Here's To Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera - Sheaf & Ink

The Story

From the Publisher, synopsis for Here’s To Us:

Ben has spent his first year of college working on his fantasy manuscript with his writing partner Mario, who is a great Spanish tutor, and an even better kisser. So why can’t he stop thinking about the fact that Arthur’s back in town two years after they called it quits?

Arthur is in New York for a dream internship on Broadway, with a boyfriend back at home that he couldn’t be happier with. But when he comes upon Ben cuddled up with a mystery boy, he starts to wonder if his feelings for Ben ever truly went away.

Even as the boys try to focus on their futures, they can’t seem to help running into each other in the present. Is the universe forcing them to question if they’re actually meant to be?

Possibly not. After all, things didn’t work the first time around.
Possibly yes. After all, the sparks are still flying.
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and raise a glass.

Here’s to celebrating old friends!
Here’s to embracing new beginnings!
Here’s to believing in second chances!

My Review

Here’s to Us is a different novel than What If It’s Us.

It has a different feel, shape, and magnitude.

In What If It’s Us it’s a frenzy of feelings. It’s like a sun being born where there’s a burst of pure energy: warm, bright, and all-consuming. Here’s to Us is the slow cooling. It’s almost painful to read as the pages blur in a rush to get to the end. To know if Arthur and Ben find each other again.

Your heart strings are pulled in directions you weren’t expecting. Tangled up into tiny knots as your two favorite people drift back and forth on fault lines you want to erase. And that emotional rollercoaster is real because you remember the spark and dazzle of Arthur and Ben’s relationship in book one. It’s sad to see them so far apart while they occupy the same space, though with hints of possibility.

A Few More Thoughts

This wasn’t an easy story.

And perhaps that’s what’s intended.

That sometimes, more often than not, second chances are harder to earn back because of the painful side effects of letting go. There was undoubtedly broken hearts, but also moments of honesty that allowed Ben and Arthur to make a choice for an actual future.

Leaving what if’s behind and plunging into the what could be and finding satisfaction in taking that risk.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

RATING: – Satisfyingly Inked

Photo Collage by Sheaf & Ink of Here’s To Us

Photo Credits:
Florian Wehde on Unsplash
Barry Weatherall on Unsplash
Paulo Silva on Unsplash
Scott Graham on Unsplash
Ian Mackey on Unsplash
Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash
Luigi Pozzoli on Unsplash

Publication Details

Pub Date	ISBN	Page Count	Publisher	Age Group	Source & Format	Review Posted Online
28-Dec-21	978-0063071636	480	Quill Tree Books	YA	Finished Copy	January 14, 2022