"The One True Me and You" is amazing in so many ways. Teagan (Miss Virginia) is a pageant girl and artist who plans to earn a degree in art therapy, but she is also a closeted lesbian (because being queer is not passé in the pageant world) who loves fanfic. She is in Orlando, Florida for the Miss Cosmic Teen Scholarship Competition. The $25,000 scholarship for the winner, along with other scholarships and winnings, will allow her to attend college for free, and allow her to finally be open about herself. Her father knows and her pageant bestie, Jess (Miss Pennsylvania), knows, but otherwise it is a closely guarded secret.

Kaylee writes fanfic based on The Great Game, the widely popular and latest Sherlock Holmes tv show adaptation, and they have built up quite a following among fellow fanfic fans. Kaylee and their best friend, Ami, are in Orlando, Florida for GreatCon, the convention for The Great Game. They are looking forward to meeting some of their online friends in person and enjoying the convention. Kaylee thinks they are nonbinary and wants to use this convention as an opportunity to ask people to use they/them pronouns for the first time; Kaylee will be part of a panel of fanfic writers during the convention. Kaylee was also convinced to submit an original Sherlock Holmes retelling to a contest in connection with the convention and they stand a good chance of being a finalist.

Though Teagan and Kaylee have never met, they share the same nemesis -- Madison, Miss North Carolina. Kaylee and Madison are from the same North Carolina town and attend the same school, where Madison torments Kaylee. If Madison spots Kaylee and figures out their Tumblr name, and therefore access to their queer fanfic, she will make things even more miserable for Kaylee. Teagan gets along with most of her fellow pageant contestants, but not Madison, who is cruel and vindictive towards other contestants, and would enjoy discovering that Teagan is a lesbian and "outing" her to the pageant community.

Although she knows it is risky and probably unwise, the fortuitous coincidence of the pageant and GreatCon taking place at the same hotel at the same time is too great an opportunity to pass up, and she sneaks down to a Friday evening Cosplay Karaoke event, where she meets Kaylee and there is an instant connection. Teagan becomes the first person Kaylee asks to use they/them pronouns, the first of several "firsts" over the weekend. The story alternates between Teagan and pageant activities, Kaylee and fanfic convention activities, and their time together. It should be obvious that at some point Madison is going to spot Kaylee and Teagan together, which is going to have negative consequences for both of them, test the strength of the burgeoning relationship, and force them to make some rather consequential choices.

The author does a great job of explaining and portraying the pageant world and the fanfiction/convention world in understandable and positive manners, while acknowledging the flaws of both worlds (especially, the pageant world preference for cisgender white women who are conventionally beautiful). The author also does a great job of explaining nonbinary identities and the struggles nonbinary individuals experience trying to figure out themselves and where they fit in the queer spectrum. The fanfiction world, at least in this story, has a very high LGBTQ+ presence, and so most of the characters are very accepting and supportive. [Not being part of the fanfiction world, I do not know how representative the story is of the actual fanfiction world].

The supportive nature of so many of the characters and the community portrayed in the book really resonated with me. Teagan and Kaylee, in their internal dialogue and/or in comments to others, emphasize that they feel like their true selves when taking part in convention activities and letting their guard down. Teagan is able to allow the disparate parts of her personality to meld together, instead of having to wall off parts of herself in order to maintain the required image of a pageant contestant. Kaylee is able to be open about and explore themselves. When they allow themselves to be vulnerable, and that vulnerability is met with acceptance, they realize how much freer and fulfilled they feel. Of course, they, and their friends, recognize that when they return to their "normal" lives, especially because they have been more open with their identities, they will face struggles and prejudice; but they might also discover they have more allies than they realized.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I absolutely love the genre of prolific fandom creator finding love, self-confidence, and IRL acceptance. This book checks all those boxes. The external conflicts - Teagan competing in the pageant, Kay attending the con - are beautiful backdrop for the main event: these two people exploring their identities and values and attraction. Kay testing out they/them pronouns in a safe community. Teagan letting her nerdy side out.

My only content complaint is that the major antagonist doesn’t face enough consequences for her actions. But that is honestly forgivable, because it’s the way things happen in life and both Teagan and Kay figure out how to deal with the fallout. (And yes, I’m being as vague as I can on purpose here).

Overall, an adorable rom com with plenty doses of hard-hitting queer identity searching. Highly recommended.

This is an affirming, supportive Young Adults/teen book. It is an age appropriate queer romance. Kayee Beaumont writes popular fan fiction for a tv show and is attending its fandom convention. She is trying to personally find her label and comfort with her body. Her goals for the weekend include asking someone to use correct pronouns, wear masculine presenting cosplay clothing and maybe kiss a girl. She thinks she could be non-binary but really isn't sure. At the same hotel is the Miss Cosmic Teen USA pageant. Teagan Miller is Miss Virginia and feels that this is her year to get the top prize. The $25,000 will fund a year of her college and pageants have been her life for years. She is also a fandom freak and sneaks off to join the convention meeting Kay and her friends.

The book takes place only over a few days. The characters think and speak like teens. The romance is sweet and the angst isn't drawn out. The consequences for both characters is huge. Teagan is out to dad and best friend but it could cost her the pageant crown. Kay is from a small town in NC and attends a private school where no one is out. This book is supportive and inclusive. The author lets both girls have success in what they are doing. They can also both choose to be kind and forgiving when things don't go smoothly. I love her definition of feminism is supporting women in whatever they choose to do. In this case pageants, writing, or finding a label that fits.

This is an easy book to recommend for middle-school and up readers. As an adult, it was a quick read and it made me think a little more about how I interact using gender with students. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

“I, an avowed gay, am up here working this stage so damn well. Witness me, bitches.”

The One True Me and You was such a fun, humorous, and affirming book. I loved seeing how the similarities between the main characters bonded them and also how their differences created tension and apprehension. Their connection from the start was so cute, and I liked how quickly they showed each other their true selves.

I really loved Tegan and felt like I could relate to her the most. There were moments though where Kay would say something so similar to how I feel that she came a very close second. One of my favorite things about this book though was how fleshed out the side characters were. Even though they weren’t the main focus of the story, we got to learn so much about them through the protagonists’ eyes, and learn more about the protagonists every time they interacted. They truly were ride or dies and so supportive of Tegan and Kay even when they were a mess.

My favorite scenes were definitely the fanfic writing scene at the con and first interview portion of the pageant. It was so cool to see the mc’s in their element. There’s so many small things about this book to enjoy too, like the joy of good beta readers and the realization that you’re more judgemental than you think.

The villain in this book was written so well because she genuinely aggravated me, and my mouth even dropped at the height of her evil shenanigans. I very much enjoyed plotting her demise in my head.

I would recommend this book if you’re interested in fandom, the journey of discovering your gender and sexual identity, pageants, and short timeline books (part of the magic of this book came from it happening over 3 days). The only reason this wasn’t rated higher is because I read it after a book that emotionally destroyed me, so my expectations were probably higher for this than they should have been. It was still such a good book though, and I want to go to a con very badly now. The last line was also *chef’s kiss*

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. This book was everything. It was a quick read that I could not put down. I really liked the representation of the LGBTQ community in it and how Kay was trying to figure themselves out. I loved how they had a whole support system from their friends and Teagan. This was one of those books that made me think about someone as I was reading it. Highly recommend.

One weekend, a Pageant contest and a Fandom convention happening at the same hotel and two people who are about to find love. Kaylee “Kay” Beaumont, is a fanfic writer for a Sherlock Holmes fandom known as the Greatcon and has three things to accomplish at this con: 1.Try out they/them pronouns to see how it feels 2.Wear more masculine-presenting cosplay and 3.Kiss a girl for the first time, all the while hopefully avoiding her hometown bully and pageant queen Maddison (aka Miss North Carolina). Pageant Queen Taegan Miller (Miss Virginia) is secretly queer, is a huge part of the Greatcon fandom, and is here to win the pageant contest in order to have money to go to her dream college. To Teagan’s surprise there is a fandom convention for her favorite fandom happening right in the same hotel as her pageant, and she is willing to do anything to just get a sneak peak of it. With the help of some amazing friends both Teagan and Kay will have the most amazing weekend of their lives, filled with romance, friendship, and finding the strength to be your truest self, this was a wonderful read.The story is told in alternating POVs between Teagan and Kay, and getting to learn both their individual struggles and strengths was great. The story was fun and definitely had a unique setting. I would highly recommend this read!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This skews heavily YA and even more heavily towards those already part of a fandom and all that entails (is Tumblr still a thing for fandoms?). Kaylee is a teenage fanfic writer considering that she may identify as nonbinary, Teagan is in her hopefully final beauty pageant that will land her a significant scholarship should she win, and both cross paths at a hotel hosting the aforementioned fandom's (in this case a[nother] modern Sherlock Holmes series) convention and pageant contestants. To anyone already deeply entrenched in a fandom, this will be relatable with all of the typical "found family", "place I can be myself" type of themes. This is initially contrasted with the pageant world but around mid-way the author caved and tried to echo those same themes in beauty pageants. The problem here is that we just don't really see this comradery between the contestants; it only really exists in Teagan's internal monologue. Though if anything, I would have really liked to have seen more of the convention and interaction there. And a better proofreader/editor, but that seems to be par for the course with ARCs.

This is a cute, though not terribly deep, queer love story. I would recommend it to anyone who is part of a fandom and looking to see a tiny reflection of themselves.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

With the loveable characters about friendship, community, and finding the courage to be yourself, this is a feel-good book that’s hard to put down, I really enjoyed this book by Remi England. Told from dual POVs it follows, Teagan who is here to win a beauty pageant so she can use the scholarship money for college, Kay is here to celebrate Great Con a convention, and hang out with her friends when Teagan and Kay bump into one another the first night, sparks fly.

This book is full of love and hope, The One True Me and You is an incredible story!!! I would recommend this book!!

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

LGBTQ with phenomenal writing.

This was a sweet, adorable read! Teagan is a pageant queen competing in for a national title, with a few secrets kept safe from the pageant world. Kay is fanfic author attending a con with their friends, that just happens to be held in the same place as Miss Cosmic Teen USA. Both characters are working on discovering themselves and becoming more confident in who they truly are while dealing with pressures and standards of traditional society. There's a meet-cute, there's acceptance and joy, there's learning that there's more than meets the eye, and there's a lot of chasing your dreams and gaining confidence by being your most true self.

Highly recommend for people who like YA, rom-coms, and the Miss Congeniality movie, with a side of geekery and fandoms (especially Sherlock)! This book went by so quickly and the pace was fantastic. England wrote very honestly about the experience of trying out new pronouns and trying to figure out who you are, but also kept a happy, positive tone throughout, which I enjoyed reading! 4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

…I am dead. Remi has murdered me and I am so grateful to them for doing so. This is the F/NB rep I deserve. If a cute girl/enby wants me to fall in love with them, let’s each get a copy so we can write annotations in the margins to make each other smile

This book is everything I love in a YA book. As an adult reader of young adult books, sometimes the angst and drama of the teenage years is hard to revisit. I don't always feel like I can relate or enjoy YA when I find the problems to be so small in the grand scheme of things-- I didn't feel that way with this book. The characters definitely talk, act, and feel like highschoolers, but the issues that they are facing aren't small, meaningless dramas. These characters tackle sexual identity, discrimination, bullying, and self-esteem in a way that is meaningful and relevant to any reader-- all while remaining lighthearted and with very YA romcom vibes!

In short, it was just a beautifully told story about Teagan and Kay who meet when a pageant and a fan convention are held at the same hotel. They can't seem to keep away from each other even though they really ought to be focused on their owl goals: winning a pageant scholarship and writing contest!

Other thoughts:
One of Kay's other weekend goals includes asking others to use they/them pronouns for them, wear more masculine-presenting cosplay, and hopefully, kissing a girl for the first time. The inner thoughts surrounding these personal goals, and all of the dialogue around gender identity was really well done. The side characters were awesome friend groups who do amazing cheerleading and support for one another. This book shows a kinder side to pageants than what is portrayed in most books and movies.

I binge read this book in a day. The characters and the story is one I didn't want to put down even for a moment!

While I was reading this, I generally found it pretty enjoyable. The romance was cute, the characters were pretty interesting, etc. But now that I’ve finished the book and thought about it about it a bit more, my overall feelings are a lot more mixed.

As someone who’s non-binary and sapphic, I absolutely love that this book features a romance between a lesbian and a non-binary queer person, and overall I was relatively satisfied with the quality of the representation. That being said, there are a few little things that bothered me a little regarding the rep.

To me, lesbian attraction 100% includes non-binary people, and it’s incredibly evident when you look at lesbian history that gender non conformity and identities outside the binary have been a very important part of lesbian communities for an extremely long time. So, I obviously don’t view a lesbian expressing attraction to a non-binary person as invalidating that person’s gender.

However, towards the beginning of this book, in both points of view, there are lines that suggest that the characters currently understand lesbian attraction as being limited to just, women exclusively being attracted to other women. Which could be realistic; many people are taught this limited understanding of lesbianism. But, considering that Kay is non-binary, I would’ve expected that at some point in the book, there would be a discussion about non-binary people being included in lesbian attraction, and that the characters would sort of rectify their understanding of the lesbian label. But that never happened. Paired with the fact that Teagan initially mistook Kay for a woman when they first met, I feel like this kinda makes it seem like Teagan is attracted to Kay in a *afab non-binary ppl being perceived as womanlite by society* way rather than in a *people who exist outside the gender binary have historically been an important part of lesbian identity & attraction*. This definitely made me a bit uncomfortable as I was reading, and I wish it would’ve been handled better.

In addition, there’s a small passage where Kay learns that Teagan is a lesbian and wonders whether that only includes cis girls, or if Teagan could also be attracted to them, a non-binary person. This raises the question: why specify cis girls? Why are we assuming Teagan would automatically exclude trans girls??
It might sound like I’m over analyzing a tiny line, but I still wanted to mention this because it really felt weird to me and I truly don’t see why the author felt it was necessary to phrase this sentence like that.

Unrelated to the queer rep, something else I want to discuss is the comparison the author drew between the pageant environment and the fandom environment in the chapters from Teagan’s point of view. A very stark contrast is created between those two environments in the book, with the pageant environment being heavily critiqued for its racism, homophobia, etc. and the fandom environment being depicted as extremely accepting and open-minded. While I appreciated the relevant critiques of bigotry within pageant spaces, I felt like this contrast was depicted in a very oversimplistic manner, and that it ignored prominent issues within fandom spaces. While fandom is typically a more queer friendly space than beauty pageants are, it is completely inaccurate to imply that it doesn’t have any issues related to bigotry and discrimination. There’s often a lot of misogyny directed at female characters, fetishization of mlm relationships paired with a disregard for sapphic ones, racism directed at both characters and people within fandom, etc. and all of this was pretty much ignored for the sake of representing fandom as this complete safe haven with little to no problems. (There is one quick line relating to mlm fetishization but it’s not discussed in depth and it’s pretty much the only critique of fandom spaces in the entire book).

On the topic of critiquing bigotry within pageant spaces: towards the middle of the book, Teagan has a whole internal monologue about racism in pageant and how if she wins this pageant over her friend Jess, it’ll have a lot to do with the fact that she’s white. And then, at the end, she wins over Jess and just,,, uncritically accepts the win without even taking a second to reflect on the impact of race, which felt really inconsistent with how she was characterized earlier on?

Overall, while I found the book to be pretty cute and fun as I was reading, the multiple issues I just discussed here make it so that I wouldn’t particularly recommend this.

Some parts of the book were amazing, and others just threw me (maybe it's my age or my coolness factor). I LOVED the way the characters were written. While I can't speak their experiences myself, both Teagan and Kay came off incredibly authentic in their search for understanding their gender and sexuality. I really enjoyed reading about their experiences and the difficulties teens face even in 2021. However, some of the fan-fiction/tumblr references really threw me off. I didn't even know tumblr was still a thing? And, I must admit I am completely out of the fanfic world and didn't understand many of the references. That being said, I still really enjoyed this book and the overall message of being authentic to oneself.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Review will be on my bolg, The Reading Fairy, on July 18th

TW: fatshaming, mention of loss of parent, mention of suicide, transphobia, forced outing, racism, bullying, misogyny, misgendering
Rep: Questioning Nonbinary MC (Kay), Lesbian MC (Teagan), Black side character, queer side characters

Disclaimer: I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley for an exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion. Any quotes used may not match the final copy.

"This win is dedicated to my late mom and to all the other queer girls out there. You are beautiful, you are worthy, and you are perfect. Never forget it, ever."

I'm not going to lie when I saw that this book announced would be one of my anticipated releases for 2022 because it described my situation perfectly at the time. Come June 2021, did I realize I'd be getting blessed from the publisher for getting an eARC of this beautiful book? Seriously, I probably would have sold my soul or kidney to get an ARC, if that hadn't happened.

But first of all before I dive into, what might be a really long review of this book because I HAVE THOUGHTS, can we TALK about this cover though?? The Queerness that this book emanates is so beautiful and the rainbow in the corner of the cover. THIS BOOK IS ALL SORTS OF QUEER THAT I WILL FOREVER BE GLAD THAT IT EXISTS. Because like I said, this book came into my life when I needed it the most.

M.K England has became one of my favorite authors because how could they not especially after Spellhacker? I may or may not have screamed when I saw this book got announced, because it really fits my current situation. Obviously, I am not out in public because that's something I really want to keep to myself for right now, but online I've been using she/they before going to they/them fully.

What makes The One True Me and You different is that it explores how confusing gender identity could be especially as a fellow enby, and how it's different for everyone. This book also explores using different pronouns and trying out they/them pronouns which is completely different from all the other Queer books (which have mainly been cis-but I'm trying), and also different from most of the other enby main characters.

From what I have noticed from all the queer books I've read, is that we have books where the MCs are already confident in who they are, with very few being with questioning about who they are when it comes to sexuality/romantic interest/gender identity. It almost feels like it's supposed to be this nice pretty picture where we're supposed to have everything figured out. In my experience and possibly for many others, it's not a pretty picture.

We constantly try to find a label that feels comfortable, but we later realized, it doesn't fit but you're so confused. Some of us doesn't even use a label, and that's still okay. It's still tiring is that publishers thinks we're a monolith just like any other marginalized identity who is not a white cishet, abled woman. I think that's why I have been clinging to the books that has the questioning one's identity because they are so rare and books like these, makes me feel seen.

I want these books where it is not a happy pretty picture people thinks it is. I want those books where the MCs question their identity and wants to try things to get used to how it feels. That's how The One True Me and You is, because we have one our MCs, Kay, who is trying out they/them pronouns (for obvious reasons I will be referring Kay with they/them pronouns) at a fandom con where they are a guest panelist speaker who is famous for writing fanfic about a fandom (that if I remember right it's Sherlock Holmes), who also has a list for GreatCon:

try out they/them pronouns
wear more masculine-presenting cosplays
kiss a girl

Pretty straight forward. Obviously, being enby is not a monolith but I really connected with Kay. They reminded me of myself especially with the language that was used, and obviously I'm a person who feels more comfortable in masculine presenting clothing than what is defined as more 'feminine.'

It's why this quote from this book deeply resonated to me and will probably make many others feel seen as well.

If I feel nonbinary, I am nonbinary. There's no right way to dress or act to prove it. Even when I have to be in this town that doesn't welcome me, it doesn't make me any less who I am.

I mean Kay is basically me almost. There are obviously a lot of differences about me and them, but there are many similarities. We're both fanfic writers (tho I am less famous and haven't updated anything since like April), nor do I have best friends that writes fanfic like Kay does and I haven't really tried something original because the one story that lives rent free is really triggering for me.

Anyways, moving on off the enby part because that part is truly special, but it's not the only thing it talks about. This book talks about lesbians and when it comes to someone that's non cis. Obviously I am not lesbian, nor do I identity as that so I really can not say about how the rep was, but the discussions and the hesitance if Teagan dates non-cis folks  .

This book even calls out the causal transphobia and how shitty most of the takes are, and honestly this quote is just perfect. 

And no one gives a shit a shit about your bigoted, closed-minded opinions, you utterly vicious harpy.

Can we talk about femininity discussion for a second? Society likes to place anything as pink, makeup, dresses etc as girly and is shown as a weakness. I think it's nice that one of our MCs-Teagan, is a pageant queen and loves anything that is seen as girly. it's also such a huge win because it's okay to wear dresses, look pretty and it's not seen as a weakness or annoying. Just be you. 

If there was one thing I loved was how this book talked about pageants, how they can be a great scholarship program and how people could have. Fun, there's also a lot of downfalls especially concerning the racism and the queerphobia this book talked about.-but it was SUPER FUN TO READ ABOUT AND I WANT MORE. 

Also THE ROMANCE? One of the best things I have read about and I love it. That does say something especially since of my aspec self. I loved the way it was devoloped, and could probably see as insta-love as the whole long takes place over an entire weekend and they already kiss quickly, but I promise you will forget about that.

Oh my God. This story was so sweet and cute!! I found myself just rooting for the characters right up until the end! I highly recommend this book!

Awh, I adored this! It has such great rep and a cute romance, plus a fun story. It incorporated elements from two very different events, pageantry and comic con. They surprisingly have a couple things in common and the way the author united them was well written.

The points of view switch between Kaylee and Teagan and the story moved quickly for taking place over three days. I thought both characters had a good amount of depth and felt relatable. Teagan is closeted because pageants aren't known for being inclusive and she needs the scholarship money that comes with winning. Kaylee is still figuring out what (if any) labels apply to them and is worried about being ostracized in her small town. As they grow to care for each other, both realize that it's important to be proud of who they are.

I do wish the ending had a bit more closure, but I enjoyed reading and I'm excited for it to be out for everyone to read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the copy

The One True Me and You is everything I ever wanted in a indulgent fandom book. Told from dual POVs it follows Teagan, a pageant queen who’s secretly a giant nerd and a closeted lesbian. She attends a pageant at the same hotel where a giant con for a popular fandom is being held and eventually meets Kaylee, a popular fanfic writer who is here to have fun and be with her fellow nerds. They hit it off VERY well and sparks fly but they have to sneak around to protect both of them from being found out from a hateful pageant contestant.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I loved seeing the pageant side of things and how positively it was shown and the merits of how great it can be. I especially adored the fandom side of things and loved the little references to fandom culture (even if the fandom in the book was technically made up). It’s clear that the author has done their time in the fandom life which is always a blast to read.

Seeing a non-binary character was also really incredible. It’s not often that non-binary characters are published in traditional ways and I loved how easily the characters used Kaylee’s pronouns when they brought it to their attention and it wasn’t seen as a giant deal to accommodate.

Overall, excellent, fun, engaging book that I would definitely reread again!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.
Content Warnings at end of review.

Teagan is here to win a beauty pageant so she can use the scholarship money for college. Kay is here to celebrate Great Con (a Sherlock Holmes convention) and hang out with her friends, while trying out they/them pronouns for the first time. When Teagan learns that one of her biggest fandoms is having a convention at the same hotel her beauty pageant is at, she has to sneak out, despite what it would mean for her chances at the competition...and when she runs into Kay, an epic romance ensues.

This book!!!! Is so!!! Adorable! It is seriously one of the cutest things I have ever read. Teagan and Kay are both absolutely amazing characters and they go together so well and I'm absolutely in love with their secret romance. I love all of Kay's supportive nerdy friends and Teagan's pageant bestie. I loved the way Teagan went all in at the pageants and proved that she could love traditionally girly things while still being a queer nerd. I loved the way Kay learned more about themself throughout the book and went through some serious character development! This book was everything, and it did my nerdy-queer-heart so much good!

Pub Date: March 15, 2022

Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent and Suicide

I read this in one sitting! I was totally routing for Teagan and Kay the whole time. I loved the conversations between queerness, gender and finding your labels, as this is an area I haven’t really read much I’m books. Plus, the whole back story was great! Recommend!