REVIEW: Here’s to us by Becky Albertalli e Adam Silvera
TITLE: Here’s to us
AUTHORS: Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
PAGES: 480
PLOT:
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?
REVIEW
Before reading What if it’s us I already knew the co-authors: I had already read Love, Simon by Becky Albertalli, and They both die at the end and History is all you left me by Adam Silvera. This new co-production was not as good as their other books, but it was still very pleasant. The three novels I’ve just mentioned deals with tough topics, such as homophobia, predetermination and mourning. What if it’s us is a sweet love story about first love and serendipity; it’s funny, joyful and the ending leaves you full of hope for the (characters’) future.
Now I’ll go straight to the point: Here’s to us, on the contrary, is boring and useless.
Boring because for hundreds of pages nothing happens, and I mean it literally. The characters circle around each other, but there’s no action, no feeling, no aim, no road to walk along with them… The new characters are flavorless and the old ones have lost all their charme. The plot is predictable way over what’s bearable: I’m not usually bothered with clichés, although in this case the finale is not only obvious but also tedious.
Why was this novel completely useless? Well… The aim of a sequel is (or it’s supposed to be) to add something significant to the previous story, isn’t it? So if it doesn’t, there’s something wrong. This book adds nothing to Ben and Arthur’s story; I may even say that it ruins the romantic “what if” that the first novel had left us with…
I’m really sad while I’m writing this review, I really am… The only positive element here may be Dylan, who sometimes succeeded in making me smile. Everything else failed the test. I am disappointed.
