Here’s To Us

Two years after his first New York summer and his breakup with Ben, Arthur’s life is everything he could have wished for. His college classes are going really well, and his new boyfriend, Mikey, is amazing. He has finally moved on from that New York summer and couldn’t be happier with where he is right now. 

Ben, too, has moved on, although his life isn’t quite as dreamy as Arthur’s. He spent his first year of college finishing his novel manuscript he’s hoping to get published while working part-time at his dad’s store. He is casually dating a boy from his creative writing class, Mario, who is cute and a great Spanish tutor but not quite ready for the “boyfriend” commitment. Ben is content to be where he is, and yet he has this nagging feeling that there is more out there. 

When Arthur scores a dream internship at a Broadway theater, he is back in New York for the summer. Although he lost contact with Ben over those few years, they begin writing to each other, and soon both of them are excited to reunite as friends. They begin hanging out again in their New York friend group and even go on double dates when Mikey visits Arthur for a few days. But as they become closer, each of them realizes that they’re not quite over each other; it’s harder for them to see each other with other people, even though they’ve both moved on. Will they find their way back to each other again? Or has something broken forever between them, leaving each wishing for the other’s familiarity but unable to reconcile their feelings? 

This sequel to What If It’s Us is a delight from start to finish. It features all of the characters that readers know and love from the original book, plus a few new characters that readers will love meeting. This story moves at a consistent pace, keeping readers engaged while also allowing for slower moments that develop the characters and their relationships. The point of view alternates between Ben’s and Arthur’s, letting both voices and stories shine.  

A central theme in Here’s To Us is the importance of compromise in a relationship – both parties must put in an equal amount of effort for the relationship to be happy and healthy. Arthur and Ben learn this through trial and error, the way that all humans do. They don’t always make the best decisions and they hurt people they care about along the way, but they learn from their mistakes and do their best to make amends. Ben’s and Arthur’s growth makes them easy to sympathize with and subsequently learn from, even while being frustrated with decisions that we, as readers, can tell are not the best. 

Unlike, young adult stories, Here’s To Us is considered new adult fiction because the characters are in the 18–29 age bracket and deal with more mature topics. Here’s To Us tackles many questions that many teens and young adults have to navigate, especially when it comes to relationships. How do you know that you’re truly in love with someone? What is the best way to navigate complicated feelings in a relationship? How do your decisions affect your partner, and how do you act in a way that takes both parties’ feelings and best interests into account?   

Overall, Here’s to Us is a cute, funny, and satisfying sequel to What If It’s Us. At its core, it is a story about second chances and learning how to recover the people you may have lost touch with. Despite its drama, it has a happy ending, reminding readers that the universe always has a plan. 

Sexual Content  

• Ben remembers a time when his father “was doing laundry and found a condom sleeve in my jeans pocket. It led to this big conversation where he asked if I was sexually active or not. He was shocked when I told him that I’d had sex with Hudson, Arthur, and Mario.” 
• Arthur texts Jessie that he’s having trouble getting a fitted sheet on his mattress. Jessie texts back: “It’s probably turned the wrong way, check and see if it has one of those top or bottom labels.” Arthur replies: “My bedsheet has its own grindr profile now??” 
• When Ben wonders what Arthur was doing all day before finally texting him, Ben thinks, “Maybe [Arthur and Mikey] were chilling. Let’s call it what it is– maybe they were having sex.” 
• Arthur describes Ben as someone who “once turned down a blow job in favor of beating Dylan’s high score on Candy Crush. A blow job from Hudson, for the record. Ben’s never turned down a blow job from me.” 
• When coming across a very overpriced shirt at a designer store, Ben asks, “Why is this better than, like, Marshalls? Is it threaded with diamonds? Does wearing it give you an orgasm?” 
• Ben and Arthur have sex. Ben describes, “I fall back into bed first, kicking off my sneakers and unbuttoning Arthur’s shirt while he’s kissing me. We’re finding our way back to each other with every touch, both of us more experienced than last time, and without meaning to, we’re bringing those histories on top of the sheets. Even though I’m so damn ready to be naked with him again, I take my time undressing him.” 
• Ben and Arthur kiss in a public place but away from a crowd. “[Ben] kisses me, his hands running down the sleeves of my jacket, leaving fields of goosebumps in their wake, even through layers of fabric. My arms hook beneath his, hugging him closer, holding his lips against mine, because air is good, but Ben’s breath is better. His hands change course, trailing back up to my shoulders, to the back of my neck, and I can’t stop thinking about how many stories these hands have told on tiny square keys. His fingertips find the skin just above my collar and just beneath it, tracing around the tag of my shirt – didn’t even know that was a move, but it definitely is. The way his touch lights me up, leans me forward. I think he’s italicizing me.” 

Violence  

• None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• Arthur drinks a spoonful of chocolate liqueur. This is the first time he’s tried alcohol. “I swirl it around in my mouth for a moment, and at first I think it tastes like chocolate, but worse. But the more I sit with it, the more I like it, and by the time I finish the spoonful, I’m sold.” 

Language  

• “Fuck” and “shit” are used often as exclamations. 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None