Here’s to Us

In this lovely sequel to What if It’s Us? Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera bring back Ben Alejo and Arthur Seuss, two years into the future.  Arthur is away at college, with a new boyfriend, Mikey, and Ben is still living at home, working under his father at the Duane Reade drugstore, while going to college.  One day, as Ben is with his friends Dylan and Samantha, they are in the park and, coincidentally, come across a wedding – the one for which Ben and Arthur witnessed the flash mob proposal on the day they met.  This prompts Ben to un-block Arthur’s Instagram and discovers that his former love is returning to New York for a summer internship with an off-Broadway director. 

Told in alternating points of view between Ben and Arthur, Albertalli and Silvera take the reader once again through the rekindling of the friendship between the two young men, a friendship challenged by old feelings still unresolved for each other, as well as the unresolved feelings Arthur has for Mikey and Ben has for his friend, Mario. 

The sequel is just as fun and fabulous as the first, and the roller coaster that is the will-they-or-won’t-they of the relationship between the two main characters is wonderful.  The plot paces perfectly and this definitely feels like a new chapter for Ben and Arthur rather than a rehash, which sometimes can happen in a sequel.  Also returning are Arthur’s friends Jessie and Ethan.  It’s a great story and fun to find out what has happened to all these characters in the two-year span between the end of What if It’s Us?  and the beginning of Here’s to Us. 

A definite must read! 

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If This Gets Out

I have a tendency to lean toward liking books about the music industry, so when I heard about If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich, I had to check it out. The book is a cute romance centered around the members of a boy band called Saturday. The four members met at a summer camp, got signed, and launched into boy band stardom.

But at least one member is suffering – Ruben Montez, who has been asking the management company to let him release the information that he is gay for years. They keep pushing him off. But things get very complicated when one drunken night in Europe, his bandmate, Zach Knight, kisses him. And what a kiss! Problem is, Zach has always thought of himself as straight, and is now wondering if his kissing Ruben (and liking it!) makes him bi or what.

In addition to having to manage being superstars under the control of their management company, Zach and Ruben now have a secret they’re keeping from their best friends and bandmates Angel and Jon. As the relationship deepens, the complications rise and their management company still refuses to let them come out to their fans and the world.

I really loved the escalating plot of this story, told in alternating points of view from both Ruben and Zach. All four of the main characters felt very well-developed and real. This was a fun book and I hope Gonzales and Dietrich had as much fun writing it as I did reading it.

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You’ll Be the Death of Me

I love Karen M. McManus. Her newest offering, You’ll Be the Death of Me, is no exception. This book tells the story of three teens who were friends once upon a time, when they skipped out of a field trip together and had a fun day all on their own. Time has separated the three, but on one day, as they are in the school parking lot, each for his/her own reasons not wanting to be there, they decide to skip again and go into Boston together.

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal, each harboring secrets from one another, stumble onto a fourth schoolmate – the one who’s supposed to be giving the Student Council Presidential speech that Ivy feels is rightfully hers – also skipping school. They follow him, and when Ivy wants to go give him a piece of her mind, they discover he’s been murdered. Not long after, they learn that a woman fitting Ivy’s description is a suspect/person of interest, and a couple of podcasters from her school leak the information that she was also not in school.

The story unwinds as the trio tries to figure out whodunnit – because it wasn’t Ivy! – before the people who did do it come after them. As it happens, each of the secrets being kept has a tie to the murder victim.

Another amazing book from this author. The twists and turns keep the reader guessing until the very end. The characters are robust and interesting. A totally worthy read!

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