By Monae R.

Coming back from the holidays is always hard. Getting back into the routine of waking up, getting your morning coffee, heading to work, and dragging through the day. This is fairly universal. I have to say, though, this routine becomes a lot easier if you have just read a good book you cannot wait to tell everyone about.

Becky Albertali and Adam Silvera work together well on What If It’s Us. I am extremely passionate about this particular series. With only two books, I was on the edge of my seat deep into the romance and relatable topics. The characters are lovable, and the writing is fantastic. To make it all just that much sweeter, the icing on the cake, the Libby audiobook readers are absolutely fantastic and exactly how I imagined the characters sounding like. They do the story a huge justice and bring the characters to life in a way that took me even deeper into the story.

What If It’s Us is a romantic comedy for young adult readers told from the perspective of both main characters, who are fully experiencing the age when teenagers are angsty and looking for companionship. The characters come from different worlds and their chance encounter has them floating on the idea of fate and love at first sight. The story follows Ben and Arthur through the life trials of dates, long distance, and college in the heart of New York City.

It’s not everyday that a chance encounter leads to more, and sometimes fighting for it is the best decision. Follow these two teens and their friends and family through the trials of life. Their story continues in Here’s to Us where Arthur and Ben have gone through a lot of changes in the past two or so years. The 16 year olds are now 19 and have new perspectives on life, work, relationships, and where they want their lives to go. Follow them as they navigate adulthood and the struggles that come with being in New York together again.

Both authors have several other books. Becky Albertali is a previous psychologist famously known for her 2015 debut novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which was adapted into the 2018 film Love, Simon and inspired the spin-off television series Love, Victor. Adam Silvera is known for his bestselling novels They Both Die at the End, More Happy Than Not, and History Is All You Left Me.

Monae is a Children’s Instructor and Research Specialist at HCLS East Columbia Branch.