I loved 'Lies We Tell Ourselves' and was hoping this would be just as good but unfortunately, this fell flat for me. Big thumbs up for the safe sex talk but that is about it.

This was a really enjoyable read, however, it did have some problems.

First off, the diversity in this book in terms of sexuality and race was excellent. I loved the main characters struggle to understand what her bisexuality meant for her.

The main thing about this book that I totally adored was the discussion of safe sex. I personally have never read such a frank discussion about safe sex in a book and especially not about female-female safe sex and i was here for it.

The main problem I had with this book was all of what seemed like petty teenage drama that was going on with the characters and all of the lies and just general drama. I get that these characters are teenagers and drama is just part of life but it really just felt like a lot in this story.

Overall, I think this book is well worth checking out. A lot to take away here.

As a bi girl myself, I could really relate to the protagonist of Our Own Private Universe. There was a great exploration of sexuality, relationships, family, friendship and religion. The pacing did throw me a little, as it seemed to vary from chapter to chapter, so I did have to struggle to get through some sections of the book. As a whole I loved the characters and the storyline, despite some bitchy teenage girl moments.
I gave this a 3.5 stars and enjoyed the message that was portrayed by this n0vel.

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I really wanted to like this book but for many reasons just didn't. The premise is amazing- a bisexual black girl realising her identity- but said main character was so incredibly annoying that she became more problematic than anything else.

The writing is pretty average honestly- over and over the narration was repetitive and the dialogue felt very fake. And the major fault was in the continued use of "I laughed. She laughed too" like yeah we get it you said something funny you don't have to keep telling us how many individual people laughed. It was little things like that which made me want to skim read a lot of portions of text. Just really lazy, poor quality writing.

This book really tried to fit in too many elements. So much so that overall this book was a bit of a shambles- sexual identity, religion, health in developing countries, marriage equality, music (WHY did Aki keep talking about how unusual it was that she likes Prince and that her favourite song is Kiss. It REALLY isn't that abnormal, quit being a snowflake), politics, war vs peace, the military, the pressures of education, family relationships etc etc and probably others that I can't think of right now. Stick to a few, and do them well. Don't just chuck an armful of topics in and do a little bit of everything. The end result was messiness and as a reader I wanted a clear progression of topics and character motivations.

Aki really couldn't have been a more annoying character. And that was in a sea of annoying characters. So much lying over trivial issues and just absolutely hefty doses of unnecessary drama. This book could have been half the length it ended at if some of the back and forth emotions were cut out. They hate each other they make up they love each other but you lied so now I hate you. It was all very circular and really reduced my care-factor and any attachment I had with the characters. But Aki most of all was just an absolute selfish hypocrite who couldn't have been more of a tattle-tale.

I liked the sex scenes and mostly just got by on the fact that I enjoy a non-hetero storyline and really that was the main reason I kept reading.

Super disappointed.

This was a super adorable read. I did really want to love it, but for me, I liked it a lot, but there's was something that just didn't make me love it.

One of the best things about this book was how diverse the characters were, and I do feel like it's an important read for a lot of teens who are dealing with figuring out themselves, and their sexuality, and learning that there isn't always a box they can simply define themselves into, and that's a good thing.

Overall, it was a cute story, and I loved the setting in Mexico, it was fresh and vibrant. Only thing for me was that I'm not sure I really connected with the characters... maybe I found Aki a little annoying... I mean, I remember teen angst very well, but maybe this was a bit too much drama for me.

I really wanted to love Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley. The cover is beautiful and I like that the publisher didn't shy away from showing two girls who are clearly more than friends on the cover. Though, once I started reading and realised that Aki is black, I thought it was a bit of a shame that the sunset-tint used on the cover didn't make this fact obvious.

My first issue was with the representation of a biracial black girl because this book is written by a white author. I'm white, so I'm not really in a position to comment, but I did wonder at the rep and would be keen to read reviews written by black Americans. Aki did talk about often being the only black girl, but this wasn't something explored in depth.

My second issue was with the LGBTQIAP rep. Aki is discovering who she is, at the start of the story she's sure she's bi, but as her summer progresses she becomes unsure, sometimes wondering if she's lesbian not bi. Her best friend refers to her as gay, so does her brother, and usually Aki doesn't bother to correct them. She makes assumptions about Christa, a girl she meets at the camp, and Aki isn't as understanding as she could be. Christa is extremely worried about how her parents would react if they found out she was bi, but Aki doesn't seem to respect this, even though Christa is distressed several times throughout the story.

A lot of this I could write off as simply the experience of being a teen. Just because you know you're bi, doesn't mean you instinctively know what to say and how to react to the things people say or do. Aki is only 15 years old and hasn't had a lot of life experience. I'm sure this is something that would change with time and education. And just because you're sure about what you are, doesn't mean other people are, and you can't force them. But on the other hand, it could be interpreted as bi erasure and teens might read this and think the things that are said in the book are fine or that they don't have a right to speak up when people say the wrong thing.

The exploration of sex between two girls was well done and I applaud the author and publisher for the level of honesty and detail. There are girls who'll read this and feel empowered, who will know what they feel and what they want are absolutely ok. The issue of safe sex was addressed too - Aki seeks out a college health centre and is given free gloves and dental dams. I did think the gloves were overkill, I've never read a scene where a boy and girl have to use gloves to touch each other, so why should girls have to use them? But perhaps this is something taught in US schools.

I found the story really slow and lacking in direction. Normally I read YA books in 1-3 days. 5-6 days is slow for me. This book took me 12 days! I found it forgettable and it was a real chore to get through it. The drama felt forced and over the top. There was a lot of secret keeping and arguments that became repetitive. There was bullying involving a gay teen that was never addressed. I kept wondering why the story was set in Mexico, because the group didn't seem to do much while there. Often the story felt like one long PSA rather than a narrative. Overall the story could have been tightened up and probably shortened to keep the pace at a reasonable speed.

Ableist language: dumb, idiot, insane.

Our Own Private Universe was a little disappointing, but definitely worth a read for the bi love story, especially for teens who find themselves in a similar situation to Aki. We need more diverse stories, and while this one had some minor issues, it could be just the book teens need to read.

Thank you to Harlequin Teen for the ARC via Netgalley.

This was a great story and one I feel we haven't seen in YA literature yet. Obviously YA has it's share of LGBT fiction but this one sets itself apart with characters that you really invest in, a fast pace and just the right amount of romance. It was great. I loved it.

This books definitely has a lot of pros, but unfortunately there were an equal amount of cons for me. The diversity in Our Own Private Universe was ON POINT. The main character is a person of colour and is bisexual, there are other bisexuals in the book (and one that thinks she might be pansexual), an out-and-proud lesbian, and the book takes place in Mexico so there are minor latinx characters as well. I love the fact that it's not only diverse, but the characters in the book explore important topics that are relevant in the world today such as health care in developing countries and gun control. Safe sex is also explored and researched by the main character in this book, making this an excellent 'role model' book for teens exploring their sexuality. I also loved how the entire book took place during a religious mission trip, but religion was never shoved in your face. I LOVED that.

Moving on to the cons. There was a TON of petty YA drama in this book that really annoyed me. I am honestly just over petty drama in YA in general and it sucked that a book with such promise stooped to that level. The three main characters just kept lying about everything and bitching and fighting and it was so frustrating and not at all what I wanted out of this reading experience. I mean, I get that that's what a lot of teenagers are like, but it seemed like such a downer on what I wanted to be an awesomely positive book.

So I'm kind of on the fence about this one. Loved the diversity and the fact that it was #ownvoices, but the petty YA drama let it down for me.