What if it's us

By:  Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Meet Arthur, Broadway enthusiast, glass half full optimism, and favourite person of everyone he meets. He’s in New York for the summer interning at his mom’s law firm and couldn’t be happier. 

Meet Ben, closet writer, glass half empty pessimist, and cool guy who seems not to try too hard at anything. He’s recently broken up with his boyfriend, stuck in summer school, and not all that happy with the universe right now.

After a chance encounter at the post office, Ben and Arthur think maybe the universe wants them to be together. The perfection of their meeting was just too good to be true. But then they get separated and they didn’t get any way to contact each other. Using creative social media searches, missed connections, and some good old fashioned amateur detective work, Ben and Arthur manage to be reunited! It’s clearly a sign that they are definitely meant to be.

But. Their first date is a disaster. Their second date is not nearly what they had hoped. And… their third date is not great either. Were they really meant to be or is the universe playing some kind of weird joke on them? But then again, What if it’s us?

As Arthur and Ben navigate young love, they have a relatively realistic attitude towards their relationship and don’t make nearly as many hair-tearing decisions that many Rom Com characters tend to make. Other than a moderately forced drama scene in the middle, Ben and Arthur are rational, lovable heroes of their own story with awesome best friends supporting them through a memorable summer break.

This book is full of pop culture references with a special love for Harry Potter and Hamilton. It’s got  meet cute moments, and fully realized, dynamic characters. I worry that the pop culture references will sour the book with time, but for now it’s a lot of fun and well worth a read!

Other books by Becky Albertalli include Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat.

Other books by Adam Silvera include They Both Die at the End and History is all you Left Me.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Rae Carson

Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza, the younger princess of the kingdom of Orovalle, is wed in an arranged marriage to King Alejandro de Vega, of the neighbouring country of Joya d'Arena.  Joya d'Arena is embroiled in a war with another country, Invierene, and their situation is precarious.  Elisa has been marked by God with a blue gemstone embedded in her navel since birth to do something special, although no one knows what.  Yet.  All this and Elisa is only sixteen years old.

After Elisa arrives at the palace in Joya d'Arena, she's kidnapped by a group of rebels, and dragged across the desert. Once they arrive at the rebel village, Elisa embraces their cause, and uncovers a treacherous plot against King Alejandro.  Can she save Joya d'Arena in time?

One of the things I enjoyed the most about The Girl of Fire and Thorns was that Elisa wasn't a typical YA heroine.  She's not considered particularly beautiful, and she's also quite overweight.  Fat, in Elisa's words.  She uses food as a coping mechanism until she no longer has that option and has to figure out how to deal with any problems that arise using her own wits and intelligence.  Another thing that sets this medieval-themed fantasy novel apart is that the marriage is not something Elisa looks forward to.  She's terrified, the people in Joya d'Arena look at her as an outsider, her husband is not the least bit interested in her, and most people treat her like the child she still is.  Carson presents a rather realistic view of what it must have felt like to end up in a dynastic marriage.

There are lots of Spanish-language influences in the book and the religion of Elisa doesn't feel as if it only resides in an alien planet.  The familiar feel of the language and religion reader help ease you into the novel and quickly establishes the setting.  It think it's important to say here that you shouldn't let the heavy presence of the world's religion drive you away from the book.  It's absolutely  integral to the plot and Elisa as a character.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a great action-packed read with a relateable heroine, who repeatedly falls down, makes mistakes, and picks herself back up, because it's the only thing she can do. 

There are two more books in the series: The Crown of Embers and The Bitter Kingdom.

The Selection

By Kiera Cass

I'm not going to lie: I picked this book up based solely on the gorgeous cover. Turns out, I became so hooked on the story that I'm now a tiny bit obsessed with this series by Kiera Cass.

In a newly formed nation called Illea, citizens are born into a strict caste system that rarely allows for upward mobility. So understandably, when it is announced that a Selection will be held to find a wife for the handsome Prince Maxon, and that teen girls of all castes are eligible to enter, the nation is buzzing with excitement.

When America Singer is Selected, it should be cause for celebration. But leaving behind her family and her secret love with a boy of a lower caste, America is brought into a fierce competition she has no intention of winning. Gradually, as she gets to know Prince Maxon, America begins to question all the plans she has made for her future.

Yes, this will remind you of the reality TV show The Bachelor. Yes, it's fluffy and silly but also ridiculously romantic and I'm a sucker for princes and forbidden love, so there you have it. Perfect summer beach read.

The series continues with The Elite, The One, and The Heir, as well as the companion novel The Selection Stories: The Prince and the Guard.

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