What If It's Us

Authors: Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Genre: Teen, Contemporary Fiction , LGBTQ
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 437
Source: Personal copy
Publisher: HarperTeen
First Published: October 9, 2018
Opening Lines: "I am not a New Yorker, and I want to go home."

Book Description from GoodReads: 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?

My Rating: 3.5 stars 

I eagerly picked up this book because it had Becky Albertalli's name on the cover and … well, that's the only reason needed. I've read all her books and enjoy how well she gets into the heads and voices of teens (as well as giving her parent characters substantial roles and personalities and not relegating them to the sidelines!). This time out, she's co-written a story with her best bud, Adam Silvera (a new-to-me author) that focuses on the budding romance between two teenage boys in New York City.

I loved getting a peek into the awkward, angst-filled lives of Arthur and Ben as they struggle to meet, begin their new relationship and learn more about each other and themselves in the process. This was a delightfully cute, realistically imperfect and awkward romance with a quirky and varied cast. 

But if I'm being honest, my feelings for this book were all over the place. First, while the book touches on some bigger issues, it is a character-driven read with its focus clearly on the romance, leaving less time to develop more detailed plot points. Secondly, while I initially enjoyed the awkwardness of the main characters, sometimes less is more and that's the case here. The awkwardness, angst and Arthur and Ben's need to obsess about every little thing got to be too much and went from cute to frustrating quickly. And lastly, I felt that Ben and Arthur's voices could have been much more distinct. They often blended into each other forcing me to turn back to the beginning of the chapter to remember who was speaking.

The story started out strong, got weaker in the middle and, thankfully, had a much stronger finish with an ending that won't appeal to all readers, but I enjoyed it.  There are lots of modern cultural references (some I loved - Harry Potter - and others I didn't get at all - Hamilton) but it's made me want to go back to NYC and finally see the awesomeness that is Hamilton. One of my favourite parts of the book was Albertalli's signature sense of humour which is sprinkled liberally throughout (and helped make Dylan my favourite character of the bunch).

Overall, this mom of three teens (not the typical demographic for a teen read, I know), enjoyed but didn't love this book as much as I had hoped.  While it had its moments of overly dramatic angst, it has good heart, touches on some important issues and I think teen readers will enjoy this sweet romance.