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A review by annieni
What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera
2.0
Oof. I don't know what to say. I feel soo bad for giving this book 2 stars, but I can't give it anything else. I was really excited about this book, and I was ready to love it. What I was not ready for was 437 pages of frustration, losing my brain cells, and constant rants to my friends.
PART ONE: WHAT IF.
I was originally excited to read this because this book had some pretty rad representation and dealt with racism and homophobia. (also panic attacks!) Arthur is from Georgia and he's only here for the summer. He's gay, Jewish, and has ADHD. He's BIG on musicals, especially Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. Ben is a New Yorker, gay, and Puerto Rican. He loves Harry Potter and writing. If you're in any of these fandoms, you'll definitely enjoy the jokes and mentions! I could definitely tell these two apart; they had their own unique voices. The book doesn't feel choppy and flowed pretty well. I think they're both cute people, and they're noticeably flawed, which I liked. I mean, they drove me crazy a couple (read: a lot) of times, but there were some really cute moments between them.
Buuuut.
The beginning was so hard for me to get through. I felt like the conversations with Ben and his best friend Dylan were kinda stilted and awkward because it's basically an info dump. I also couldn't stand Arthur's whole Universe spiel. Just a heads up, if you don't believe in the Universe having complete control over every aspect of your life, you should just skip this book. It would have saved me 2 days of headaches.
PART TWO: IT'S US.
Basically, Ben and Arthur have a meet-cute and then get separated and go on this big journey to find each other. Except, I was so over the hunt for each other. I liked the idea at first, but it got tiring quickly with all the missed connections. When they finally reunite and go on their date, their chemistry was.....off? Nonexistent? All Ben could think about was Hudson, his ex, which was really annoying. I honestly felt so bad for Arthur. Fast forward a couple dates, Ben is suddenly so enamored with Arthur that I got whiplash reading it. Like, this guy couldn't stop comparing Arthur to Hudson on literally every date they went on, and suddenly he's head over heels for him. I didn't really feel like they had anything.
This was kind of insta love. After knowing each other for 2-3 weeks, they're dropping the Big L Word and thinking abt sex after 5 dates. I'm 17, the same age as Ben (Arthur being 16) and it's just weird to think someone my age is already dropping L words after knowing a person for 2 weeks.
PART THREE: ONLY ME SCREAMING.
The thing is, it's like Ben and Arthur don't want their relationship to work out. They get into the stupidest miscommunication situations I've ever seen, and I've been on Wattpad circa 2013 and read "I was sold to 1D" fanfics. I KNOW unnecessary drama when I see it. It's like, do these authors even know what it's like to be teenagers? Is this what adults think teenagers are like?
I already said this, but they drove me nuts. It was like I was going through a mind field! At every turn, something went wrong. I know relationships take work and they don't just magically work out. But. Gotdamn. No one gets into THAT many miscommunications in one week. I was so close to not finishing this book. I stopped so many times to rant to my friends (bless them).
And the whole Universe thing drove me up the wall. Both Ben and Arthur believe in the Universe, but like. Fuck the Universe, man. Do what you want! Don't let some nonexistent entity control your life! You are in charge of your own fate! If you want something, someone, then GO FOR IT.
EPILOGUE: ER...WHAT?
The ending. Um. It left something to be desired, for sure. (lowkey annoyed and irritated I really went through 437 pages for that conclusion, but whatever.)
I'm really sad that I didn't end up enjoying this book. It had good representation and dealt with real-world problems. I just wish the boys' relationship problems were more realistic? less dramatic?
For what it's worth, the friendship in here is solid (er..ish). I liked Dylan's personality, and Samantha was pretty cool! There are some fall outs, but the characters try really hard to make their friendships work, and I really liked that aspect.
PART ONE: WHAT IF.
I was originally excited to read this because this book had some pretty rad representation and dealt with racism and homophobia. (also panic attacks!) Arthur is from Georgia and he's only here for the summer. He's gay, Jewish, and has ADHD. He's BIG on musicals, especially Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. Ben is a New Yorker, gay, and Puerto Rican. He loves Harry Potter and writing. If you're in any of these fandoms, you'll definitely enjoy the jokes and mentions! I could definitely tell these two apart; they had their own unique voices. The book doesn't feel choppy and flowed pretty well. I think they're both cute people, and they're noticeably flawed, which I liked. I mean, they drove me crazy a couple (read: a lot) of times, but there were some really cute moments between them.
Buuuut.
The beginning was so hard for me to get through. I felt like the conversations with Ben and his best friend Dylan were kinda stilted and awkward because it's basically an info dump. I also couldn't stand Arthur's whole Universe spiel. Just a heads up, if you don't believe in the Universe having complete control over every aspect of your life, you should just skip this book. It would have saved me 2 days of headaches.
PART TWO: IT'S US.
Basically, Ben and Arthur have a meet-cute and then get separated and go on this big journey to find each other. Except, I was so over the hunt for each other. I liked the idea at first, but it got tiring quickly with all the missed connections. When they finally reunite and go on their date, their chemistry was.....off? Nonexistent? All Ben could think about was Hudson, his ex, which was really annoying. I honestly felt so bad for Arthur. Fast forward a couple dates, Ben is suddenly so enamored with Arthur that I got whiplash reading it. Like, this guy couldn't stop comparing Arthur to Hudson on literally every date they went on, and suddenly he's head over heels for him. I didn't really feel like they had anything.
This was kind of insta love. After knowing each other for 2-3 weeks, they're dropping the Big L Word and thinking abt sex after 5 dates. I'm 17, the same age as Ben (Arthur being 16) and it's just weird to think someone my age is already dropping L words after knowing a person for 2 weeks.
PART THREE: ONLY ME SCREAMING.
The thing is, it's like Ben and Arthur don't want their relationship to work out. They get into the stupidest miscommunication situations I've ever seen, and I've been on Wattpad circa 2013 and read "I was sold to 1D" fanfics. I KNOW unnecessary drama when I see it. It's like, do these authors even know what it's like to be teenagers? Is this what adults think teenagers are like?
I already said this, but they drove me nuts. It was like I was going through a mind field! At every turn, something went wrong. I know relationships take work and they don't just magically work out. But. Gotdamn. No one gets into THAT many miscommunications in one week. I was so close to not finishing this book. I stopped so many times to rant to my friends (bless them).
And the whole Universe thing drove me up the wall. Both Ben and Arthur believe in the Universe, but like. Fuck the Universe, man. Do what you want! Don't let some nonexistent entity control your life! You are in charge of your own fate! If you want something, someone, then GO FOR IT.
EPILOGUE: ER...WHAT?
The ending. Um. It left something to be desired, for sure. (lowkey annoyed and irritated I really went through 437 pages for that conclusion, but whatever.)
I'm really sad that I didn't end up enjoying this book. It had good representation and dealt with real-world problems. I just wish the boys' relationship problems were more realistic? less dramatic?
For what it's worth, the friendship in here is solid (er..ish). I liked Dylan's personality, and Samantha was pretty cool! There are some fall outs, but the characters try really hard to make their friendships work, and I really liked that aspect.