Book Summary and Reviews of What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

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

What If It's Us

by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2018, 448 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

A 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?

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. This joyful romance is both sweet and substantial." - Kirkus

"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

This information about What If It's Us was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Kassie

Very good!
To be honest, this was my first time to read a book like this. Now, I am not bi or gay. But with saying that, I am not against people finding out who they are, and finding their love, same sex, or not. My friend let me borrow this book from him, and I couldn't put it down. I loved the content, and I love how easily it could be related to. I really enjoyed that it had referenced many of the things teenagers are into today, such as Instagram. This book does a wonderful job of helping you lose yourself. Your focus is on the story you are watching fall together. From heartbreak, friendships, reunion, family, and love. This is a great book to read if you have an open mind. Thank you, Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera for the amazing love story you decided to share.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera Author Biography

Adam Silvera was born and raised in the Bronx. He has worked in the publishing industry as a children's bookseller, community manager at a literary development company, and book reviewer of children's and young adult novels. He's the New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End, More Happy Than Not, and History Is All You Left Me, and all his novels have received multiple starred reviews. He is tall for no reason and writes in New York City.

Other books by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera at BookBrowse
  • More Happy Than Not jacket
  • History Is All You Left Me jacket
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked What If It's Us, try these:

  • The Ten Year Affair jacket

    The Ten Year Affair

    by Erin Somers

    Published 2025

    About this book

    A hilariously acerbic sliding doors novel about a chance meeting between two young parents, both happily married (just not to each other) that sparks a will-they-won't-they romance—perfect for fans of Big Swiss and Acts of Service.

  • The Impossible Us jacket

    The Impossible Us

    by Sarah Lotz

    Published 2022

    About this book

    In this funny and poignant novel, two strangers learn that their soul mate might be both as close as breath and as distant as a star, from British Fantasy Award recipient Sarah Lotz.

  • Boy Swallows Universe jacket

    Boy Swallows Universe

    by Trent Dalton

    Published 2020

    About this book

    An utterly wonderful debut novel of love, crime, magic, fate and a boy's coming of age, set in 1980s Australia and infused with the originality, charm, pathos, and heart of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

We have 10 read-alikes for What If It's Us, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

More Literary Fiction

Browse all Literary Fiction books

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
When No One Else Will
by Amanda Skenandore
1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
    by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
    Son of Weather Underground radicals recounts life on the run and decades of revolutionary struggle.
  • Book Jacket
    Look What You Made Me Do
    by John Lanchester
    A propulsive tale of intergenerational tension and revenge from the Booker Prize nominee.
Who Said...

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.