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What If It's Us
- Narrated by: Noah Galvin, Froy Gutierrez
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Categories: LGBTQ+, Romance
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Publisher's Summary
A New York Times, USA Today, and Indie best seller!
Critically acclaimed and best-selling authors Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera combine their talents in this smart, funny, heartfelt collaboration about two very different boys who can’t decide if the universe is pushing them together - or pulling them apart.
Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.
Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.
But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?
Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.
Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.
But what if they can’t nail a first date even after three do-overs?
What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?
What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?
But what if it is?
What if it’s us?
Plus don't miss Yes No Maybe So, Becky Albertalli's and Aisha Saeed's heartwarming and hilarious new novel, or Infinity Son, the first installment in Adam Silvera’s epic new fantasy series, both coming in 2020!
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What listeners say about What If It's Us
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- bj kilganan
- 2019-04-06
Not even done
I am LOVING this book, don't want it to end. The narrator's are awesome and keep drawing me in
3 people found this helpful
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- Kasey
- 2020-01-24
ADORABLE
Okay this story is so cute and gushy. Noah and Froys performances are stellar. I loved listening to them.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-12-18
Wow
Ive never felt so sad and lonely after listening to a book. Its amazing, heartfelt, and honestly its sparked my belief in love back up. Truly amazing. Thank you.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amanda Muschett
- 2019-05-31
perfect!
noah and froy were the perfect narrators for their characters! they really added so much to an already adorable story. i'm so happy with the audiobook. such a cute read!!!
1 person found this helpful
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- Brad Wright
- 2021-01-26
Great entertainment
The character narration was excelent! The story was believable and full of details making it a great listen.
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- Pato_J
- 2020-09-08
good story
great story about all the feelings during teen years, Arthur's character is unique and hilarious. Ben, however, the performance wasn't as special, and it was hard to relate, the tone was slow and monotone.
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- Kelvin
- 2020-09-07
Heart warming and real
My first audible download and has spurred me to get more. This book gave a clear depiction of a non straight relationship that wasn't just about not being straight. It dealt with issues that a lot of teenagers go through when graduating.
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-05-23
Amazing....
You made me laugh, you made me cry, you made me think. Next time i'm in New York, i'll see them live like if they were There.
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- Larissa
- 2020-04-13
Love it
The narrators are really good at impersonating the characters and the story is lovely. Recommend!!
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-10-18
A definite must read!
I could not help but be drawn more and more into this novel. The romance, the awe, the humour, the storyline, all of it was so well written. Read it multiple times, I even bought the book. Not to mention the narrators were perfect, expertly took the emotions to the next level. Well done!
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- Jasmine Torres
- 2018-10-16
I expected more
The story was super predictable, but I didn't mind because I was looking for a fluffy story anyway. Noah Galvin was incredible. He did such an amazing job narrating for Arthur and Becky Albertalli's writing was amazing. I really enjoyed Arthur's chapters, they were they only reason I kept reading. However, the same can't be said for Ben's. I thought Adam Silvera's writing was very cringy. Like actually made me cringe. It was like he was a middle aged guy trying to fit in with teens and use every single slang word he could. I also didn't enjoy Froy's narration. He didn't put as much effort or emotion into the reading as Noah did. I found myself rolling my eyes when Arthur's chapter would end because then I had to listen to Ben's. Overall I just really wish the story I didn't like Ben's chapters but LOVED Arthur's.
26 people found this helpful
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- Alvaro
- 2019-07-29
I'm Crying So Hard!
"What If Its Us" is one of two books that have had made me cry into my pillow. Imagine an 18-year-old boy listening to this book while trying to muffling his tears with the pillow. That was me. It's a great story full of love and confusion as to be expected from teenage boys living in New York City. I will totally be re-listening to it, that's how good I think it is. The stories lets us in into intimate moments of first love and I don't know why but I can't help feel as if I'm peering in from above, like if I was interrupting on a love story that's not mine or anyones for that matter. But I can't help but feel jealousy and happens all at the same time. I 100% recommend it if you enjoy teen love stores or just love stories in general. I promise you that it is worth your time, read it! P.S. Sorry for grammar and spelling I'm still crying.
15 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2018-11-24
What if you didn’t read this?
Well first if you didn’t read this then you’d miss out on a fun loving easygoing story!! I was entertained through and through and found myself on the edge of my seat the whole book waiting and hoping for the universe to come through.
12 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2019-06-05
It's... okay
I'm a complete sucker for fated romance tales, so this work fits right in line with titles that fit in that label. Overall this was an enjoyable experience and don't let this review deter you from experiencing this wonderful work. 1) I find Becky Albertalli to be an engaging writer and she has written some great pieces of work. But this "collaboration" seems as if it was rushed, there are many references to pop culture that are also in Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Sam Elliott, Harry Potter, etc. I honestly didn't know if I was listening to Simon again, or an original piece of work. My feedback for Albertalli is to allow her characters to exist with their own identities and not carry over traits from her other works. 2) I found Dylan to be a more interesting character than Ben, Adam Silvera seems to give the side characters more personality than his main characters. For the audiobook, this was hard to get into at first. I can tell that Froy Gutierrez is new to the realm of narrating audiobooks. His performance starts off being dry and sounding like drab, but as the story moves on, he becomes more comfortable with what he is doing. Noah Galvan is great, but I honestly don't think Arthur was a great character for him to narrate. I applaud Albertalli and Silvera for bringing representation to the forefront of literature, however, I think both authors could have taken more time with putting this piece together. With the Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens influence, I think Albertalli has some unfinished work to do in that universe; I think Albertalli should let her stand alone works being independent of her money maker.
9 people found this helpful
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- Stanley Craver
- 2018-10-13
Amazing
This is an amazing book. one of the best I've read in a long while.
6 people found this helpful
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- creatinine
- 2018-11-04
Dull, meaningless slog
Probably the nicest thing I can say about this story is that the synopsis was more interesting. I mean, it convinced me to purchase this novel, so it must a very good synopsis. This story though? Not so much. I adored History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, so I am familiar with his gorgeous prose, heartbreaking reflections on life and love, and endearing, hilarious character who will have you laughing and crying all at once. None of that is present here, so I have to conclude that this “collaboration” is more one sided than not. This is purely the same old, cookie cutter Boy Meets Boy kinda thing that you’ve read a thousand times already a decade ago, and it was already stale then. This story has nothing to say, no wisdom to impart on the gay experience, unless all of you know of our struggles are from Disney Channel. It merely grazes on the topics of breaking up, moving on, first love, and realizing that the idealized fantasies of romance you have in your head may not hold true in reality...and does nothing further with them. I was hopeful at the beginning, but as the story wound on...and on...and on...repeating the same juvenile cliches and phoned in conflicts over and over...I was ready to call it quits 2 hours before the finish line. I will forget the “Epic Saga of Ben and Arthur” a few hours of now because there’s really not much there. All the characters are as bland as saltless crackers. Their dialogue repeats on an endless loop, basically robots with only the most basic of what counts as personalities. Arthur, our main bottom, really likes Hamilton, and Broadway in general. He has two sets of best friends, all of whom are as boring as he is. He never shuts up. His inner monologue is pretty much a broken record of “Wow!” and “Is this really happening?” and “this is amazing!”. He is just shocked and amazed by everything basically, even when nothing is happening. Speaking of nothing, there’s Ben. He’s the tall cool one. He likes the Sims, for some reason. He’s Puertan Rican, but dont mention his light skin tone, or there will be “drama”. He’s a jerk, basically calling “do-overs” on all their dates because he’s never pleased with anything Arthur does, and he’s a piece of s***. I have no idea why Arthur bothers with him, but Arthur could be charmed by a ball of lint, so no surprise I guess. The cherry on this crap sundae is that Ben is still hung up with his ex Hudson, and will never stop beating us on the head about it from beginning to blissful end. The narration is clearly geared to make us dislike Hudson, but his character is so poorly defined (like everyone else) and so clumsily inserted into the “plot” that i’m honestly not sure what I’m supposed to think about him. At best he’s a McGuffin, who’s only purpose is to show up when drama needs to start (spoiler: thats exactly what happens). Disregarding all the boring nonsense about Arthur’s Georgia friends and Ben’s “squad”, the story beats can be simply outlined in generic arcs. 1. Boys meet and are separated 2. Boys search for each other and are reunited 3. Boys become boyfriends 4. DRAMA! 5. They get back together. Thats...it. There’s nothing else to say about this novel because its all been done, and far, FAR better. There are no surprises, you pretty much see the “conflict” coming a mile away with the ex boyfriend tripe. All the teenage characters are clearly just Avatars of what the writers think teenagers are like. They listen to Hamilton! And they instagram! And they play the Sims (???)! Every other dialogue is a pop culture reference, with no insight into what these references mean to the characters. Its not enough to have them blurt out “I like Sam Smith!” If it doesnt reveal anything about the characters, then its just meaningless babble. Adam Silvera never struggled with characterization before, but here its embarrassing. Towards the end there’s a segment where the characters are just messaging each other emojis, back and forth, this emoji and that emoji, this emoji and that emoji...and I wanted to die. This isnt a novel, this is a fanfic of what a burgeoning gay romance looks like, and its as lame and sanitized as one adapted for the Disney Channel. Sorry Arthur, but nothing here is “amazing”. Briefly on the narrators, they arent the best. I thought Arthur’s nailed his annoying hysteria perfectly though. Ben just sounds like a nasally valley boy. Not sure if that was intentional.
33 people found this helpful
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- Richard Johnson
- 2019-08-04
The Best is Yet to Come.
Just the medicine I needed. To shake me out of my heart break. And post divorce funk. Thank you.
5 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2018-10-19
Loved the book.... until the Epilogue
The story is intense and it the characters were so into each other. I loved the way friends helped each of them find each other and it the way they finally did was really complicated but believable. Their persistence to overcome several awkward dates showed their total devotion to each other. Without giving any spoilers though I will only say the Epilogue didn't make sense to me. It's not that it's bad, it just didn't fit, given the lead up from the rest of the book. Maybe that's just my take on it though, I hate that I have to be honest and down-rate it, so I really hope there is a sequel because it left me wanting more. That said, Please read the book, it's totally worth your time.
9 people found this helpful
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- Aurora Waaktaar
- 2018-11-12
Nothing special
There is nothing that's original in this story; not the characters and certainly not the plot itself. I've previously read books by both Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli that I've truly enjoyed, this book, however, left me disappointed. I have during the last year completely fallen out of love with the YA-genre, so that might be a part of why I didn't like this book. It's too cliche and way too predictable.
12 people found this helpful
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- Tha*Lunat!k
- 2020-01-16
Loved it!
I really enjoyed this audiobook, both for the story and the performance. The two main characters - Arthur and Ben - are given alternating chapters through which to tell the story from each of their perspectives. Thankfully, rather than the chapters being one of the boys telling us about the same events the other boy already told us about in the previous chapter, each chapter instead keeps the plot moving forward despite the shifting perspective. This might sound a little odd but it actually works out great, and gives us a means by which to enjoy a continually evolving plot while still getting to understand how each of them is looking at the situations they go through. Some reviews I read prior to listening to the audiobook had mentioned that Froy's performance was lackluster, at least when compared to Noah's. After finishing the book I'd say I disagree. His presentation is a bit more low-key but I think that's the point given that Ben is so chill and that's kinda who the character is. Both of them did really well in these roles and helped the story come alive. One thing I especially liked is that both narrators are in their 20s and have voices that can definitely pass as the high school-aged characters they were portraying. This really helps with the immersion of the audiobook as compared to those where a guy in his 30s+ and with a decidedly "more adult" voice is doing the voiceover of a teenager. I knew the book had to end at some point but I was still sad when it did. I could've listened to another 9 hours and more.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-12-03
Une place spéciale dans mon cœur
J'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé cette histoire, et ai été totalement accroché du début à la fin. C'est drôle, les personnages sont adorables, ça finit (plutôt) bien. En plus lu par Noah Galvin et Froy Gutierrez, avec pléthore de références à Broadway, et très gay, que demander de plus!
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-09-08
Bon divertissement
J'ai apprécié le livre c'est un bon divertissement et les narrateurs ont réussi à donner vie aux deux personnages. La seule chose que je pourrais reprocher c'est le côté un peu cliché des personnages ou de l'histoire par moment mais c'est un point de vue personnel et ce n'est pas forcément une mauvaise chose à chacun de voir. J'écris ce commentaire pour les français qui hesiterai à ce lancer dans un livre audio en anglais : Lancez vous ! Honnêtement le niveau est largement abordable et les narrateurs parlent clairement et malgré un petit accent c'est fluide et compréhensible. Je le recommande ! Et encore plus à un(e) fan de Harry Potter... Le nombre de référence à ce fandom m'a fait sourire tout du long !
1 person found this helpful
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- Julien BALLET
- 2020-12-29
Meh ?
I've loved books from both authors but their collaboration falls flat. The references are fun and I've definitely found myself smilinga few times while listening but there aren't much surprises story-wise.
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- jonathanjung
- 2020-10-02
My absolute cup of tea
i love how theses narrators voices suit the characters so much, like Noah's voice is just so soothing while Froy sounds like a teenager that have so much that positive energy in his voice. Hope to see theses 2 again in the future.