Finding our identity is one of life’s hardest missions. Sometimes we want to explore different aspects of ourselves, but society can put up a little bit of resistance. This is especially true when it’s about our sexuality. It upsets me to say that not everyone is accepting of the LGBTQ+ community. Which is why What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera is such a powerful novel in our conservative society. It may lack a certain level of realism with all the fluffy love and lack of bias confrontations, but the novel doesn’t shy away from what it means to love someone.
Not gonna lie, this is a pretty cute novel! It’s easy to read and understand, the characters are thoroughly developed, and each scene is imaginative. What If It’s Us is labelled as a young adult/teen novel, but anyone can read it. Of course, elements like dealing with school and first loves are more relatable when you’re experiencing them in real time, but we’ve all gone through those stages at some point.
We follow Arthur, who recently moved to New York City, to work in his mom’s company. By pure chance, he bumps into Ben, who is a true New Yorker and is in the process of mailing his ex-boyfriend’s stuff. Unfortunately, neither of them stay around long enough to exchange numbers. But that doesn’t stop Arthur from hunting down the (future) love of his life. Out of pure luck (and half a book later), they miraculously manage to meet again. As they fight to find each other and construct a beautiful relationship together, fate has more in store for them.
I will admit that this entire story belongs in a fairytale. To find one guy you don’t know the name of in New York City is impossible. There are also moments when unnecessary drama gets in the way of their relationship that isn’t particularly necessary for the plot. My biggest issue with LGBTQ+ books is the reliance on misunderstandings. At one point, Ben’s talking with his ex-boyfriend (who is still a friend to some degree) and Arthur misinterprets that as a betrayal. Jumping to the wrong conclusion with no basis whatsoever, Arthur tries to break it off with Ben before hearing the whole story. Now I know this can happen, but the way that’s done, in this case, seems inauthentic.
What puts this novel in the spotlight is how detailed the relationship between Ben and Arthur is. One piece of advice: don’t read the epilogue! It kinda defeats all the relationship buildup and development throughout the entire novel. Truthfully I was a little disappointed with that extra chapter, but the rest of the novel deserves a special shoutout.
Right now is the ideal time to celebrate this novel! It’s honestly inspiring to see more and more LGBTQ+ novels hit our bookstores. And this celebration isn’t limited to just books. DAVIDsTEA also deserves a special shoutout for their recent fruit infusion called Rainbow Lemonade! No word of a lie, all the ingredients combined look like someone took a piece out of the rainbow and put it in this tea. But what makes this tea really stand out is its flavour. Within the impressive ingredient list, pineapple, orange peel/pieces, and cornflower petals stand out the most. You initially taste more of the pineapple and orange until it fades into the cornflower petals during the after taste. The highly citric flavour is incredibly tart and gives you a wakeup call. I highly recommend making this tea iced because the tartness decreases while still giving you an amazing taste.
The smell is nothing to bypass (in a good way)! The moment you open the tin, you are hit with an overwhelming fruit carnival. That probably makes no sense, but I seriously can’t state it any other way. The hibiscus, lemon peel, pineapple, and blackberry leaves immerse you in a flavourful fantasy! However, the smell is dulled down quite a bit when you make it as a tea. Meaning that you can focus more on the taste.
So before heading down to your local Pride parade, don’t forget to stop by DAVIDsTEA and pick up an iced Rainbow Lemonade!
Tea Literature 