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Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML: What If It's Us meets They Both Die at the End in this postapocalyptic, queer YA adventure romance from debut author Erik J. Brown. Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera, Alex London, and Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. When Andrew stumbles upon Jamie's house, he's injured, starved, and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world's population, including everyone both boys have ever loved. And if this new world has taught them anything, it's to be scared of what other desperate people will do . . . so why does it seem so easy for them to trust each other? After danger breaches their shelter, they flee south in search of civilization. But something isn't adding up about Andrew's story, and it could cost them everything. And Jamie has a secret, too. He's starting to feel something more than friendship for Andrew, adding another layer of fear and confusion to an already tumultuous journey. The road ahead of them is long, and to survive, they'll have to shed their secrets, face the consequences of their actions, and find the courage to fight for the future they desire, together. Only one thing feels certain: all that's left in their world is the undeniable pull they have toward each other..… (more)
User reviews
CA: global pandemic, homophobic language, violent homophobia
This post-apocalyptic YA novel features two queer teens as its heroes, it has a happy-for-now ending, and love pretty much wins. I don't think I can
hard to believe this is a debut novel but not surprising that the author has already won some acclaim; Erik Brown's pacing is screenplay-perfect. I never wanted to stop reading this book and finished it in a day. More, please!
This might be the only YA book about a post-pandemic, post-apocalyptic world that I’ve personally ever read. It doesn’t shy away from some general post-apocalyptic tropes, and it does get brutal at times. But it’s still a YA book, so a lot of the heavier things are tamped down and hinted at more than explicitly spelled out.
A lot of this was written before Covid-19 hit, and the author addresses it in the afterword, stating that he added a couple of references to the current virus in the post edits, but the super virus that wipes out humanity in this story is a different, much more lethal one.
There’s nothing truly new or revelatory about this story, in comparison to other dystopian books. It’s about human nature, and it’s about how two teenagers could possibly survive in such an extreme situation. One of the boys is gay, the other possibly bisexual, and this is something they have to consider when encountering different groups of people. Because homophobia doesn’t end just because the world does.
One of the people the boys encounter along the way is a girl they eventually befriend. She reads like a person on the autism spectrum, though that’s not explicitly stated anywhere. It is interesting to consider, though, how someone who faces the world a little differently than the majority of people do would survive in a situation like this.
The main reason why I’m rating this book so highly is the characters. They aren’t teenaged GI Joes who can take on anything; they are just scared kids doing their best and feeling all the grief and anxiety you would imagine while battling unimaginable trauma.
One of the few YA books that I haven’t felt too old to read, in recent years.