What If It's Us

by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera

Overview

A New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller!

Critically acclaimed and bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera combine their talents in this smart, funny, heartfelt collaboration about two very different boys who can’t decide if the universe is pushing them together—or pulling them apart.

ARTHUR is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

BEN thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them . . . ?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t nail a first date even after three do-overs?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?

What if it’s us?

Plus don't miss Here's to Us! Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera reunite to continue the story of Arthur and Ben, the boys readers first fell for in What If It’s Us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062795236
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	HL610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Becky Albertalli is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of William C. Morris Award winner and National Book Award longlist title Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (now a major motion picture, Love, Simon); The Upside of Unrequited; Leah on the Offbeat; the Simonverse novella Love, Creekwood; What If It’s Us and Here's to Us (cowritten with Adam Silvera); Yes No Maybe So (cowritten with Aisha Saeed); Kate in Waiting; and Imogen, Obviously, a Stonewall Honor Book. Becky lives with her family near Atlanta. You can visit her online at beckyalbertalli.com. 

Adam Silvera is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of They Both Die at the End, The First to Die at the End, The Survivor Wants to Die at the End, More Happy Than Not, History Is All You Left Me, and the Infinity Cycle (Infinity Son, Infinity Reaper, and Infinity Kings) and coauthor of What If It’s Us and Here’s to Us. He is tall for no reason. Visit him online at adamsilvera.com.

Editorial Reviews

A Best Teen Book of the Year

Chicago Public Library

★“Fan-favorites Albertalli (Leah on the Offbeat,2018, etc.) and Silvera (They Both Die at the End, 2017, etc.) join forces in this tale of a New York City summer romance. This joyful romance is both sweet and substantial.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★”A charming, sweet-natured love story between two very different boys.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★“Albertalli and Silvera balance cynicism and starry-eyed optimism to paint an honest, compelling picture of adolescent romance. Part feel-good, part star-crossed, this seamless blend of the authors’ styles will appeal to fans old and new alike.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Two of queer YA fiction’s best writers team up for an infectiously sweet story of young love set against New York’s bustling backdrop. Without a doubt, this is the gay rom-com you’ve been waiting for.” — Entertainment Weekly, “Must List”

“A love story that makes romance cool again. This is how a good romantic comedy should always feel.” — Los Angeles Review of Books

“A happy and often laugh-out-loud-funny rom-com.” — The Horn Book

A Teen Indie Next List Pick — Indiebound

A Best YA Book of the Year — Paste Magazine

A Best Teen Book of the Year — New York Public Library

A Best YA Book of the Year — Bustle

A Best Teen Book of the Year — Chicago Public Library

From the Publisher

★ 08/06/2018
Authors Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and Silvera (They Both Die at the End) team up for a charming, sweet-natured love story between two very different boys. Arthur (written by Albertalli) is in New York for the summer while his lawyer mother works a big case. His family’s affluent and Jewish, and he’s a Broadway geek and a virgin with good grades. Native New Yorker Ben (Silvera) is Puerto Rican. His family’s on a tight budget, he’s just out of a relationship, and he’s stuck in summer school. Arthur believes in love at first sight; Ben’s not even sure he believes in love. After they bump into each other at a post office, then are separated by a flash mob, Arthur searches the New York haystack to find one adorable high school junior. But the course of meet-cute never did run smooth: complications include friends, Ben’s ex, cultural differences, and the difficult and confusing nature of love. The authors—one known for happy endings, the other for breaking hearts—split the difference believably, and it’s impossible not to root for Arthur and Ben and their many do-overs. Ages 14–up. Agent: Brooks Sherman, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A Teen Indie Next List Pick

Indiebound

Two of queer YA fiction’s best writers team up for an infectiously sweet story of young love set against New York’s bustling backdrop. Without a doubt, this is the gay rom-com you’ve been waiting for.

Entertainment Weekly

A love story that makes romance cool again. This is how a good romantic comedy should always feel.

Los Angeles Review of Books

A Best YA Book of the Year

Bustle

A Best YA Book of the Year

Paste Magazine

A Best Teen Book of the Year

New York Public Library

A happy and often laugh-out-loud-funny rom-com.

The Horn Book

A Best Teen Book of the Year

New York Public Library

A Best Teen Book of the Year

Chicago-Public Library

Albertalli and Silvera are both superstars in their own right—put them together, and there’s no way this stays on shelves. A comforting exploration of self-discovery and self-creation.

Booklist

★ 09/01/2018
Gr 8 Up–This team effort is a meet cute between two high school boys in New York City. Broadway-obsessed Southerner Arthur (in the city for a summer internship) wants his magical New York moment. So he follows a cute boy into a post office in the hopes of making it happen. But fate—in the form of a flash mob proposal—separates them before Arthur gets the chance to learn Ben's name. Each boy tries to find the other using small clues from their first meeting until, eventually, they're reconnected. When their first date—Arthur's first date ever, Ben's first since breaking up with his ex—doesn't quite go as planned, they have a do-over date. And another. And another. But, as Arthur's return to Georgia at summer's end draws closer, is their flash relationship fate? Alternating between Ben and Arthur, the first-person chapters give readers both sides of the story. The supporting cast has diverse and endearing characters—including one friend who identifies as a biromantic ace. Ben is Puerto Rican, while Arthur is Jewish and has ADHD. The quippy dialogue is chock full of pop culture and musical theater references (especially to "Harry Potter" and Hamilton). Albertalli and Silvera balance cynicism and starry-eyed optimism to paint an honest, compelling picture of adolescent romance. VERDICT A must-purchase. Part feel-good, part star-crossed, this seamless blend of the authors' styles will appeal to fans old and new alike.—Alec Chunn, Eugene Public Library, OR

School Library Journal

Collaboration works in the writing and narration of the alternating viewpoints of this story. Noah Galvin portrays Arthur, a bright Jewish teen who has recently come out but has never had a relationship. For him, a chance and momentary encounter with Ben at the post office seems fated—as if the universe has thrown them together—but neither of them knows the identity of the other. Galvin depicts Arthur’s loneliness and desolation when he can’t find the cute guy from the post office. Froy Gutierrez expresses the vulnerability of Ben, who has recently suffered a boyfriend breakup but also feels an instant attraction to Arthur. Ben and Arthur’s friends support them in solving the identity mystery and in their burgeoning relationship. The narrators capture the heroes’ accents and ethnicities as well as the story’s drama, lively dialogue, pop-culture references, and distinctive secondary characters. S.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2018 - AudioFile

Collaboration works in the writing and narration of the alternating viewpoints of this story. Noah Galvin portrays Arthur, a bright Jewish teen who has recently come out but has never had a relationship. For him, a chance and momentary encounter with Ben at the post office seems fated—as if the universe has thrown them together—but neither of them knows the identity of the other. Galvin depicts Arthur’s loneliness and desolation when he can’t find the cute guy from the post office. Froy Gutierrez expresses the vulnerability of Ben, who has recently suffered a boyfriend breakup but also feels an instant attraction to Arthur. Ben and Arthur’s friends support them in solving the identity mystery and in their burgeoning relationship. The narrators capture the heroes’ accents and ethnicities as well as the story’s drama, lively dialogue, pop-culture references, and distinctive secondary characters. S.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2018 - AudioFile

★ 2018-06-24
Fan-favorites Albertalli (Leah on the Offbeat, 2018, etc.) and Silvera (They Both Die at the End, 2017, etc.) join forces in this tale of a New York City summer romance.When Ben and Arthur cross paths at a post office but fail to exchange contact information, they both regret the missed connection. Through mutual efforts and a healthy dose of coincidence, the boys find each other again. A rocky series of do-over first dates proves that they are different in many ways—Arthur is a white, Jewish, show tune-loving, Southern boy with ADHD who has never been kissed and dreams of attending Yale. Ben, on the other hand, is a Puerto Rican, Catholic, native New Yorker recovering from a recent breakup who is self-conscious about attending summer school and writes a novel in his spare time. However, the boys have one important thing in common—they're both willing to believe in the universe's bringing them together. Their alternating narration, chock-full of witty banter and pop-culture references, also delves into themes of identity and the complexities of relationships, both romantic and platonic. In particular, Arthur's jealousy over Ben's ex-boyfriend raises discussions of whether past relationships should be regretted or embraced. Central to the narrative are Arthur's and Ben's friends, who are diverse and richly drawn, and the boys' parents, who encourage their relationship.This joyful romance is both sweet and substantial. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews