By: Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
Meet Arthur, Broadway enthusiast, glass half full optimism, and favourite person of everyone he meets. He’s in New York for the summer interning at his mom’s law firm and couldn’t be happier.
Meet Ben, closet writer, glass half empty pessimist, and cool guy who seems not to try too hard at anything. He’s recently broken up with his boyfriend, stuck in summer school, and not all that happy with the universe right now.
After a chance encounter at the post office, Ben and Arthur think maybe the universe wants them to be together. The perfection of their meeting was just too good to be true. But then they get separated and they didn’t get any way to contact each other. Using creative social media searches, missed connections, and some good old fashioned amateur detective work, Ben and Arthur manage to be reunited! It’s clearly a sign that they are definitely meant to be.
But. Their first date is a disaster. Their second date is not nearly what they had hoped. And… their third date is not great either. Were they really meant to be or is the universe playing some kind of weird joke on them? But then again, What if it’s us?
As Arthur and Ben navigate young love, they have a relatively realistic attitude towards their relationship and don’t make nearly as many hair-tearing decisions that many Rom Com characters tend to make. Other than a moderately forced drama scene in the middle, Ben and Arthur are rational, lovable heroes of their own story with awesome best friends supporting them through a memorable summer break.
This book is full of pop culture references with a special love for Harry Potter and Hamilton. It’s got meet cute moments, and fully realized, dynamic characters. I worry that the pop culture references will sour the book with time, but for now it’s a lot of fun and well worth a read!Other books by Becky Albertalli include Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat.Other books by Adam Silvera include They Both Die at the End and History is all you Left Me.