Book Review: Here’s to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Here it is, the long awaited sequel to Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli’s wonderful YA novel What If It’s Us! Let’s start with a synopsis:
‘Ben has spent his first year of college working on his fantasy manuscript with his writing partner Mario, who is a great Spanish tutor, and an even better kisser. So why can’t he stop thinking about the fact that Arthur’s back in town two years after they called it quits?
Arthur is in New York for a dream internship on Broadway, with a boyfriend back at home that he couldn't be happier with. But when he comes upon Ben cuddled up with a mystery boy, he starts to wonder if his feelings for Ben ever truly went away.
Even as the boys try to focus on their futures, they can't seem to help running into each other in the present. Is the universe forcing them to question if they’re actually meant to be?’
I read the first book shortly after it came out in 2018, and vividly remember attending an event in London where the two authors gave a talk in a cosy Soho cinema. During the talk Becky and Adam admitted that while they’d like to write a sequel, it probably wouldn’t happen for some time. And so I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and forgot about the whole thing… until I heard that the sequel was finally being published four years later, at the end of 2021!
Here’s To Us revisits the former book’s love story, and the complicated relationship between Arthur and Ben. Set against the familiar NYC backdrop that we all came to know and love in the first book, the sequel is peppered with musical theatre references. As someone who hasn’t yet had the chance to visit New York City for myself, I adored having the chance to travel there through this story, and felt fully immersed in the vibrant city.
As well as the wonderful setting, the two protagonists Arthur and Ben continue to be adorable and were a pleasure to read about. Aged around 18 and 19, they’re both still really young and it was fun to see how their characters have developed over the two years since they first met. Something that I did struggle with, however, was being able to tell the difference between the voices of the two characters. This was an issue that arose for me in the first book too, and seems to be because the two authors have wonderful, but similar writing styles. As Becky and Adam wrote one character each, alternating between chapters, it was difficult to tell the difference between who was speaking and I frequently had to revisit the chapter headings to remind myself. While that was a bit annoying, it didn’t have a huge impact on my enjoyment of the book and I really loved reading about the whole cast of characters - many of whom are recognisable from What If It’s Us.
Like the characters, the plot of this book made me smile a lot. It felt quite idealistic but that’s what I loved about it - it definitely gave me Heartstopper vibes (you know, the comic book series by Alice Oseman) and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
If you enjoy YA romance stories then you’ll love this book. It has everything that makes up a fab YA romance read: lovable main characters, an adorable romance, a fab group of friends and a plot that made it difficult to put down.
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