What If It’s Us
What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera is a truly delightful read that breaks the traditional summer beach read and rom-com molds.
The book follows Arthur and Ben, both rising high school seniors, after their chance encounter at a Manhattan post office. Arthur is only in New York for the summer, working as an intern at his mom’s law firm, before going back home to Georgia. Ben is just trying to survive summer school and make it to his senior year.
Arthur is sure his run-in with a cute guy is a sign from the universe and swiftly sets out to find Ben, who bolts when their first meeting is interrupted. Will Arthur and Ben find each other? Will this meet cute turn into a summer fling or perhaps even something more?
Before I get into the nitty gritty, some of the broader things I liked about this book were the fact that it is an LGBTQ+ story, it takes place in New York, it includes Jewish characters in a way that simply let’s them be Jewish, and it’s chock-full of Broadway references.
As for what makes this book unique — it’s the way it embraces being a light summer read without stepping anywhere near a beach or resort and the way it’s a rom-com without making love the be all end all for Arthur and Ben. The book strikes the perfect balance as both teen-lit and summer-read by not going to the beach. It takes the reader along for a summer in the city, and there’s nothing like summer in the city. As much as we’d like to believe that life’s all fun and games before adulthood, it reminds older-than-teenage readers that sometimes even summers involve being dragged along wherever your parents need to go or enduring summer school. Its setting in the city may even make it more appealing as a literal beach read, as it adds an extra layer of escape to your summer escape. As for romance, this book manages not to romanticize it without dismissing it either. Arthur and Ben have their ups and downs. They have dramatic teenage moments where they think their love story absolutely must be the ultimate love story. But they also have supportive friends and parents, and they have lives beyond their romantic relationship. The book does a genuinely good job portraying how high school relationships don’t have to be everything but also shouldn’t be nothing.
Get your own copy of What If It’s Us here or borrow it from your local library.
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