Reviews

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera

whysomoody's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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

3.75

odurant8's review against another edition

4.0

I laughed. I cried. Clever dialogue. Sometimes the POV got confusing because both main characters are male. But it was still fun to read.

alli_thebookgiraffe's review against another edition

2.0

I loved all of the different things that it brought to the table in this book. The Puerto Rican heritage of Ben and also him being a 'light skin' minority is also interesting. I loved that Arthur had ADHD but I wish it came into play somewhere. I also love that Arthur is Jewish because I have Jewish heritage. That was pretty much all I liked.
*SPOILERS*
I didn't like the ending. I understand its like a realistic ending but I didn't expect it to end like that. I feel like they made this love story seem like fate and then it didn't turn out. They really had us rooting for the MCs but then ripped our hearts out.

kneeholegibby's review against another edition

3.0

⭐️ - 3.5 stars

This book was good, I didn’t hate it, or love it. The story is fun and I am always game for a cute gay tale, however I was quite underwhelmed.

I’m interested in the characters enough that I will be reading the sequel.

I would highly recommend these authors, just not necessarily this book.

***
Update as of April 27th-
Well folks, I finished the sequel! And I gave it a full 4 stars. I would recommend that if you enjoyed the characters in this, you should take a stab at book number two. You may just find some golden nuggets that were missed in this part one telling.

roseday's review against another edition

4.0

This book was good and I will be reading the next one but not a must read by any account.

zach_off's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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? Yes

5.0

The comfiest YA that I needed to read and blew through so quickly. I loved it 😭

abbyl819's review against another edition

3.0

I was a little apprehensive about reading this book considering the fact that I have really liked all of Beck Albertalli’s books and did not like anything that I have read by Adam Silvera. I mostly read this book out of curiosity about what that combination would create, and I’m not really that surprised that it lands in the middle for me. One of the biggest complaints that I had about Adam Silvera’s books was that I was always very detached from the characters and did not care about them or their relationship. Thankfully, that changed in this book because I did actually like Arthur and Ben’s relationship, as well as their relationships with the other characters that they are friends with in the book. What made this book not so great was the fact that there really was no plot. The plot about them finding each other lasts for less than 100 pages, and the whole rest of the book is just them living their lives with nothing driving it forwards. I got a bit dull at times. Also, Arthur is probably one of the most awkward characters I have ever read, and the majority of his interactions were very cringeworthy and hard to read. It was probably meant to be endearing but it was more annoying for me.

knuckledown's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

akookieforyou's review against another edition

4.0

*4.5*

Lalathon 2018

“The universe wouldn’t get us together for just one summer, right?”

I loved this! This was an awesome collaboration between two of my favorite authors. It was so sweet, funny, and heartwarming. Definitely the best medicine for anyone who's having a down day.

rustbeltredux's review

4.5

All in all this was a super cute read. I mean, you can’t really go wrong with a boy meets boy and this one ramps it up with one being a starry-eyed country boy, the other a jaded boy from the big city. One who’s never been in love, the other just coming out of a messy breakup. One who tries entirely too hard, the other who doesn’t try hard enough. Both of of them trying to figure it out and reach an equilibrium before it all goes skidding off the rails. I think what resonated the most for me is that I’ve been both of them at different points in my life and I’m still trying to get it right.