What If It's Us (What If It's Us #1)

[Trisha]

This thread is to discuss What If It's Us, the first book in the What If It's Us Series by Becky Albertalli.

Pages: 437 pages

Length: 1 Month (March)

Participants: Alyana Pearl, Eirelyn.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

[Eirelyn]

Thanks for the thread, Trisha! :D

[Alyana]

Hi Eirelyn! This one was available to borrow so I started it! :D

[Eirelyn]

Okay, great! It looks like this one is available now for me too, so I'll go ahead and start probably tomorrow. :D

[Alyana]

I really like how the story goes. It makes me blush lol. And I quote Adam Silvera's review of his book, "It's sooo gay" ☺️

[Eirelyn]

I just started tonight. I've only read the first chapter, but I'm already hooked. :D Arthur is just so awkwardly adorable when he meets Ben. I actually laughed out loud at a couple lines.

(view spoiler)[When Arthur tells Ben "So sorry for your loss" when Ben mentions his breakup, and Ben's just like, "He's not dead." That just struck me as so funny. I love Arthur's awkwardness in that scene.

And then the line about Arthur wanting a gay ID to whip out like a cop badge so that he can prove he's really gay. XD

His character is so endearing so far. (hide spoiler)] I can't wait to read more!

[Alyana]

I got hooked too right from the beginning so I finished it yesterday. They are so cute together!!

[Eirelyn]

Very! :D I just finished reading about (view spoiler)[their first date. Aww, poor things, lol. I mean, it was cute & they had a lot to talk about, but neither was totally happy with the way it went. Although, I mean, come on, Ben took Arthur to a place where he has tons of memories with his ex. I can see why that might not have been ideal... lol. I'm just glad they're going to give it a second try! (hide spoiler)]

[Eirelyn]

All of these (view spoiler)[first date do-overs. lol These boys are putting way too much pressure on themselves to get it "perfect." Although, all of their individual insecurities do seem very realistic. I just want to tell them to relax a bit and breathe. XD

But I just passed the halfway point, and they just kissed! :D Yay, finally! (hide spoiler)]

[Alyana]

Eirelyn wrote: "All of these first date do-overs. lol These boys are putting way too much pressure on themselves to get it "perfect." Although, all of their individual insecurities do seem very realistic. I just w..."

They just looked cute together! I think every couple in a relationship wants a smooth one but nothing's perfect so they just do everything they can to make it as memorable and almost perfect as it is.

[Eirelyn]

I just finished. :D This book was so sweet & cute & enjoyable. I need more in this genre that are just as good. ♥

[Alyana]

A sequel is to be published this year ☺️

[Eirelyn]

Oh! :O I didn't know that! I will definitely be reading that as soon as it becomes available to me. :D

[Eirelyn]

I just wrote my review. :D

(view spoiler)[This was such a sweet book. I loved the characters -- Arthur & Ben were both very well-developed and enjoyable to read about. I loved that Arthur had absolutely no chill. His thoughts were always bubbling over the surface, whether he wanted them to or not, which made him rather endearing.

I thought the progression of the story happened nicely. I like that their relationship didn't start off immediately, and that it took some time for them to find each other again after first meeting. I also enjoyed, once they did begin their relationship, that things didn't click all at once. So much so, that they ended up having several "do-overs" for their first date, just so they could get it right.

All of the other characters were very three-dimensional as well. I like that we got a look at both Ben & Arthur's friendships, as well as their home lives with their parents. Everything felt really fleshed out and well done.

Obviously, I hope that Arthur & Ben end up together sometime down the road, but I thought the ending was very realistic. Throughout the whole novel, it was stated that Arthur would be leaving New York, and they were worried about how that would affect their relationship. Usually, when something like that is the case in a book like this, something miraculous ends up happening where the character gets to stay and everything stays the same and is perfect. So I was pleased that Arthur really did end up having to go back home, taken away from Ben. I'm not glad that they had to break up, and I do hope they get back together sometime in the future, but it was interesting to see how they handled their breakup and separation. I was very pleased to read that more than a year down the road, they were still best friends. I do have hope for them in the future, though, considering Arthur said that Ben has still been his best kiss, despite kissing half a dozen boys, and that Ben hasn't even kissed anyone since Arthur. And considering there is a sequel coming out later this year, I really hope that it ends with the two of them together. But for this novel, I thought it was a bittersweet, but very realistic, conclusion that the two of them didn't end up together.

I need more books in this genre that are as well done as this one! (hide spoiler)]

[Alyana]

Eirelyn wrote: "I just wrote my review. :D

This was such a sweet book. I loved the characters -- Arthur & Ben were both very well-developed and enjoyable to read about. I loved that Arthur had absolutely no chill..."

I love your review Eirelyn! :)

[Eirelyn]

Thank you, Alyana! :D

[Eirelyn]

You mentioned yesterday about the sequel which I hadn't known about. And I am totally facepalming because I just now saw that Trisha's original post in this thread also mentioned this as part of a series... XD I'm so observant...

[Alyana]

Eirelyn wrote: "You mentioned yesterday about the sequel which I hadn't known about. And I am totally facepalming because I just now saw that Trisha's original post in this thread also mentioned this as part of a ..."

Yes! When I was reading the reviews of this book, I saw that a second book is set to be released this year and it got me excited! :)