Amazon.in:Customer reviews: What If It's Us

Top positive review

Cuteness overloaded

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 16 June 2022

I was totally not ready for this bubble of cuteness when I started what if it's us. Ben and Arthur's relationship was not perfect like all relationship they had lots of fights. But they always bounced back and did a do over. This book brought out the hopeless romantic girl in me. The thing I loved in the book is all those raw emotions. All the characters in the book make mistakes but they don't justify their mistakes they accept it and make it right. The friendships was so heart touching. This book had a lot of references about Harry Potter.

This book is written in dual POV and I loved both of them. The story is like a modern day fairy tale. Even though the story is all cute and goody important stuff like homophobia , racism and panic attacks are discussed. I loved Arthur. The moment I saw that one of the main characters name is Arthur I literally squealed with joy. ( Because he is the namesake of Arthur from house on the cerulean sea who is one of my favourite fictional characters). At one point I kind of hated Ben due to something he did. But later Ben redeemed himself with a grand gesture. So all forgiven. I loved all characters in this book especially Dylan ( Ben's bestfriend) I have never read such a cute rom com.

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Apoorva

Cute Read

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 4 July 2020

Recommened Age group: 13 years+

Pros:
The story was light-hearted and really cute. You grow to like both the characters and witness the growth of many others as well. One thing this story made me realise is that one can't ever bet on the future, so just cherish and live your present.

Cons:
Even after finishing the novel, one doesn't get this feeling of "gratification" or it being a "wholesome read." Somewhere it didn't really match the standards of Becky's other works.

But nonetheless if the plot allures you , then go for it!!!

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From India

Apoorva

Cute Read

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 4 July 2020

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3 people found this helpful

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Joey

Monotonous tale

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 26 December 2018

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The book took time to arrive, but that's not the issue. The thing is, the story is too bland and I couldn't find the spark of Becky or Adam. Ben & Arthur are two different people & their story could have been something else not the way it has been. I'm slightly disappointed thus, couldn't give more than 3 stars.

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Ashwini A.

i wish this was a mini-series?

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 12 November 2018

I thoroughly enjoyed Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat. I really enjoyed Becky Albertalli’s writing style even though it was a bit on the fluffy side. But hey, sometimes you just want some fluff in your life, ok? When I got to know about this book, I had already read both of the above books and I had heard a lot about Adam Silvera’s books. I have yet to read anything of his though.

In any case, by the time I finally got around to the book, my expectations were reasonably high and I was hoping for a really awesome book. I knew it wasn’t unrealistic because I knew Becky Albertalli’s writing and I was prepared for Adam Silvera’s sad boys however what I wasn’t prepared for was the disappointment that came after I finished the book. Throughout the book, my mind kept having the same thought again and again, this would work so much better as a film or a mini series.

It wasn’t a bad book by any means but I just had trouble with the medium it was presented in. Oh, well. This was a clear case of ‘It’s not you, it’s me’, trust me.

Let’s get into the good bits, shall we? I absolutely loved Arthur and Ben and their personalities, they were so distinct and I could totally see them being just them in real life and that’s one of the best things about this book. Arthur’s naivete was endearing but there was also a jealous side to him in ways that showed his young age. I loved that there were visible flaws in him because otherwise, Arthur might have been in danger of being too perfect. Ben was one of those characters that stay with you even after you have finished the book. His was a different sort of effect, he was heartbroken because of his breakup with his ex, he had his problems about being Puerto Rican and his identity revolving around it. His writing, him loving Sims and just being him was such a joy to read, seriously.

This book had some serious Serendipity vibes, you know? They met outside a post office, then they managed to not get each other’s numbers but they meet again anyway because Arthur is one determined guy. The thing I had a problem with…it’s the actual relationship between the main characters. Yes, I am aware that this is about the six weeks before their school started and this relationship sort of had its own set of problems even before it started but there were some actual problems with it. Starting with Ben’s lack of closure with his breakup with his ex. Then, because he was still kind of hung up on his ex, he wasn’t able to give the right amount of attention to Arthur. That, right there, was a big problem for me, it’s realistic, yes but if there were more chemistry between Arthur and Ben, I wouldn’t have minded but unfortunately, there wasn’t.

It all seemed a bit forced for me, there was something missing from their relationship and they both tried too hard to make something out of it. It wasn’t just Ben too. It was Arthur as well. Then after a few failed attempts, suddenly things smoothed out and that part was adorable, as I said, Arthur and Ben on their own really do shine and that patch in the middle where they do get along is really good but. Yes, another but. That wasn’t enough for me to really enjoy their relationship.

Let’s not even go into the ending. After all the drama of their relationships and their past and their trust, the ending fell flat for me. If the ending had been handled a bit more delicately, I could have seen it as a realistic ending and not as a shitty one. Trust me, I wasn’t expecting a Disney ending but the ending I did get was even shittier. It made me like the characters less.

I think the main joy was the friendships in the book, Arthur and his friends as well as Ben and his friends. That saved the book more than anything else, even Ben’s ex was such a well done character. I really loved the way both set of friends worked and how they had friendship breakups and some real awkwardness about things in their personal lives. I also loved Arthur’s parents and their relationship with each other, also, it goes without saying that I loved Ben’s parents too. They were cool, okay?

So, what I am trying to say is that everything works really well in the book except for the actual main relationship and the main characters with each other. They don’t mesh well for me. It’s not a common opinion, I know but it’s the one I formed as I read it. I might re-read it and find it changed later but for now, this is what it is. I gave it three stars because as a book with its main characters and secondary characters, it’s really done well but it’s the relationships and the main characters’ way of dealing with them made me strike out the other two stars.

I also kinda liked the way Adam Silvera writes, I might have to read more of his books soon. As an introduction to his writing, it wasn’t the greatest but it wasn’t bad either. So, overall, a really fluffy but slightly problematic romance that might or might not work for you.

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From other countries

Smith Kumri TIGER MOM

Not for me

Reviewed in Singapore 🇸🇬 on 7 January 2023

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I did not love this book that much, but I do love both the authors other books, such as they both die in the end and Simon vs the Homo sapiens agenda. Just not for me, but shipping all that was good. **didn't finish

Lynk

A cute read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 16 December 2021

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I was reading along with the audiobook. I think the audiobook had made it more interesting as I like the people voices the characters.

I would say it’s is a predictable book, the way things build up and the ways this get torn up near the end and how it’s ends on a good note. Also the characters as well which were kinda cliche.

This book was very cute but I kinda got over it when they had their breakdown and Arthur and Ben were mad at everyone and everything like idk it was abut annoying so I skipped that.

Don’t know if I’ll read the second book in the series but it was a fun book to have playing in the back while your working.

Adrian Miles

Book arrived damaged

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 29 August 2022

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It wasn’t a lot of damage, but I do like to keep my books looking neat and nice. It also arrived with some strange gunk on the cover that I had to wipe off.

Berto C

Felt like Harry Potter was shoved into my face way tooo much.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 2 January 2019

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3.5/5

Sigh, I really wanted to love this book but there were just many aspects that I did not like. The story itself is really cute. I honestly was so close to loving this book!

The good: I love the representation is this book! Ben is a gay 17 year old Puerto Rican. He does not do school, and he just recently got his heart broken. Arthur is a gay 16-17 year old Jewish teenager who has ADHD and is new to the whole dating thing. The side characters were so lovable, more than one of the protagonist.. I would honestly say that Dylan is one of my top favorite characters! I would honestly love a spin-off about him. I love that they brought up topic that are not usually brought up in LGBT lit. Such as: first time sex, dealing with exes, being nervous to be in a relationship, etc. The overall story was cute and quirky.

The bad: I felt like Harry Potter was being shoved down my throat! This is honestly one of the main reasons why I did not like this story that much. I honestly do not care about HP. There was seriously a HP reference in every chapter. It. Was. Overkill. The love story felt really dramatic and desperate, it was stalkerish and even the characters mention it. Like Arthur just met Ben a few seconds ago, Arthur sneaked off on him and he was devastated because he'll "never get to kiss him on his Emma Watson mouth." I totally understand that Arthur has ADHD but his character was somewhat annoying and desperate. He needed for everyone to like him. And the ending.. <Spoiler>I did not like the ending at all. I seriously wanted them to make it work but they didn't.. They deserved the world!</Spoiler>

All in all, I loved the story, I loved the romance, I loved the characters. But the stuff I did not enjoy really impacted how I felt about the story at the end.

14 people found this helpful

Tvonia Poirier

It was a very easy book to read

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on 4 December 2021

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There’s parts in this book that I loved so much, but there were also parts that I hated in this book. It was a very easy read. I felt like this book was too long and could’ve been summed up in a better way. I would say this book is meant for teens 13-17. I’m 20 and I just found this book very childish. The ending in this book did have me begging for more. And there is a Second book coming out in December 2021. So I’m excited for that.

Kindle Customer

Quick read with moments of depth

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 30 December 2019

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This book was cute. The story of first, confusing, young love, betrayal, jealousy, heartbreak, and "what comes next?" will resonate. The writing becomes almost too lax at certain points. I know this book is for YA, but sometimes it becomes too juvenile. There are moments when both protagonists are extremely unlikable , but I'll chalk that up to them being teenagers. I am certain I was equally as insufferable.
This book has three really strong wins. First, it is a novel about gay teenagers with no coming out narrative. Both characters are just out. It's refreshing not to have the closeted trope through the first 75% of the story.
Two, it captures modern dating in a satirical, but poignant, way. Meet someone then spend hours searching for every detail on each social media platforms and Google result. I'm pretty sure every millennial is guilty of this. Seriously, it's almost creepy how much you can find out about someone without even their name.
Third, the ending isn't quite what you'd expect from a gay YA novel. I'll leave it at that.
I laughed. I cried. Rolled my eyes several times. Highlighted a few passages that sent me into an existential crisis. I would best describe this book as SimonVerse meets Call Me by Your Name meets Black Mirror meets iCarly. I would recommend to anyone who likes a light-hearted with deep moments quick read.

Pumpkin Dusk

Written Very Well, but maybe Not My Cup of Tea

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 7 July 2019

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First off, I enjoyed the book. The writing was fantastic and I think the book had a very captivating narration by trading points of views between the main characters between chapters. There were many moments in the book that made me smile. My cousin actually commented, "What am I reading?" because I had an honest grin plastered on my face for so long while reading this eBook.

With that said, I wanted more gray or mature content in the story. As a 25 year old male reader, I found the rather overly innocent nature of the protagonists very cheesy and clichéd to me. Each of the protagonist only has about 1 personality flaw, and 1 climactic crisis which is foreshadowed very early on in the book. Maybe if the characters were in college and not high school, there could have been a greater variety of influences that strained and tested their relationship.

I enjoy reading YA novels in-between more stuffy and difficult reads, but after reading this, I may be done with the genre in favor of more adult themes.

P. S. If the writers ever did write a more adult book combining similar themes from their recent releases, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

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5 star		69%
4 star		19%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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