What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Pros
- Realistic representation
- Openly deals with race and class
- Wonderful collaboration
Cons
- Somewhat predictable
Title: What If It’s Us
Author: Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli
Original Publication Date: October 9, 2018
Original Publisher: Harper Collins
Queer Representation: 2 gay male protagonists, 1 gay male minor antagonist
Page Length: 433
A Broadway musical-centric romantic comedy by two of the biggest names in the field of Queer Young Adult literature.
Memorable Quote: “And by good, I mean great. I mean exquisitely perfect. I mean I’m living in a Broadway musical. THIS IS AN ACTUAL BROADWAY MUSICAL.”
Review:
When two of the biggest voices in queer young adult literature come together, the result is bound to be amazing. Becky Albertalli (author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and more)and Adam Silvera (author of They Both Die at the End and more) have been working on this collaboration for years, and it is well worth the wait. When Arthur Seuss (Albertalli) comes to New York City for the summer in order to intern at his mother’s law office, he runs into Ben Alejo (Silvera) at the post office. Ben is trying to work up the courage to mail a box of personal items back to his ex-boyfriend. Ben is convinced that the universe is against him, but Arthur cannot help but to feel like there is something trying to pull them together. Regardless of which of them is right, they cannot get their chance encounter out of their heads.
Unfortunately, Ben slipped out of the post office when Arthur was not looking and before they exchanged any contact information. It takes a number of failed attempts, but it seems that Arthur may be right when they find each other again. That is, until their first date is a failure. And their second first date. But maybe their third first date will be better? Perhaps Ben is the one who has the right opinion about the universe. With Arthur set to go back to Georgia at the end of the summer, they only have a few weeks to figure it out. Within those few weeks, the two learn a great deal about each other, including that they come from two very different worlds. Ben is Puerto Rican and poor; Arthur is Jewish and fairly well off in comparison. Ben is in summer school, with few prospects of going to college; Arthur is spending his summer interning to make his application to some elite colleges more favorable. Will they be able to overcome these differences in order to learn what the universe intends for them? Albertalli and Silvera leave their readers waiting for the answer to this question up until the very end, and what an end it is.
Fans of Albertalli, Silvera, young gay romance, and Broadway can all come together over what is sure to be a huge success of a novel. What If It’s Us is more than just your average young adult romance novel. Certainly it is exactly that, and it is a romance that will leave you rooting for a happy ending (and sometimes cursing at the universe). Albertalli and Silvera offer us likable, yet flawed characters, who help the readers see a side of New York City that is a little different than what an outsider such as Arthur has been taught to imagine. What If It’s Us is also an examination of different cultures, different values, and ultimately of the nature of our very universe.
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