3.5, rounded down.

Don't get me wrong—this was good and entertaining, but I found myself skimming through quite a bit of it. I felt it was too long and not the book for me, which is 100% on me for continuing to read YA contemporary when I was in the mood for speculative literary fiction (#moodreaderproblems).

However, this is DEFINITELY going to be the book for other people, and it probably definitely would have been the book for me when I was a teen and super duper closeted bisexual (I was so fucking closeted I didn't even realize it myself).

There is a lot to love in this book. Amazing rep, for starters. A cute subversion of the "bisexual who can't decide" trope/stereotype. A supportive (and messy) friend group. A fantastic set of siblings. A mom who had just the right amount of guidance while being real herself (and also messy). And a lot of (actually contemporary for today's teens) music...although there was mention of Weezer, Blink 182 and some other band I grew up with as a teen a bajillion (going on twenty years ago is a bajillion in teen years) years ago, so maybe that loses some cred there. Also there was a lot of flannel and converse. Is flannel a thing again? Because if so, my wife will be thrilled.

YALL this book was so good!!! You know, when I first began reading young adult books as a teen, I wasn’t a big fan of contemporaries. Probably because I couldn’t really identify with white kids living in the suburbs. But now, with all of the books coming out featuring BIPOC characters, I’m finally enjoying and even loving contemporary books more. And Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster is one of those. We follow the Gonzalez family, composed of three sisters; Verónica, Maggie and Alyssa, and their mom, who live in Rio Grande Valley, and are in the midst of the preparations of Alyssa’s quinceañera. Maggie has to get a date for the big event, but she has conflicting feelings with three of her friends; Matthew, her ex, Amanda, her BFF, and Dani, the new girl of the group. This book was so messy and real, it made me have flashbacks of my time as a teen and even my own quinceañera. I loved the characters and I loved seeing how the author developed their relationships as well as them as persons. I felt right at home following their stories, and connected with some of them. The popular culture references took me out because I completely resonated with them (yes Maggie, I fell in love with Kuvira too) and it’s honestly so fun to find little things that you recognize in a new book. Overall, you have to read this book because it is wonderful and Andrea really threw it out of the park with this story. If you love books like No Filter and Other Lies and Ophelia After All (two of my faves!), then you will love JYLBD.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I think Maggie, who is the main character, is my favorite character. I really enjoyed her voice throughout the novel. I wasn’t super into or attached to any of the side characters. This is a quick and easy read. Also, a love triangle that I was genuinely invested in! Obligatory readalike for Ghost Wood Song, without all of the ghosts. Same color scheme though! Four stars.

I think the title of this says it back, sometimes you are a bisexual disaster. This book is unapologetic in knowing that you can personally be messy, but in a way that can cause growth.

the main character, Maggie, was super fun to read about and quite unique compared to other YA protagonists. she's a very realistic teenager which made her stand out to others.

the plot is pretty straightforward and simple but it was fun to read about nonetheless. maggie needs to find a date to her sisters quince, easy enough, but first she has to deal with her feelings for her best friend, ex boyfriend, and the new girl in town.

maggie's relationships were really well done even if i didn't find the love interests the most likable. often times I found them annoying but it does play into the whole messiness of the book.

the bisexual rep was really good of course and we see the main character deal with her feelings with a male character and two female characters. often times books with bisexual characters interested in the same gender are disregarded so that was fun to read about here.

i also really loved the latine representation!! i adore books with queer latino protagonists so this was so fun. the whole plot surrounding a date to a Quince was so cute and super fun.

overall, this was a pretty quick and fun read with great representation.

I don’t think I’ve been this hyped for a novel and then not only let down but let down hard in a long time. It hit me even harder because being bisexual, I was saddened that I disliked the main character (a female bisexual) as much as I did. You’d think that if there was one character I could relate to in a book it’d be a cishet bisexual female, but nope. I guess that just goes to show not all bisexuals are the same, because I just about couldn’t stand Maggie.

This book was just about everything I dislike about almost any book, but especially YA romances: it was too long and it had too much filler.

This book would’ve been rated lower if I didn’t actually feel some genuine emotions here and there at points during the book, mostly during scenes involving Maggie and her family. Those scenes felt like some of the most genuine and sincere scenes in the book, with warmth and familial intimacy practically wafting off the page.

Now, if only the rest of the book felt the same. Then maybe we could’ve gotten somewhere.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and Feiwel & Friends for early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. Due to personal policy, this review will not appear on social media or bookseller websites due to the 3 star rating.

I loved watching Maggie explore her thoughts and romantic feelings through her school project! Some of my favorite parts of the book were the short instagram captions she would write about her love interests, as they really helped me relate to the way that she was feeling about each person. Initially, I was strongly rooting for just one of the pairings (I won’t tell you which one to keep from spoiling anything), but as the book progressed and Maggie worked through some of her feelings, I found myself cheering on all of the potential relationships Maggie could pursue. They were all just so well developed and strongly written that I couldn’t help but get warm fuzzies while reading about Maggie’s affections towards Matthew, Amanda, and Dani. Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster is a delightful contemporary debut, with a nod to the classic love-triangle trope!

My Recommendation-
If you are looking for a light-hearted and joyful queer read to kick off your summer reading, I would definitely recommend that you grab a copy of Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster! This book would be an especially great choice for anyone who has been searching for a book that specifically centers on a well-written and relatable bisexual protagonist.

I know I'm not being that good of an arc reviewer but I'm going to give another short review here. I've been struggling to read and review a lot lately so I guess yall should be glad you're getting anything. This was a nice, quick, easy read. I was fairly invested in the characters and the story was actually fun. I especially loved seeing the drama of the friendship between Maggie and Amanda. Anyways, it was very quick paced and I appreciated that, but I don't think I enjoyed this to my full capability. I did really love the bisexual rep, and how they showed her crushing on both girls and a boy!

3.5 stars

This was a lovely debut novel from Chicana author Andrea Mosqueda. I'll admit that the cover art is what drew me in and made me want to check out this book. I mean, just look at it! ❤️

The titular bisexual disaster is Maggie, and she has a problem: she needs to find an escort for her little sister's quinceañera. Her choices are a minefield of emotion. First, there's her ex-boyfriend, Matthew. Their relationship never really got the closure it needed, and he's moved on and has a new girlfriend, but he's recently been sending her mixed signals. Maybe he wants to ditch the new girl and try again with Maggie?

Option number two is Maggie's best friend, Amanda. Maggie used to have quite the crush on her, and now the super-straight Amanda is acting like perhaps her identity isn't quite as clear-cut as Maggie thought?

The third member of this little potential date pool is the new girl in school, Dani. Maggie is definitely crushing hard on her, but how is she supposed to know if Dani is even into girls?

Mosqueda does a lot of things right in this book. One of the first things that struck me was that the setting, the Rio Grande Valley, becomes its own character in the story. The lush descriptions of the landscape and the realistic portrayals of the towns and the people who dwell within them just drew me right in. I also loved and envied the close bonds between Maggie and her sisters. The birthday morning sister sandwiches made my heart flutter. Maggie is also blessed with a wonderful group of friends, all of them fully developed and filling a particular role in Maggie's life. I'm hopeful that maybe some of the supporting cast might get their own stories one day.

While I mostly loved this book, I did feel like it was a little long. It took a while to get into the story, but it definitely picked up in the second half. Alas, it was also a bit predictable, as I had pretty much figured out the outcomes of each relationship well in advance. But maybe that's because I read too much?? 🤷 Also, a thing that's definitely just a me problem: the music and pop culture and meme references are probably more suited to a (much) younger audience than this old lady. But I also worry that they will cause the book to become dated in the future.

But overall this was an excellent debut, and I look forward to seeing what Mosqueda will bring us in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie is a messy bisexual teen and I enjoyed reading about her journey as she sorted out her feelings for three different people: her ex, her bff, and the cute new girl. I felt her relationships with each of these people was well fleshed out, each with a unique dynamic. I also enjoyed the family dynamic. The sisters have a great relationship and I loved their scenes together. This is a fun book about learning how to manage your feelings and own your mistakes. I'm excited to read more from Mosqueda in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley, Feiwel. & Friends, and Macmillan Audio for ARC access

3.5*

Well, three-cheers for genuine ya bisexual representation in all its gen-z, chaotic glory. This book follows Maggie Gonzales through her genuinely messy self-exploration around her feelings for two of her closest long-term friends, one an ex, and her blooming feelings for the class new-kid. All of this is centered around the looming festivities for her younger sister's quinceañera, for which Maggie needs an escort. Insert angsty angst, digital-age journaling, and the classic understanding art-teacher offering much-needed occasional sage advice here.

The genuine representation, exploration of both family and friend relationships, and deep grounding in the experience of the Texan Rio Grande valley home-life all helped make this book come to life. The explorations of culture were not consistently central to the text, but did help add an ambience to the book that made story-lines like the conflict over college prospects more real and fresh. I was also excited to see conflicts over queerness that didn't center on coming-out, but rather dealt with the struggles and out-and-proud bisexual girl faced in navigating the lived practice of that queerness.

It is in this representation of experience, though, that some of this story fell flat for me. I felt like the characters at times felt nuanced but at times felt like they relied entirely on stereotypes to tell the story. The meta, tongue-in-cheek attempt to engage with the "bisexual disaster" stereotype at times felt more painful than funny, leaning into the stereotyping a bit too hard and taking the main character's anxiety about falling into that role and making it all too real. The overall lesson of "its okay to be messy" was consequently lost in some of those choices, making what could feel like a strong bucking of stereotypes and critical message about facing complexity as an adolescent instead feel a bit contrived and under-baked. Like all good romances though, it came together with a truly darling HEA that moved beyond the one sweet ending scene to bring the full story to a realistic happy ending that was much more satisfying. Overall, though it feel flat in places, this book set out on a mission to tell the stereotypical story with much "more," and i think on the whole it succeeded in doing so.

This is an interesting and highly original story. Maggie's living a typical teenager life in her hometown in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley. She loves her mom and her sister, but sometimes finds them frustrating. She loves being a photographer and is hoping to pursue it professionally, but is struggling with whether that means she has to leave her home for college in New York City as she has long planned. Her younger sister's quinceañera is fast approaching and Maggie needs to find an escort. This prompts her to reflect on her strong feelings for three separate people in her life -- her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, and the new girl in town. As she tries to figure out who she wants to be her date, and perhaps more, Maggie realizes she may be on the cusp of disaster, that threatens to blow up all of these relationships and other parts of her life.

The characters in the story, especially Maggie, were vividly drawn and compelling, and the story was very engaging.

Highly recommended!

thank you sooo much to Netgalley, Fierce Reads and Colored Pages blog tours for gifting me this book in exchange for an honest review!!

OMG THIS BOOK IS JUST AMAZING AND PHENOMENAL AND IT FELT AS IF I WAS READING MYSELF OMG OMG 😱😱😱 but no, for real, besides the fact that the MC is trying to deal with her love life, it also focuses on what it feels like to take huge decisions that will impact our lives from such a young age, the way one can discover their true feelings for another person, which I thought was just adorable, and how important are friendships in your life. the photography aspect and the concerts were just an amazing add on to this book, something I've never read about before and it made me smile so much whenever the MC talked about pictures and concerts. the prose was amazing as well, truly felt as I was seventeen again, trying to decipher the world around me and my friends. the setting was gorgeous, I really wanted to check google maps all the time to see if those places were real. but owerall, I enjoyed the final thought: that we will all make mistakes and screw it up, but most importantly is to go after what you want the most, apologise if you ruined it and keep trying. i wish this book is read in schools, it's completely necesary even for people my age who are still on the fence about entering adulthood. an amazing read and one I will never forget, ever 💜💜

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster has a heartfelt story with drama, romance, and photography as Maggie tries to understand her heart and her relationships with others. Besides having amazing Bisexual and Latinx rep, this book has great, realistic characters that are flawed but lovable. I also loved how Maggie used her photography as an outlet to understand others.

3.25 Stars. This was an okay read but not the book I was hoping for. It felt like it was an average YA read of the times. I think if I would have read this as a teenager I might have really enjoyed it, but it’s hard to compare this to some of the great YA books I’ve read recently. This is a debut so Mosqueda has the chance to work through the newbie bumps and just get better and better because there is some good potential here.

I have to admit that I really struggled to get into this book. I picked this book up, and then put it back down, four times before I finally pushed myself through it on the fifth day. If this had not been an ARC book I would have DNF’d it. However, I’m glad I kept reading it because once I got about one third into the book I started to enjoy it more. Part of my main issue with the book is that it felt too long. While there were some parts I wished had more time spent on them, others were too long and they started to drag. I definitely did some skimming in the book (mostly in the first third) but I did less and less as the book went on.

On a good note, I loved the family dynamics in the book. The main was in the middle of two sisters, being raised by her widowed mother. To me, this is really where the book shined. The sisterly relationships, and the mother-daughter dynamic was well written and felt real. I thought some of the secondary character in this book needed more development, but not so when it came to this loving family and they truly were my favorite scenes of the book.

The romance in this book is in a triangle. Our main character is dealing with feeling for her ex-boyfriend, her best girlfriend, and the new girl who moved to town. While I didn’t mind the triangle drama -it added some needed conflict to the plot- I don’t think it was the best choice for a debut writers first romance. I will not give away which person our main character picked, but because she had to spend time on all three characters and potential relationships with all of them, there was not a lot of time left for the one she did pick. That’s a big ask to write about one character having feelings for three people in any book, so I think it was a bit much to take on for a new author. And while I liked who the main ended up with, I didn’t really feel the connection with them that I needed to because they didn’t have a ton of alone time together -since a lot of time was spent with other characters-.

TLDR: This was an average YA and a decent debut book. It was hard to get into, but the book does improve as the story goes on. This book had some good things going for it like well written family scenes, but it just didn’t all come together for me. There were also a lot of pop culture references that seemed out of place or just got stale after a while. Maybe I’m getting too old but it really didn’t work having memes quoted to me in this book. In the end this is not a book I can recommend, but I would not say stay away either. I think a younger audience might appreciate it more than I was able to.

There were so many things I loved about this book. From our characters and the dynamics between them feeling fully fleshed out and understood, to the little love notes to Latinx/Chicanx culture, to the awesome portrayal of the bisexual experience.

I loved how messy the main character, Maggie, was because while she might not have had it all figured out, I thought she was brave for acknowledging that and putting in the work to figure out her emotions. At 16/17, that was an extremely mature thing of her to be aware of and while she might have gone about it in a way that was sort of weird, ultimately I think she made the right choices.

Something I also enjoyed so much in this book was the family dynamic between Gonzalez women. Scenes with Maggie, her sisters, and their mom were some of my favorite to read. I love that they all have each other’s backs and support each other no matter what. It’s also always nice seeing similarities to your own family and culture on page, and feeling that representation. Something as simple as Maggie serving herself chorizo and eggs in a flour tortilla for breakfast made me tear up.

While this book was incredible with its LGBTQ representation, its focus on Latinx/Chicanx culture, and its discourse on socioeconomic status, there was also something it focused on that meant a great deal to me personally. This book was in part a love letter to live music and the brown kids from small towns and cities who cling to it.

I’m the brown kid from a city the bands I loved overlooked on every tour in favor of bigger, richer, and safer cities. Maggie talks about wanting to be a tour photographer to bring the outside world to kids in the Rio Grande Valley who, like her, could only access it digitally. There was a time in my life when my entire world revolved around vlogging my concert experiences. Sure the documented memories were partly for me, but they were also for the people who couldn’t access their favorite bands like I was unable to for many years. I knew what it was so sit on YouTube for hours at a time, watching concert video after concert video, so this short paragraph spoke to me on such a deep and personal level:

“I wanted to be a tour photographer almost immediately after I started paying attention to music that wasn’t on the radio. The bands we liked never came to the Valley, and Amanda and I always struggled to get rides to concerts whenever they did deign to come here, since they’d usually come to McAllen, forty-five minutes away. I lived vicariously through Instagram live feeds and YouTube concert diaries, Twitter feuds and TikToks, my tiny phone screen a window to the world I craved.” [Quote pulled from the digital ARC of Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster and might differ from the published edition.]

I thoroughly loved “Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster.” I felt connected to Maggie throughout the entire book and loved her group of friends and her family. It was littered with pop culture references that made me smile, had great representation, and touched my heart multiple times. I’m so glad I read it.

Admittedly, Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster had a slow start for me. The story, essentially about Maggie turning her school art project into a way to work through her feelings and decide who to take to her sister’s quince, felt a bit flat for me at first.

But as the book continues, we get to know Maggie and each of her friends more, and it was then that I got more invested in the story. And this became not so much about who she would choose as her date but about seeing all of the characters grow and figure out their own identities based on their own experiences. Plus, there were a lot of good conversations around respect and boundaries which I think are common and relatable experiences for young adults.

My favorite aspect of Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster was the representation. While it does not reflect my identity, I love the way it was integrated into the story and recommend it for this reason. Plus, I absolutely loved the family dynamic in this book and the positive impact that Maggie’s family had on her life through thick and thin.

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster might take a bit to get into, but once you do it’s a good read about navigating relationships (both romantic and platonic) and finding yourself.

I am so disappointed that this book just wasn't for me. I was so excited for this book but I just didn't like it. The characters never really clicked with me. I feel as if all my issues with this is really just a style difference. I think this book will do great it just wasn't for me.

First off, I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for sending me this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! This is about Maggie Gonzalez, who, like the title says, is your local bisexual disaster. Her sister’s quince is coming up, and she needs to choose her escort. There’s her ex-boyfriend, Matthew, who she has a lot of history with, but should she really go down that road again? There’s her best friend, Amanda, who she starts to wonder might not have totally platonic feelings for her. Lastly, but certainly not least, there’s Dani, the cool new girl who has joined their friend group. But apart from stressing over having feelings for three people, she is also worrying over her future. She knows she wants to be a music photographer, but where should she go to college and what could this mean for her, her family, and her friends? She tries to focus more on who to choose as her escort, and her idea on how to do that causes some problems that she has to figure out.

Maggie makes mistakes and is confused about her future, but she’s just a teenager. I always think it’s great to show that teenagers aren’t perfect and what matters is what they do and what they learn from the mistakes they do make. She’s trying, and yeah, she doesn’t have it all figured out, but who does? I liked her character, and while both Amanda and Matthew frustrated me a lot, their arcs were well-done. There were conversations that definitely needed to be had, and they were long overdue. I liked getting to know who Dani was, and I wish we got to learn more. But it does make sense that we know so much more about Matthew and Amanda since they each have more history with Maggie. Also, I don’t want to spoil anything, so all I’ll say is what ended up happening with this lovesquare was not what I expected. It’s what makes me really wish we got to see more of Dani and Maggie hanging out.

I liked how we saw through Maggie how hard it is to make these decisions about your future when you know what it could mean for your family. Reading about Maggie’s indecision about college brought back memories of when I was in high school having to make these decisions. The financial toll that the cost of college could have on your family, as well as missing them and where you grew up, all affects what college you choose. As much as I’ll say I’m ready to leave, this little town is all I’ve ever known. I can relate to how hard this kind of decision was for Maggie, and I think others will find this relatable as well. I’m glad that this book is able to show teens that it’s completely normal to not have your whole life planned out.

I really loved the rest of the characters. Jordan, who’s Maggie’s best friend, was always by her side, giving her support when she needed it. It’s always nice to see male-female friendships that are only platonic. And I can’t possibly not include the rest of the Gonzalez family in this review. Her older sister, Veronica, and the quinceañera herself, Alyssa, are so supportive of Maggie. Of course, they don’t always get along, but the three have a great sister bond. Also, it was nice to see how supportive their mom is of them and their dreams. As soon as she knew that Maggie wanted to go to NYU (which happened prior to the story), she was onboard and encouraged her. She even asks if someone (I won’t say who) is her girlfriend in the story. All she wants is for her children to be happy. I think it’s really great for queer Latine teens to see this. Also, I love CJ, who is Veronica’s boyfriend. He’s so sweet and is basically family at this point.

The pacing for this book was a little slow, in my opinion. College (specifically preparing for finals) is mostly to blame for how long it took me to finish, but when I finally did come back to it, it felt like her realization of her feelings for all three was pretty quick, especially since she did not know Dani as well yet. And then everything that came after was a little slow. There came a point where she chose someone, and it nearly felt final, but the story had to continue because there were still some loose ends. It also felt like there were a little too many pop culture references at times. But I did like how social media was incorporated into the story, and I thought the project Maggie came up with was really interesting.

Overall, I give this book 4.25 stars!

Maggie Gonzalez starts to reevaluate her feelings for three of her friends when tasked with finding an escort for her sister's quinceañera. But things aren't as simple as she thought they would be.

This book was hit and miss for me in some places. I really liked Maggie and related to her a lot, being a queer Latinx and all. The fact that she is messy and flawed is what makes her character so readable for me. Her intense friendship with Amanda is so realistic and relatable.

There were moments in the book that were either lacking or too over the top for me. I wish Maggie's relationship with Dani had developed a bit more. I get that she was the newest love interest but it would have been nice to see her character more three-dimensional. The queer stereotypes were, there? I guess? They made me recoil a bit but they definitely added to the cringy nature that is being a young teenager. I definitely recommend this to my younger crowd of students (14 to 16).

Over all, it was a solid, okay read. I would give in 3.5 stars here but am rounding down to 3.

*This review can be seen on goodreads*