Future perfect. Past continuous.

S | Gay Nerd | About me | Guess it's kind of a Love, Simon / LGBTQ YA fiction blog for now?

[brendanpatrickphotog]

What If It’s Us? 2018.

[4626songs]

This is so simple. And yet, so powerful.

Captures the essence of my favorite book of 2018.

[4626songs]

I started using Spotify only this past May to listen to curated playlists for Love, Simon characters. I loved them, and eventually got more and more into using Spotify itself. So, here I am. Guess what particular score & soundtrack I’ve been listening to all the time.

And now they removed Troye Sivan’s Strawberries & Cigarettes, my second most listened song of the year from the library, and it’s ridiculous and outrageous. Glad I never fully believed in this whole streaming format and had it backed up as a download, too. But apart from that, the year in music and on Spotify was great for me.

[yourzombiejacques]

is it healthy to be sincerely emotionally attached to a teaser trailer? because, like, do u ever rewatch the first ever love simon trailer with that walk the moon song and end up swinging ur arms around and mouthing every word of the voice over and tearing up because u still remember exactly how u felt when it was released and u watched it every day for a month? no?

[yourzombiejacques]

the fact that twitter is currently celebrating the first birthday of this trailer proves that this post is still relevant

[4626songs]

I saw that first Love, Simon trailer for the first time somewhere in the middle of last December. It was right before I saw CMBYN for the first time. I had no idea what it was. “Oh”, I thought. “Major studio gay romcom,” I thought. “This cannot be as good as CMBYN promises to be,” I thought.

LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT IN FOUR MONTHS THIS MOVIE WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE.

[allarica]

“Te quiero. Estoy enamorado. You don’t even know.” @beckyalbertalli @adamsilvera

Was commissioned by a lovely instagram follower to draw this scene from What if It’s Us. uwu

Commissions are open! Info below. 

Commission Info  | Other Works | Instagram | DA | RedBubble | Ko-Fi

[4626songs]

That final selfie... ❤️💔❤️

[4626songs]

What If It’s Us x Love, Simon

Has anyone noticed that there is a Love, Simon Easter egg in What If It’s Us?

(Spoilers ahead!)

First, events of the book happened just this past summer in 2018. I checked the days of the week from the book against the calendar.

Which means that Hudson’s parents divorced on April 1, 2018.

After that, Ben and Hudson did some stuff together:

This year, The Killers’ concerts in NYC were on May 13 and 16.

Guess how many rom-coms about two teenage boys were out there still playing in theaters at that time? Only one, and you know its name.

Which kind of makes me dislike Hudson even more, because he ruined Love, Simon for Ben!

[4626songs]

Btw, there’s another clear reference to Love, Simon in this passage:

I’d love to see that, too!

[4626songs]

Random college stuff in Simonverse

For me, there’s one extra nerdy reason to love Garrett Laughlin as a character. He’s the only one in his squad who went for Georgia Tech instead of that school in Athens (what happens in Athens, stays in Athens!) I know that Becky personally comes from a Bulldog family. So, no wonder everyone in her books and the movie except Garrett were on the Georgia side of the old college rivalry. And they were mocking Garrett for that in Leah On The Offbeat! Argh.

Anyway, it really warms my heart knowing that Garrett was at Georgia Tech at the same time I was there. And that he’ll surely become a helluva engineer!

[4626songs]

What If It’s Us x Love, Simon

Has anyone noticed that there is a Love, Simon Easter egg in What If It’s Us?

(Spoilers ahead!)

First, events of the book happened just this past summer in 2018. I checked the days of the week from the book against the calendar.

Which means that Hudson’s parents divorced on April 1, 2018.

After that, Ben and Hudson did some stuff together:

This year, The Killers’ concerts in NYC were on May 13 and 16.

Guess how many rom-coms about two teenage boys were out there still playing in theaters at that time? Only one, and you know its name.

Which kind of makes me dislike Hudson even more, because he ruined Love, Simon for Ben!

[bangbangwhoa]

books i’ve read in 2018 » What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

“I believe in love at first sight. Fate, the universe, all of it. But not how you’re thinking. I don’t mean it in the our souls were split and you’re my other half forever and ever sort of way. I just think you’re meant to meet some people. I think the universe nudges them into your path.”

[4626songs]

The longer I think about it, the more I think What If It’s Us is my absolute favorite book of the year. And this is the year I also read Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda!

[vinnie-cha]

my copy of What if it’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera arrived a few days ago, it’s super cute so far 😭💗

[femmfaetale]

okay but listen, knowing that one of arthur’s favourite musicals (besides hamilton) is dear evan hansen just really makes me understand arthur so much more as a character. sure, he “has no chill” and can talk for hours if anyone let him but, he feels alone sometimes. and he needs his music and his shows like dear evan hansen to quite blatantly remind him that he’s not.

[4626songs]

This makes so much sense. Also, it was kind of exactly the same with Simon and Elliott Smith in the book. Waltz #2 is one of the saddest songs ever, and it being the favorite song of Simon who is usually so chirpy and cheerful on a surface provides so much depth to his character. I guess it’s just a Becky thing. Which, I think, makes me understand her much more as a person and a writer. And relate even more to her books than before.

[femmfaetale]

i like disasters - a “what if it’s us” spotify playlist

[4626songs]

It had to be done. And now it is done! It’s a pretty good representation of music references from the book.

[4626songs]

I should admit that there’s one thing I hate in What If It’s Us.

Unconditionally supportive parents.

Let’s be real. The level of support Arthur and Ben get from their respective parents is a bit too much to be realistic. I mean, it would have already been okay if they were just accepting of their sons’ sexualities, given that one family lives in Georgia and the other are practicing Catholics. But parents who casually discuss love lives of their 16-year-old gay sons with them? Parents who actively encourage them to seek out a random boy in NYC and give advise on using Craigslist? Parents who casually cancel their weekend plans to have dinner with the other boy’s family, even though it’s very unlikely that the boys’ relationship will last beyond their departure from NYC? Parents who do this for their sons in spite of obvious socio-economic and racial and status differences between two families, and in the process show genuine interest and respect for each other and for the boys’ feelings?

Oh crap. Who am I kidding. Of course I’m not hating it. I love Seuss and Alejo families with all my heart.

I’m just SO FUCKING JEALOUS. 

[4626songs]

I love your post on the ending of What If It's Us. I think the epilogue makes clear they love each other and I personally see their story as a red string of fate type story. They will never separate from each other no matter what path their individual stories take they will always be connected and drawn back to each other in the end.

Thank you, Anon! That’s an interesting literary perspective in terms of plot devices. Although I’m not sure Becky and Adam explicitly embraced it in their writing. On the contrary, they seem to be at the very least skeptical about fate and universe and other such stuff. As Ben says, “the Universe just got the ball rolling. WE made us happen.“

[4626songs]

We need to talk about That Ending

I mean What If It’s Us ending.

I see a lot of people hating the epilogue, saying that they were heartbroken by it.

On a first read, I was too.

But then I read it the second time, paying attention to details - and it made me extremely happy for our boys instead. So, yeah. I do think it is a wonderful happy ending for the book - just an unconventional one.

Why do I think so? (Spoilers ahead)

First, Arthur and Ben are still there for each other. They are “still standing”, as Ben unequivocally states. Second, they clearly still love each other and they found their own way to navigate successfully all the pressures that usually break high school sweethearts (just look at Ethan and Jessie in comparison).

Third, they are both still growing as persons. And they both clearly want to try another “do-ever” later, most likely when they become their best for each other.  (see the very last Ben’s sentence, and also remember that they are experts at do-overs!)

So, they are clearly in it for a long run, and I see only happiness for them as a couple in the future. This is why I think it is a happy ending for Ben and Arthur. Because it’s not the ending.

[whilereadingandwalking]

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera is a lovely, fun meet-cute comedy romance that will charm your socks off. Fans of Serendipity will enjoy this tale of two lovebird teenagers who stumble into one another outside a post office in New York City and then struggle to find each other.

I think my favorite part of this meet-cute romance—don’t laugh—was the realism. This love story isn’t all funny hijinks, it’s two real teenagers with friends and parents who are familiar, complex, dealing with friend groups that waver and fumble. They have to deal with cultural and socioeconomic differences. They have to deal with exes and learning what’s important to the other person, and they have to deal with relationships not being easy, which isn’t something we see enough in YA romances. I like that this novel battles with the hardest question that any couple has to ask, not just once but many times: “What if it’s us?” and that the authors treat that question not just as a “what if we’re soulmates and the universe brought us together” way, they deal with it in a literal way: if you believe that you and someone else are meant to be, you have to fight for it, and before you fight for it, you always tend to ask that question—but you never technically get a solid answer. I don’t want to say too much more about this incredible novel before it comes out. I’ll settle for this: it’s one of the best YA romances I’ve read in a very, very long time, and it continued to surprise, overjoy, and enchant me through the very last page. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. What If It’s Us comes out October 8 from HarperTeen. 

[4626songs]

I think this review perfectly sums up what I loved the most about What If It’s Us. Of course I loved it for being a gay teenage romance story set up in a place not unfamiliar to me, NYC. But more importantly, I loved it for its realism in depicting the nature and development of real relationships working against the time. (I lived through a similar experience that I describe here and I can attest that a lot of stuff happening with Arthur and Ben is very real). And I also loved the book’s realism in dealing with very serious issues like class and race and lack of socioeconomic opportunity not in a fairytale-Cinderella-like way, as it is common in formulaic romantic comedies, but with tact and grace and all the seriousness, at the same time never allowing it to overshadow the main plot.

[4626songs]

What If It’s Us

Wow.

Okay.

I mean, I’m not. Not okay. In the very best way possible.

I’ve just finished reading what I think the best teen romance book I’ve ever read. Or maybe even the best book out of any that has romance in it. It is What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.

The second to last sentence in the book is “What if we rewrite everything we expect from happy endings?” It is also some kind of a tag for the book promotion. But the thing is, Becky and Adam actually did it. They rewrote everything to be expected from a happy ending, and they nailed it. The sentence perfectly summarizes the book, and it’s like the whole teen romance genre is being rewritten from the start. Or, should I say, from the ending? I know it does not make sense until you read the book. So... Please, go and read it!!

On a very personal note (and hopefully without big spoilers)... I deeply connected with the story, because when we started dating with my now-husband, we both knew it was exactly a month before his planned move to another city, and two months before moving even further away to another country on the other side of the globe. So, just like in Arthur and Ben’s story, there was absolutely no time for chill. Instead, there was that sense of urgency to get as much as we can from our time together. There were intense high-strung emotions I’ve never experienced in my life. And there was that feeling of Impending Doom of his departure. Still, we managed to make our relationship work after that, and we’re married now. This is why I was rooting so much for Arthur and Ben it hurt, because I knew it was possible for them to make it work, too. And... I keep rooting for them :)

[4626songs]

Hi, I've just seen your last post about Love Simon movie. It's so brave of you. And I agree with every word you said about diversity, people and state propaganda. Honestly, I'm from the same country too, and it's so cool to know that there are people like you.

Thanks, Anon! Also, thanks for my first Ask here :) But as for the bravery, not sure what do you mean by it. I just observed some things about the context of showing/promoting Love, Simon / Simon Vs in Russia. I guess it might have been considered brave if I’ve posted it openly on Facebook instead of anonymously here on Tumblr...