“What If It’s Us” by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera • Book Review

Published: 09.October, 2018 by HarperTeen
Format: Audiobook, 10 hours, Narrated by Noah Galvin and Froy Gutierrez

“People like me should come with a mute button.”

★★★ (3.2 / 5 stars) I have such mixed feelings about this book, I’m not even sure where to start. On the one hand, the pop culture references were cute and Arthur’s chapters were pretty hilarious. On the other, I felt basically zero chemistry between these two characters and the entire end was just meh. I’m glad we’re normalizing more non-hetero romances in contemporary fiction, but it was hard to even root for this couple once they met.

My favorite parts had to be the post office meet-cute, Arthur’s flier on the bulletin board, their moments of kissing and physical chemistry, and Ben’s end-of-summer scavenger hunt. But honestly, I felt like a bunch of elements were randomly thrown in and the not actually dealt with or resolved (like Ben’s lateness and Puerto Rican identity concerns or Arthur’s ADHD or the heart condition or the homophobic confrontation).

I could go on, but I don’t want this to be a rant. It really did have its great moments, and I enjoyed listening to the audio edition. I guess I was just hoping for more, especially with the ending. But it is what it is! Hope I get more satisfaction out of similarly hyped books like Red, White, & Royal Blue.