Book Review :: Here’s To Us, by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

Here's to Us by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera
ISBN: 139850520X
Series: What If It's Us #2
Published by Simon & Schuster Children's UK
on 2021-12-28
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
Pages: 448
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Find at Harper Collins NZ
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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?

Possibly not. After all, things didn’t work the first time around. Possibly yes. After all, the sparks are still flying. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and raise a glass.

Here’s to celebrating old friends! Here’s to embracing new beginnings! Here’s to believing in second chances!

Last updated on 13 February 2023

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My thoughts on Here’s To Us

Oh my actual goodness, I think my heart exploded. I absolutely loved Ben and Arthur’s story in What If It’s Us, so I was super excited when I discovered that Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera were combing literary forces once again to bring us the sequel, Here’s To Us.

While the end of What If It’s Us left us wanting, we pick up the story shortly after those events, as you can read in the synopsis. All the crew is there, as well as some new faces (including both Ben and Arthur’s new significant others), and the relationships that play out in the book aren’t just romantic; they’re the friendships between best friends, ex-partners, acquaintances, new loves, and the occasional never-met-you-before new relationship.

“Sometimes happily ever afters aren’t about your happiness at all.”

I so enjoy how while, yes this book and its predecessor, are about love and they’re about Ben and Arthur and their relationship … they’re more than that. Some of the side characters in these books are absolutely brilliant, and they all have their own troubles and struggles and wins and celebrations. And I found myself thinking “I could really do with a spin-off book for some of these characters”.

It’s funny, and I must just point this out, that both Albertalli’s latest book, Kate in Waiting, and Silvera’s reasonably new-ish books, the Infinity Cycle (Infinity Son and Infinity Reaper) were not my cup of tea. I didn’t love them. I really enjoy their other books, though, so I think that these ones were just an unfortunate occurrence in my reading. However, when they come together and join forces, books like Here’s To Us happen, and I love them for it.

“I just want to make you happy. But I’ll be there when you’re not happy, too. If you’re sad, I’ll sit inside it with you. I know I’m going to mess up sometimes, too, but I promise to say sorry a lot, because that’s what people do when they want something to work.”

The book was full of those sweet, squee, sort of lines, and the book overall was sweet and squee, and if you haven’t read it yet and you enjoyed What If It’s Us then be sure to pick up Here’s To Us really soon!

There was also a brief conversation in the book about how one of the characters re-reads a ‘young adult book where they all die at the end’ and I couldn’t help but wonder if that was Albertalli and Silvera making a nod to Silvera’s book, They Both Die at the End. I obviously can’t say for sure, but boy can I speculate. And if it was a nod to one of his other books, then 👏👏👏.

There was one part where I suddenly got the Dear Even Hanson song ‘Only Us’ in my head while reading it, and then on the next page, they mentioned it. Spooky? Or just really good writing? I’ll let you decide.

So I wanna know! Have you read What If It’s Us? And have you read Here’s To Us? What did you think?

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Thank you to HarperCollins NZ and Simon & Schuster for this review copy. This does not affect my review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.