What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

Published By Simon & Schuster Ltd

Book Review By Gemma E McLaughlin

This week the book I’ve chosen is a collaboration between two authors who’s works I had read and adored prior to knowing What If It’s Us existed, so to see it on the shelves of Waterstones like it had been waiting for me was something extraordinary. Aside from knowing of both of the authors, I must admit one thing that truly drew me in was a reference to Dear Evan Hansen on the very first page, which is always exhilarating for a lover of musicals. So, from the very beginning I found myself building up high expectations this book that were exceeded almost instantly as it kept my attention all the way through and amazed me at every turn.

We start off from the perspective of one of our main characters Arthur from Georgia, an upbeat and hopeful teenager just out of high school and working as an intern at his mother’s law firm in New York. He finds himself in a post office where he meets Ben who, based on his belief in the universe’s ability to bring people together, he feels he was somehow meant to meet. The two form an instant connection but are soon torn apart by the crowd, bringing us into the perspective of Ben, a young writer recently turned cynical about the universe’s power by a devastating breakup. From there a uniquely charming romantic comedy about all the possibilities of our world and just how much the universe can do for us is formed, switching between the two.

Of all the things I loved about this book, from the well-developed side characters and subplots, and effortless, relatable humour to the musical references dotted throughout, my favourite part was the way Arthur and Ben’s characters were written. From the start of the book it was far more easy to love kind, strikingly relatable Arthur and they could have kept it that way, but I was taken aback and overjoyed by the progression of everything we learn about Ben. The reader was introduced to negative and positive characteristics of each, and to the differences and similarities between them that made them fit together in a way that only the best fictional pairings can. All of this left a sense at the end of the book, not of having a favourite between them, but more a distinct feeling of having to say goodbye to two friends.

I challenge absolutely anyone to read this book and not fall in love with each and every character in a little way, and most importantly, not to fall in love with the universe, whether for the first time or the hundredth.