What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book): 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?
UPDATED REVIEW
MY OPINION: ****
It always sucks when you reread a book that you originally loved and find that you just don't love it the same way anymore.
In this case, back in 2018 (four entire years ago!), I rated this book a whopping SIX stars. I reserve my six-star reads to the best of the best (in my opinion) but after rereading this one, I am firstly doubting my past judgement and secondly am planning on rereading every single book on my six-star shelf this year and seeing if I was delusional or if the books are actually that good.
It hurts to drop this one down to a mere four stars. Don't get me wrong, that's still a good rating obviously but it's definitely lost my raving, obsessive, loving adoration that it once had. I just bought the second book which is why I decided impulsively to reread (four years is too long to expect me to remember anything that happened). I was right: I did not remember anything that happened.
Arthur and Ben are cute. However, this book was so explicitly YA that I found myself cringing every five pages. I've definitely grown out of YA, which is sad because it used to make up such a large part of my life. I do think that for what it is, it definitely hit all of the YA components, checking each one off easily. I just don't think I'm a fan of YA anymore so the jokes weren't so much funny as they were cringy, which is quite unfortunate.
I'm going to reread my old review and try to hit some of the points I brought up last time and see if those changed.
Firstly, I still love Adam Silvera (of course Becky too but we all know I hold a special place in my heart for Adam Silvera). He's recently gained a lot of traction on BookTok (three years too late if you ask me) and I want to reread some of his books, though I'm afraid it will come out with a similar result as this one. However, my love for Silvera has definitely not changed, so breathe a deep sigh of relief there, everyone.
I do think that Arthur was my favorite of the two by far. Before, I could not decide, but upon rereading, I've cemented my love for Arthur. He's so innocent and confused in his first ever relationship and I thought his character was very realistic for a first-timer (though I wouldn't know). Yes, he said some stupid things sometimes but they were endearing rather than annoying.
Ben. Wow. I really strongly disliked Ben this time around. I don't know how Arthur (or the old me) tolerated him. He was so rude and annoying towards Arthur and seemed to be so hung up on his ex (like come on) even when he was in a new relationship. I think for the sake of Arthur's feelings, he should have stopped the relationship until he was actually ready for it but with the whole universe and fate thing, I think he really pushed it prematurely which resulted in a lot of toxic behavior from him. I would have dumped him. I said it. He is very different from Arthur, though, which was nice to get a refresher from one type of character and get to meet a complete opposite of a person.
I said I cried in my past review but I don't remember if I meant that like I actually cried or if I was metaphorically sobbing from the angst. I definitely did not cry this time around.
The quotes I chose from last year are... questionable. I don't know what was wrong with me but after rereading, those are definitely more cringe than cute (I'm so sorry) and I think there were some better ones in there. This time around, I didn't save any though, which I think would have been a good idea if I had decided to reread my old review before (ugh!).
I do agree with my past statement that Dylan is a god. I loved him through and through and I would willingly pick up a book centered on Dylan. He's funny, he's relatable, he's a little awkward. I loved him.
Ethan and Jessie... not my favorites. They truly felt like SIDE characters, whereas Dylan sort of had a more prominent role. Maybe it was because of the distance but I just did not connect with Ethan or Jessie and did not like them when we finally got to meet the two.
I don't know. Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan this time around. I do plan on reading the second book this next month when I have more time but I wouldn't say this belonged on my top-tier shelf for as long as it did. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fluffy, YA romance.
Also, the ending. Horrible. That's all I have to say. Realistic but horrible.
Main Character: Arthur, Ben
Sidekick(s): Dylan, Ethan, Jessie, Harriett, Samantha, Hudson, etc
Villain(s): Love, time, misunderstandings, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this book was so real to life.
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