OCTOBER 2018 - AudioFile
Collaboration works in the writing and narration of the alternating viewpoints of this story. Noah Galvin portrays Arthur, a bright Jewish teen who has recently come out but has never had a relationship. For him, a chance and momentary encounter with Ben at the post office seems fated—as if the universe has thrown them together—but neither of them knows the identity of the other. Galvin depicts Arthur’s loneliness and desolation when he can’t find the cute guy from the post office. Froy Gutierrez expresses the vulnerability of Ben, who has recently suffered a boyfriend breakup but also feels an instant attraction to Arthur. Ben and Arthur’s friends support them in solving the identity mystery and in their burgeoning relationship. The narrators capture the heroes’ accents and ethnicities as well as the story’s drama, lively dialogue, pop-culture references, and distinctive secondary characters. S.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 08/06/2018
Authors Albertalli (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and Silvera (They Both Die at the End) team up for a charming, sweet-natured love story between two very different boys. Arthur (written by Albertalli) is in New York for the summer while his lawyer mother works a big case. His family’s affluent and Jewish, and he’s a Broadway geek and a virgin with good grades. Native New Yorker Ben (Silvera) is Puerto Rican. His family’s on a tight budget, he’s just out of a relationship, and he’s stuck in summer school. Arthur believes in love at first sight; Ben’s not even sure he believes in love. After they bump into each other at a post office, then are separated by a flash mob, Arthur searches the New York haystack to find one adorable high school junior. But the course of meet-cute never did run smooth: complications include friends, Ben’s ex, cultural differences, and the difficult and confusing nature of love. The authors—one known for happy endings, the other for breaking hearts—split the difference believably, and it’s impossible not to root for Arthur and Ben and their many do-overs. Ages 14–up. Agent: Brooks Sherman, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
★“Fan-favorites Albertalli (Leah on the Offbeat,2018, etc.) and Silvera (They Both Die at the End, 2017, etc.) join forces in this tale of a New York City summer romance. This joyful romance is both sweet and substantial.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★”A charming, sweet-natured love story between two very different boys.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
★“Albertalli and Silvera balance cynicism and starry-eyed optimism to paint an honest, compelling picture of adolescent romance. Part feel-good, part star-crossed, this seamless blend of the authors’ styles will appeal to fans old and new alike.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Two of queer YA fiction’s best writers team up for an infectiously sweet story of young love set against New York’s bustling backdrop. Without a doubt, this is the gay rom-com you’ve been waiting for.” — Entertainment Weekly, “Must List”
“A love story that makes romance cool again. This is how a good romantic comedy should always feel.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
“A happy and often laugh-out-loud-funny rom-com.” — The Horn Book
A Teen Indie Next List Pick — Indiebound
A Best YA Book of the Year — Paste Magazine
A Best Teen Book of the Year — New York Public Library
A Best YA Book of the Year — Bustle
A Best Teen Book of the Year — Chicago Public Library
Indiebound
A Teen Indie Next List Pick
Entertainment Weekly
Two of queer YA fiction’s best writers team up for an infectiously sweet story of young love set against New York’s bustling backdrop. Without a doubt, this is the gay rom-com you’ve been waiting for.
Los Angeles Review of Books
A love story that makes romance cool again. This is how a good romantic comedy should always feel.
Bustle
A Best YA Book of the Year
Paste Magazine
A Best YA Book of the Year
New York Public Library
A Best Teen Book of the Year
The Horn Book
A happy and often laugh-out-loud-funny rom-com.
Chicago Public Library
A Best Teen Book of the Year
New York Public Library
A Best Teen Book of the Year
Chicago-Public Library
A Best Teen Book of the Year
Booklist
Albertalli and Silvera are both superstars in their own right—put them together, and there’s no way this stays on shelves. A comforting exploration of self-discovery and self-creation.
School Library Journal
★ 09/01/2018
Gr 8 Up–This team effort is a meet cute between two high school boys in New York City. Broadway-obsessed Southerner Arthur (in the city for a summer internship) wants his magical New York moment. So he follows a cute boy into a post office in the hopes of making it happen. But fate—in the form of a flash mob proposal—separates them before Arthur gets the chance to learn Ben's name. Each boy tries to find the other using small clues from their first meeting until, eventually, they're reconnected. When their first date—Arthur's first date ever, Ben's first since breaking up with his ex—doesn't quite go as planned, they have a do-over date. And another. And another. But, as Arthur's return to Georgia at summer's end draws closer, is their flash relationship fate? Alternating between Ben and Arthur, the first-person chapters give readers both sides of the story. The supporting cast has diverse and endearing characters—including one friend who identifies as a biromantic ace. Ben is Puerto Rican, while Arthur is Jewish and has ADHD. The quippy dialogue is chock full of pop culture and musical theater references (especially to "Harry Potter" and Hamilton). Albertalli and Silvera balance cynicism and starry-eyed optimism to paint an honest, compelling picture of adolescent romance. VERDICT A must-purchase. Part feel-good, part star-crossed, this seamless blend of the authors' styles will appeal to fans old and new alike.—Alec Chunn, Eugene Public Library, OR
OCTOBER 2018 - AudioFile
Collaboration works in the writing and narration of the alternating viewpoints of this story. Noah Galvin portrays Arthur, a bright Jewish teen who has recently come out but has never had a relationship. For him, a chance and momentary encounter with Ben at the post office seems fated—as if the universe has thrown them together—but neither of them knows the identity of the other. Galvin depicts Arthur’s loneliness and desolation when he can’t find the cute guy from the post office. Froy Gutierrez expresses the vulnerability of Ben, who has recently suffered a boyfriend breakup but also feels an instant attraction to Arthur. Ben and Arthur’s friends support them in solving the identity mystery and in their burgeoning relationship. The narrators capture the heroes’ accents and ethnicities as well as the story’s drama, lively dialogue, pop-culture references, and distinctive secondary characters. S.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2018-06-24
Fan-favorites Albertalli (Leah on the Offbeat, 2018, etc.) and Silvera (They Both Die at the End, 2017, etc.) join forces in this tale of a New York City summer romance.When Ben and Arthur cross paths at a post office but fail to exchange contact information, they both regret the missed connection. Through mutual efforts and a healthy dose of coincidence, the boys find each other again. A rocky series of do-over first dates proves that they are different in many ways—Arthur is a white, Jewish, show tune-loving, Southern boy with ADHD who has never been kissed and dreams of attending Yale. Ben, on the other hand, is a Puerto Rican, Catholic, native New Yorker recovering from a recent breakup who is self-conscious about attending summer school and writes a novel in his spare time. However, the boys have one important thing in common—they're both willing to believe in the universe's bringing them together. Their alternating narration, chock-full of witty banter and pop-culture references, also delves into themes of identity and the complexities of relationships, both romantic and platonic. In particular, Arthur's jealousy over Ben's ex-boyfriend raises discussions of whether past relationships should be regretted or embraced. Central to the narrative are Arthur's and Ben's friends, who are diverse and richly drawn, and the boys' parents, who encourage their relationship.This joyful romance is both sweet and substantial. (Fiction. 14-18)
