Arthur is in New York to intern with his mother for the summer from Georgia. Since he told his friends he’s gay Jessie has been treating him like her GBF and Ethan is a bro on the group chat but ignores him on text. His parents are fighting a lot because his mum is a bit uptight and getting stressed about her dad not looking hard enough for a job. So he’s thrilled when he meets a cute guy in the post office, but Ben has problems of his own. His ex-boyfriend Hudson cheated on him so he broke up with him, breaking up their friendship group. His best friend Dylan sided with him of course, but Dylan’s ex Harriet sided with Hudson because they’re best friends too. At least his parents are super-supportive of the secret story he’s been writing.
Personally it wasn’t a huge issue for me but hearing others talk about it and looking back on it, I should warn you the motif of Ben’s lips as looking like Emma Watson’s is a little strange! I thought Arthur’s character was generally a lot more likeable than Ben’s due to his positivity and since Ben seemed pretty over-sensitive, although Arthur certainly had his frustrating moments too. The fact that their romance took a lot of trying was relatable but the pair of them really didn’t seem very complimentary and I did think they were holding onto their meet-cute since they seemed to decide then that they were endgame. Not gonna include this in my quote bank but possibly my favourite line in the book: “The only person who should be upset on Harry Potter’s birthday is Lord Voldemort.” Most of the time the nerdiness was endearing but the descriptors could be rather weird. There is so many references to everything I love: Harry Potter (most of all); Dear Evan Hansen; Jonathan Groff! It’s a geek’s paradise. When I realised the title was from Dear Evan Hansen I freakedddd!
Rating: C+
SPOILER ALERT
Ben leaves the post office without telling Arthur his name, leading him to believe it is Hudson when he finds a sheet of paper. He wants to post a missed connection on Craigslist but his mum won’t let him; which is probably good parenting to be fair. Arthur finds Hudson in Panera and discovers he’s actually the boyfriend so he starts internet stalking him to find the boy he’s really into. He tells Jessie about this and she finds Hudson’s profile. Of course, he’s deleted his ex’s pictures but through this he gets onto Harriet’s account, finds and cuts out a picture of Ben and pins it up in the coffee shop matching the t-shirt Ben is wearing in the photo.
Dylan has fallen in love at first sight with a barista called Samantha so his interactions with the squad at summer school are a bit less awkward but Hudson is pretty abrasive to Ben helping him out with an answer. They go to meet Samantha, who easily becomes friends with Ben and finds a Yale mixer for him where she thinks Arthur might be, but when Dylan accidently calls her his future wife she spooks towards him!
When Ben sees his photo pinned up he replies to the email given asking if it’s real, but Arthur is unsure as he’s received lots of replies already. Once Ben has proven it’s him they agree to go on a date but Ben takes them to an arcade he has memories with Hudson at and it’s pretty awkward so they decide to have a do-over date- don’t worry Art, I didn’t know that existed either. Arthur gets to plan the second date and chooses a fancy restaurant but we have the knowledge Ben is scared of this kind of date, so we know this’ll fail too- although I thought ‘Ansel Elgort’ buying him a drink was kind of a win! On the third first date Ben is about to go in for a kiss when he realises Arthur is hung up on the fact that he is still hung up on Hudson. Arthur thinks he’s blown it but then he gets asked on a double date with Samantha and Dylan!
Maybe Ben shouldn’t have asked him to karaoke, since he’s clearly not a fan, but the friends get on well and the night ends in an incredible first kiss! They swap Ben’s story and Arthur’s love for Hamilton then go on a second date. Swapping churros go well but Arthur accidentally upsets Ben by being insensitive about his nationality and on the way home a dad calms them out for their gay PDA- if you can even call simply leaning on each other PDA! They head back to Arthur’s and get along fairly well with his parents although he’s sensitive about them arguing. Ben tries to tell him about Hudson but Arthur keeps interrupting him with the wrong idea so he gives up. His parents invite their family around and Arthur gets a little sensitive about broadway tickets. Realising how much it means to him, Ben enters the Hamilton lottery and amazingly wins but is late to pick up the jackets so they’re given away, angering Arthur. Instead they had a sweet broadway sing along outside the theatre!
Arthur wants to do *It* but when they start moving towards that he freaks out, which only makes Ben like him more saying ‘I love you, I’m so in love with you’ in Spanish. Woah!
Ben and Hudson have just decided to hang out when Arthur comes to meet him after school and finds out he hasn’t moved on since he still has the box, so he breaks up with Ben. Stressed out, he snaps at his friends when they finally tell him they’re dating. He then stays home sick and alone while his parents are away for the birthday he shares with Obama. Ben also snaps at his friends and makes the possibly self destructive decision to go to Hudson, who tries to kiss him. Saved by the text (although the friend group reunites later), he discovers Dylan has been sent to hospital and rushes to him, texting Arthur and the two reconcile at the hospital, since Dylan is okay.
Their hasty plans are interrupted, by his parents’ present of Ethan and Jessie. They hold a birthday party for him with their friends combined and ‘spend the night’ together without a do-over needed. Arthur helps him revise for his exam but Ben decides they need to break up, after a goodbye scavenger hunt taking them back to their start.
Fifteen months later Arthur has been experimenting at college whilst Ben hasn’t kissed anyone but he has published his book on Wattpad and they’re both still considering the possibility that one day they might get back together.
I wish they had been brought back together by their own decision rather than a traumatic event but the ending was very realistic but hopeful so I did like it, I just didn’t love it like I hoped I would.
Quote Bank
“I don’t get why that’s so bad. Why shouldn’t I want to be with someone who makes me feel worthy? Someone who wants to be with me for the long run?”
“But maybe this isn’t how life works. Maybe it’s all about people coming into your life for a little while and you take what they give you and use it on your next friendship or relationship. And if you’re lucky, maybe some people pop back in after you thought they were gone for good.”
“I barely know him. I guess that is every relationship. You start with nothing and maybe end with everything.”
“I don’t know if we’re in a love story or a story about love.”
“I pictured New York like West Side Story plus In the Heights plus Avenue Q—but really, it’s just construction and traffic and iPhones and humidity.”
“Arthur, the universe just got the ball rolling… We made us happen.”
“But what if the story should quit while it’s ahead?” “How do you know unless you give the story another chance?”
Into New Realms 