B+

You, Me, U.S.

Every reader has tropes/subplots that they just don’t like and swear to never read. Mine include the following:

When a protagonist is in a relationship and cheats on that person with the other protagonist. I dislike emotional cheating, but I hate physical cheating even more.
When the protagonists don’t enter into a romantic relationship until the very end, so we don’t see them interacting in a relationship.

This review just goes to show that I should never make declarations, because I’ll be proven wrong instantly. You, Me, U.S. has both of the above, but it worked. I couldn’t imagine the romance in any other way, and I loved it. Set in Manila, You, Me, U.S. is an emotionally-wrenching friends-to-lovers romance between sex worker Jo and salesclerk Liza. They’re best friends and roommates, and watching Jo realize her feelings for Liza (while Liza is beginning a relationship with a man) is the definition of heartbreaking. I don’t normally cry, but I had to continuously stop and wipe my tablet screen because my tears were ruining the touch swipe mechanism.

“Because, the moment he sees you, you won’t be some photo to him anymore. Not some far-off place anymore. Not a girl in a tiny square on his phone. He will live your world, Liza. See what you see. Walk where you walk. And if he’s half the decent man you say he is, sociopath or no, he will not be able to help himself. He will be bound to do right by you. He will give you the softer side of the bed. Even if it means he has to sleep with rusty springs digging at his back or the sun burning a hole on his face every morning. He’ll make you breakfast and get your coffee right—two tablespoons each of sugar and creamer—every single time. He will sing you to sleep when you wake up from a nightmare. If he’s got pipes like mine, that is. I mean, not to brag, but you know how good I am at the singing shit.”

Are you crying right now? I cried again as I was typing the quote up. Bautista’s writing is deliciously raw and emotional; nothing is held back on the page. If you’re looking to wallow in your feelings, then this is the book for you.

There is so much to love: Liza’s determination to marry an American and improve her family’s situation by moving to the United States (the title is a play on Liza’s dream to move to the U.S.); the unflinching portrayal of immigration, money, and class issues; and the positive representation of sex work. Liza doesn’t ever judge Jo for her career. If other characters do show judgment or disgust, the narrative very clearly paints them in the wrong. Look at Jo’s reaction after a potential date is disgusted by her career:

Jo had been on the losing end of this double standard countless times. Nobody bats an eyelash when an upper-class lady saunters into a bar and flirts with a stranger. Leave her alone; she’s modern and progressive and liberated. Jo does the exact same thing, except that she gets paid. Funny thing about tonight, she wasn’t even intent on getting paid. She wanted to have a good time, plain and simple as that. Jo should feel a tinge of regret about losing a conquest. But hypocrites didn’t make for very enjoyable pursuits.

I adore this book. If I have one complaint, it’s that the POV narration between Jo and Liza is uneven. Jo’s narration is approximately 75% and Liza’s is 25% — I would’ve preferred 100:0 or 50:50. We get to know Liza’s mind just enough for me to want more. Still, romance novels are all about the feelings they inspire, and I was sobbing with misery or joy the entire time. I can’t think of a better endorsement than that.

– Aarya

Best friends Jo and Liza are as opposite as night and day. Sex worker Jo swears by the worry-free, one-day-at-a-time dance through life. Salesclerk Liza has big plans for her family’s future, and there is nothing bigger than a one-way trip to the U.S. But an almost-kiss, a sex dare, and news of Liza’s engagement to her American boyfriend unveil feelings Jo and Liza never thought they had. Deciding between staying together and drifting apart puts Liza’s best-laid plans and Jo’s laidback life in jeopardy.

When love clashes with lifelong ambitions and family expectations, someone has to give in.

Question is: who?