This was a super sweet YA read. As the parent of a non-binary teen, I appreciated the non-binary rep and con and fanfic storyline was a lot of fun. It's a great look at self-discovery, being proud of what. you love and loving who you are. I'm excited for my kid to read this so we can discuss.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Wednesday books for the copy to review.

Joyful, fun LGBTQIA+ Rom Com and more!
I adored this book and read it in one sitting. Fun setting at a hotel where they is a fandom con and a Beauty pageant that collide in the best of ways. The best of nerdy, fun friends and finding love and who you are! The most stars and I highly recommend this book to all! Super FABULOUS!

I love attending cons, and I really think that England did such a great job encapsulating the con/fandom experience. What ended up hurting this book FOR ME is that it is so BUSY. There is SO! MUCH! HAPPENING! and it felt like I could have done with just a little less. I also think I would have greatly preferred if the characters were just a bit older. BUT the LGBTQIA+ rep was incredible, and spot on, and made my heart grow a few sizes bigger, so for that alone it gets an A+.

I’ve had this book for a while and now I don’t know why I put it off for so long.
I think this is probably my favorite book I’ve read about fandom and fic writing. It really did a wonderful job showcasing why these fandoms and fanfic communities are so important to to people. How finding a group of people you belong with and can be yourself with is so special and important. I also liked how this book honored online friendships as just as important and just as real as in person friendships.
I did not expect the beauty pageant aspect of the book but thought it was done really well. I appreciated that the author and the characters recognize the problems with pageants but also presented the positive side of them.

All in all I was pleasantly surprised by this book and very much enjoyed the representation of different identities, hobbies, and interests. Also the audio book was delightful, especially since one of the narrators was Fandom and non-binary icon Vico Ortiz

I recommend this book of you have even a slight interest in cosplay, fandoms, fanfic, con life, or beauty pageants. Or if you just live Vico.

Fanfiction writer, Kay meets beauty pageant contestant, Teagan, at a convention and sparks fly between the two closeted queer girls who have a bully in common.

Kay is questioning their gender and thinks they are probably non-binary. I loved this representation in the book right off. However, it was mishandled by cisgender, Teagan (that may have been editing issues but it happened enough that I don't want to excuse it). The relationship moved unrealistically fast even for teens, had a tired "we were outed, now we're done" scene, and was overall unsatisfying. As was the quite abrupt ending.

All that aside, my biggest issue lies with the fandom side of the book. I love when fandom is included in books but if you aren't really deep into the Sherlock fandom you likely won't understand half of it. I was in the fandom, have seen several films with these characters, and read the original Conan Doyle books and I was still lost most of time with the references. The love for fandom was clear was getting engrossed in the fandom was too difficult and the convention setting even seemed unrelatable.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this to the teens in my library, unfortunately.

While I appreciate this book and what it's doing for the LGBTQ community, I'm having a terrible time.

The characters feel like flawed and fully-fleshed out characters who are done very well. And I appreciate the author's ability to showcase them so well.

But the mean girl trope? I can't. I cannot. I'm too old for this high school mean girl thing. And that's a me thing, not a book thing. Because if I was in the age bracket this book is intended for, I'd be here for it.

I also take issue with the insta-love and that finding yourself means finding someone to love. I'd prefer a world where Kay is able to learn more about themselves and their identity without a relationship being the pivot factor. That just doesn't seem healthy to me.

Awe! This book was so adorable. Kaylee and Teagan are the cutest. I enjoyed the GreatCon/Pageant setting. The friendships were well developed and I really loved how supportive they all were of one another. I thought the author did a great job of portraying the struggles teens have with their identity and that the story, although there is romance, really focused more on Kay and Teagan's personal development individually.

I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun contemporary with lgbtqa+ rep. The romance, friendships, and self discovery make this the perfect contemporary read!

The One True Me and You
By Remi K England

Fandom
Finding Identity
Fun Read

I really enjoyed The One True Me and You as written by England that addresses themes of self-discovery, new friendships, the celebration of your passions (fandom and pageants), and finding strength to accept what is important and standing up for those beliefs. I enjoyed this story in one weekend where Kay and Teagan had their super fun meet cute! Their friendship and relationship, while partnering up and having the same person they loath was super fun as you find yourself rooting for both of them. I love the exploration of pronouns, and some of the issues you will be facing as you first find your true identity. I really adored this book and the perfect read for Pride Month!

What a fun, inspiring, and educational read. I found this to be binge-able, no matter if you’re reading the physical book or listening to the audio. While I thought this was pretty lighthearted, I understand there are some tough topics that I have listed below in my content warnings. I encourage readers who are sensitive to those topics to read other reviews that mention those warnings.

I only had a few meh, aspects of the book, so I’ll get those out of the way. The entire book occurs over the weekend, so a young love at light speed was a bit, eye-rolly. With that, I found the characters to have some annoying tendencies, BUT! I think that’s due to the fact that they’re teenagers and what teenager doesn’t have an annoying tendency?

More importantly, I think this story could be so helpful to a young someone who is struggling with their identity. We have a few characters who know who they are, with others trying to figure it out. No matter if you’re a cis man/woman or fall within LGBTQIAP+ or anything in between, I think it’s an important storyline everyone can relate to.

Not only that, but this book provides a sense of community and comfort. Again, no matter how you identify or who you love, finding a sense of community is super important to ones growth.

Lastly, this book gives insights to how a person thinks and feels when deciding his/her/their pronouns. If you’re someone who struggles with knowing what your pronouns are or even struggle with understanding how someone decides to use different pronouns, this book showcases different situations to open your mind.

Big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC!

Content warnings: outing, bullying, homophobia, transphobia, death of a parent, mention of suicide, panic attacks, fatphobia

The One True Me and You is like being wrapped up in a warm hug.

Solid queer and non-binary representation, Con vs. Beauty Pageant. Fast paced. Sweet and funny.

Teagan and Kaylee are on a journey of self discovery and finding out their true self. I thought everything about their journey to discovering their true self was very well done. The One True Me and You should be on library shelves everywhere.

Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore or library and snatch this one up!

CW: Gender dysphoria, Death of a parent by suicide (off-screen, before the story), Homophobia and transphobia, Brief racism/colorism

The One True Me and You is a cute book. The romance between Teagan and Kay is really lovely and sweet. For the few days this book took place during, their relationship did feel real. Yes it was fast paced, but I didn’t have a moment where I was thinking that it was moving way too fast.

Both characters feel very realistic. They were loveable and flawed. It wasn’t hard to love the main characters at all.

I also appreciate the criticism of the pageant culture here. It’s refreshing and just nice to see.

Now, this is very fandom culture heavy. I know this isn’t everyone’s thing, so if you think you want to try this because maybe the culture won’t be so heavy in it, you might want to rethink that.

With the fandom culture, I do wish that it was criticized a little more. Yes, a lot of the praise this book has for fandom culture is wonderful, but there is a big negative side of it that isn’t discussed. Here, fandom culture is good while the pageant is bad and there is no in-between there.

There are also a few things that I feel like age the book? The fandom mentioned was Johnlocke which ages it in itself there, but also some of the thought processes about sexuality that never really seem challenged. I would have loved to see some of those ideas challenged.

This is a cute story. It’s not deep or emotional, it’s just a nice light-hearted read.

I was not able to read The One True Me and You before publication, but I will try to check it out from the library sometime to try to provide a review.

Wow, what a gem of a book! England has become an insta-read author after this. This was a wonderful romcom set during a busy convention with lots of heart and a good message.

The One True Me and You is a wonderful book of self-discovery and LBGTQIA+ rep. When a Beauty Pageant and GreatCon end up at the same hotel, Kay and Teagan have a chance meeting. Soon sparks fly, despite them being from different worlds and both are trying to figure out their places in the world. I loved how Kay was so unsure of their identity, yet Teagan was supportive and reassuring to them. Both characters have a strong friendship base and the encouragement each got from them was heartwarming. It was fun that the pair shared a common enemy in Miss North Carolina. This was a classic YA insta-love story, set over one magical weekend.

Let’s talk characters because that’s what this book is all about.

Kay

Kay is the cutest fanfiction writer ever. They are trying out they/them pronouns while at the GreatCon. They also doubt their writing skills as every good writer does!

They also worry about being a young writer when all their fave fandom writers are older. But despite those doubts, this weekend is their time to be out and proud. Something they can’t do when they are in their small town.

Teagan

Teagan is a beauty queen. She loves being in pageants but doesn’t like how much the judges expect from the contestants. She’s also very gay but knows she can’t be out and proud at pageants.

And as much as she loves pageants, she also LOVES fandom and cannot believe it when she sees that her favorite show’s convention is at the same hotel as the pageant.

Ok, now cut to a dance party at the convention. Teagan snuck in and Kay is there with their friends. This is when Teagan and Kay meet for the first time and BOOM! SPARKS AT FIRST SIGHT. They immediately form a connection.

At first, Teagan hides that she’s one of the pageant girls. When it comes out…well, Kay and her friends are a little shocked. But it doesn’t seem to be a huge deal.

The big problem is that one of the girls at the pageant (Miss North Carolina) is Kay’s bully in their hometown and an absolute narc who will rat on Teagan if she sees her hanging out with Kay. It makes things difficult to say the least but they make it work.

Until they don’t. Secrets can’t be kept forever. Not in a YA romance!! And especially not when everyone is stuck in one hotel.

I loved both Kay and Teagan. I loved their passion for the fandom and for their interests. Kay really loves writing and Teagan makes her own clothes and loves how fandom gives her a place to be herself.

I also love how much they learn from each other. Kay seems to have a little bit of a bias against pageant girls. Since a pageant girl is their biggest bully, it’s understandable that they would be unsure about Teagan’s involvement, but as they spend more time together and things start to get serious, they have to take a look inside to see why they feel so defensive towards Teagan being in pageants.

Teagan also comes to understand how important it is to Kay that their relationship and their sexuality be kept a secret. Kay lives in a small and bigoted town and if their sexuality is known to their bully and the rest of the town, it could be really bad for them.

That being said, they are so good together and grow together even in the short time they have. Like the final scene at the pageant together….CUTE AF.

I also really love their friends, especially Kay’s. They are so fun, loyal, and supportive. They even support Teagan even though they don’t know her very well.

I also LOVED the fandom aspects. They all love a show based on Sherlock Holmes and y’all KNOW how much I love that. It was so fun learning about this fictional show through Kay’s writing, everyone’s cosplay outfits, and all the fans talking about the show. It made me want it to be real.

I am giving The One True Me and You 4 out of 5 stars. If you are looking for a fun, queer fandom YA romance with some emotional moments, you NEED to read this book!

The One True Me and You by Remi K. England is available now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The One True Me and You by Remi K. England, is a dual pov book that follows two sapphic girls, one of them is a congoer and the other is a pageant queen. They meet up as the con and the pageant happen at the same hotel. This book follows the love story between the two as well as the character's con and writing journey and the other girl's experience in the pageant. This book is a stereotypical meet cute ya queer book. I personally found the book a little predictable but that's okay for a ya romance. I rated this book 4.5 stars but I am rounding it up to a 5 star. Thank you, to NetGalley who gave me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Amateur-ish writing at times, but it was very fun (very much like fun, Disney teen movies, but gay :)). Also, both the pageant and fandom representation were very accurate and interesting to read about (I may be biased because those are two things I took part in at that same age haha). The storyline was, however, obvious as obvious gets and what I would consider easy from the author.

Very cute, queer positive story about finding yourself and being true even in situations where others may not love you for every part of you. The reason I knocked it down two stars was 1) it was kind of unbelievable at most points and 2) Kay was kind of really annoying and mean to Teagan at times?? And they never really addressed it again? I loved the non-binary rep and the very femme lesbian rep, but so much of the description of The Great Game con kind of felt overdone.

Overall, a fun story but not one I would reach for again.

I adore this story. It's so honest and fun. I think that teens will identify with so much of it while laughing at the unabashed geekiness.
I basically can't stop talking about it with all the teens and adults who need to read this book!

The One True Me and You by Remi K. England is a YA Romance about two LGBTQ+ teens whose worlds collide when a fan convention and a beauty competition are held at the same hotel. It’s a sweet, enjoyable, insightful, opposites-attract romance. Nonbinary fanfic author Kaylee Beaumont has big plans for Great Con, starting with meeting her fandom friends in real life. She also hopes to win the con-sponsored publishing contest and achieve three goals:
1. Try out they/them pronouns
2. Wear more masculine-presenting cosplay
3. Kiss a girl for the first time

Teagan Miller, Miss Virginia, is a pageant queen who needs to get through one last pageant and win the $25,000 scholarship awarded to the Miss Cosmic Teen USA winner. Then she can go to college and be free to be herself out and proud—a gay fandom nerd who loves beautiful dresses but hates tiaras and the anti-queerness and bigotry inherent in the pageantry system. Teagan and Kay experience an adorable meet-cute on the first night of the fandom convention. The connection they share is immediate and intense. But unfortunately, they also share a foe in Teagan’s competitor Miss North Carolina and a bully from Kay’s hometown who loves making their lives miserable. If she recognizes Kay and sees Teagan at the fan convention, she will out them both and expose their secrets, violating the con’s safe space. Will they risk embracing their true identities to experience the freedom of living, loving, and being loved as their authentic selves?

I love the diversity of England's deftly developed characters that evolve with the story's natural progression. Kaylee’s a creative, talented writer, but she has some growing up to do. The great thing is that she/they have amazing, intelligent, open-minded friends from diverse backgrounds who are honest with them and never fail to keep them accountable while being supportive. I love that and how accepting they are of Teagan. Teagan’s a super sweet girl who’s compassionate, admirable, strong, intelligent, and you want good things for her. Teagan's friend is terrific in the same way, very supportive, loving, and encouraging. I did like Kaylee when they weren't treating pageant contestants in ways that she/they didn't like. It’s an emotional response to being bullied, but it doesn’t excuse her behavior. Teagan's and Kaylee's interactions are sweet, and their chemistry is excellent. The fandom, fanfic, writing, and pageant parts are wonderfully written with vivid descriptions and details, making them feel authentic, drawing you into the novel.

England explores the anti-queerness, homophobia, racism, colorism, and narrow-mindedness that make beauty pageant culture and competitions a hostile environment for people who don’t fit a specific mold. The author also explores the transphobia and microaggressions that nonbinary teens face from their peers and society and their families and parents. England explores these relevant and important topics with sensitivity and nuance.

The One True Me and You is a funny, slightly angsty, fun LGBTQ+ romance about not judging people on their outside appearance, sexual identity, or gender, exploring acceptance whether people are popular, geeky, involved in online fandoms, a minority, compete in beauty pageants, bi, cis, heterosexual, or nonbinary. Highly recommended for fangirls and queer YA romance fans!