good break from what I normally read, very lighthearted and chill and fun. -1 star for the big teenage relationship drama in the middle of the book—probs because I’m not the target audience, but I stand by it being a bit too much.

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mayajouy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It was a great read, the two of them were great together and I loved every second of it. It was funny, and lighthearted so it makes for a nice read. The ending somewhat disappointed me but there’s a second book for a reason so !

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jnks_in_3d's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Just a light and easy romance that happens to be between guys. I'd love to see more queer representation like that

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