A Sign From the Universe? - Here’s to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Written by Nick Lopez

Here’s to Us is the sequel to What if It’s Us written by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera as their second collaboration novel. This book is about two boys, Ben Alejo, and Arthur Seuss, reconnecting after two years of being broken up. But this time, it’s a little different. Ben Alejo, is done with his freshman year of college and takes some Spanish lessons with this boy, Mario. They’re a little more than friends but haven’t put a label on it yet. 

And then Arthur Seuss now has a boyfriend named Mikey, that's skeptical about him going to New York but doesn’t stop him. This is because Arthur is in New York again to jump start his career in theater. Not to reunite with Ben. But what if the universe has other plans?

Honestly, reading this book has certainly been an experience. I don’t know if I’ve ever been this confused while reading a book more than I have with this one. Reading the blurb on the inside flap of Here’s to Us made me a little worried about how this book would turn out. I was caught off guard when it said Arthur and Ben are no longer together and have moved on. Although, in my opinion, I don’t believe that they’ve moved on completely even after 2 years.

Throughout the book we get some internal monologue by both Arthur and Ben and I found some lines interesting in one of Arthur's chapters. “Are you or are you not in love with Mikey?: Probably? Possibly? Signs point to maybe?” (Ch. 22, pg. 264). At this point in the book Arthur is still with Mikey. We don’t know the exact amount of time Arthur and Mikey have been together but we do know it’s long-term. 

Arthur is contemplating his love for Mikey most of the book. He loves him, yes, but they haven’t gotten to that point of saying “I love you” to each other. And when they do Arthur has trouble saying the words back. The two have been together for a significantly long amount of time and Arthur has been broken up with Ben for 2 years. I understand everyone is different, but this shouldn't be a mind-consuming problem

Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera posing with an image of Here's to Us displayed on the screen.

The same could be said about Ben. Despite the fact that Ben and Mario are not official yet, I feel like Ben also has a problem with staying loyal to him. In chapter 15 page 189, Ben says, “I’m certain about my feelings, though, and when it comes to Arthur, they’re completely platonic. Obviously.” With this quote, I find it hard to believe that Ben's feelings for Arthur are strictly platonic.

Ben has the same thoughts Arthur has about him. And the thing that pains me the most is that Mikey and Mario don’t know about this. They both know about each other and their boyfriends exes but they’re not aware of the feelings Ben and Arthur have for one another. When I was reading this book I couldn’t stop thinking about how it could’ve all been portrayed better.

What if it's Us and Here's to Us side by side

I have very mixed feelings about this book but one thing that I do love about it is the side couple, Dylan and Samantha. Dylan is Ben's best friend whom we are introduced to in the first book and Samantha is someone who was a part of Arthur's life back home. Dylan and Samantha appear a lot throughout Here’s to Us and they mean a lot to me. Something surprising even happens with them towards the end. It definitely made the book worth reading. 

With everything I’ve said about this book, I rate it a 3 out of 5. There’s so much in this book that upsets me with Arthur and Ben not knowing their feelings for their boyfriends, each other, and how they come about confessing. Arthur's love confession specifically makes me mad because Ben is not yet broken up with Mario. But like I said, there are some aspects of this book, such as  Dylan and Samantha, that make it worth the read. Nonetheless, I still very much prefer the first book. Everything about What if It’s Us has a stronger impact and feels more at home.