What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera | Review
What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Genre/s: Contemporary, YA, LGBT, Romance
UK Release Date: 18th October 2018
US Release Date: 9th October 2018
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK
I am so confused as to my thoughts on this book. I really loved some of it, and yet I really hated other parts. It was so awkward and cute, that sometimes being a good thing and at other times it was just too much.
What If It's Us starts off when Arthur just happens to be walking past the post office when he encounters an odd situation, which then leads to him meeting Ben.
The diversity was amazing, and I was sold instantly on the idea of the story as soon as I heard about it. I've read a couple of other books by Becky Albertalli, including 'The Upside of Unrequited' which is one of my favourite reads of all time, however I hadn't read anything by Adam Silvera before this. I'm definitely going to read some of his other books though, I want to see what his other work is like.
"I don't know whether we're in a love story or a story about love."
The humour was hilarious, and some of the scenes were so unbelievably cute and made me smile so much. Ben was brilliant, however I didn't love Arthur, he was a little annoying to read from at times. And the side characters were intriguing and more well developed than I was expecting. Dylan is the BEST best friend!
But on the other hand it didn't quite get there, if you know what I mean. As a whole the plot was kind of bland. I wish there had been more of a uniqueness to it, but I've honestly read so many elements of this story so many times. I was expecting so much from these authors and the actual story didn't touch those hopes.
“I barely know him. I guess that is every relationship. You start with nothing and maybe end with everything.”
The pacing was great and I really enjoyed the style of the writing. It was an easy quick read. The first half of the book was my favourite, it was slightly more unique. The meet cute was adorable and so funny, and I really enjoyed following Arthur and Ben as they try to find each other. But once they'd finally that point where they find each other I got bored. And I really didn't like the last fifty pages or so of the book, in my opinion the writing felt so different to the rest of the story, it was kind of choppy and I found it really hard to stay invested in what was happening. I also didn't enjoy the turn in which the story took but that was much more original so I kind of liked that aspect at the same time, but the ending felt rushed, which was odd.
Overall I would recommend giving it a read, as it did fly by really quickly and the diversity in this book is amazing, I know a lot of people who will love this. But I read a lot of YA contemporary and I think that was what really impacted my feelings. Anyway, if you've already read it, be sure to let me know what you thought in the comments below!
Rating: 50%
Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster UK for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! (Disclaimer: All opinions are honest and my own.)
Thank you for reading!
- Sophie Elaina
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