*My Not So Anonymous Best Friend* by Elizabeth Arroyo is a heartfelt YA contemporary that beautifully captures the highs and lows of friendship, identity, and self-discovery. The story follows Santi, a quiet, artistic teen who prefers to keep to himself—until he starts anonymously connecting with someone online. Little does he know, his secret confidant might be closer than he thinks.

The book does a great job of exploring deep topics like mental health, belonging, and the power of genuine connections. Santi’s journey is emotional and relatable, making it easy to root for him as he steps out of his comfort zone. The friendships feel authentic, and the slow-burn mystery of the anonymous friend keeps things interesting. However, the pacing drags in some places, and a few side characters could have been developed more. Still, if you love stories about friendship, personal growth, and a touch of online mystery, this is definitely worth the read!

I loved this book. Idk why it took me so long to read it it. But it was so good! I need the physical copy. It literally had me in from sentence one.

This was a great book! I really enjoyed it and will definitely recommend this book. I loved the storyline and the characters development.

My Not So Anonymous Best Friend: A Review

**My Not So Anonymous Best Friend** is a captivating exploration of friendship, identity, and the complexities of the digital age. The story follows two best friends, Sarah and Emily, whose online personas are vastly different from their real lives. While Sarah embraces anonymity and uses her online alias to express herself freely, Emily struggles to reconcile her authentic self with the curated version she presents online.

The novel delves into the anxieties and insecurities that accompany online interactions, particularly for teenagers navigating the pressures of social media. Sarah's anonymous persona, 'TheGhostWriter,' allows her to explore her creativity and express her true feelings, but it also isolates her from genuine connection. Emily, on the other hand, feels trapped by the need to maintain a perfect online image, leading to a disconnect between her online and offline lives.

The author masterfully portrays the nuances of their friendship, highlighting both its strengths and vulnerabilities. Sarah's anonymity becomes a source of conflict, testing the boundaries of their relationship and forcing Emily to confront her own insecurities. The novel explores themes of trust, betrayal, and the blurred lines between reality and the digital world.

**Strengths:**

* **Relatable characters:** Sarah and Emily are complex and relatable characters, grappling with issues that resonate with teenagers today. Their struggles with self-esteem, social pressure, and the desire to be seen and heard are authentic and engaging.
* **Compelling plot:** The story unfolds at a steady pace, keeping the reader hooked with twists and turns that explore the consequences of online anonymity. The mystery surrounding 'TheGhostWriter' adds an element of suspense, keeping the reader guessing until the very end.
* **Thought-provoking themes:** The novel raises important questions about online identity, privacy, and the impact of social media on relationships. It encourages readers to reflect on their own online behavior and the importance of authenticity.

**Weaknesses:**

* **Predictable ending:** While the plot is engaging, the ending feels somewhat predictable, lacking the surprise element that could have elevated the story further.
* **Limited character development:** While Sarah and Emily are well-developed, some of the supporting characters could have benefited from more depth and complexity.

**Overall:**

**My Not So Anonymous Best Friend** is a compelling and thought-provoking novel that offers a realistic portrayal of teenage life in the digital age. While the ending may be predictable, the story's exploration of friendship, identity, and online anonymity is engaging and relevant. This novel will resonate with teenagers and adults alike, prompting conversations about the complexities of online relationships and the importance of authenticity in a world where it is often hard.

I LOVED the queer representation, first of all! The characters were so loveable and easy to like, and I thought this was cute, sweet and heartwarming! Perhaps it was a little bit cliche here and there but I actually don’t mind that when it’s done well!

I expected to like this a lot more than I did! I think it was slightly too cliché for me but I could definitely see others loving this book :]

I know I mentioned this once before, but I have to admit when I am reading eBooks I never really pay that much attention to the percentage of how much I read and what the length of the book is.

So, imagine my surprise when I read this pretty much in a sitting. It was a rather quick and fun read for me. I should mention before I go any further that there are a few trigger warnings in the book. ( grief, violence, abuse) This book had me all over the place with my feelings. There were so many ah that is so sweet and adorable to heartbreaking.

This is a young adult contemporary debut. Elizabeth is the Latinx author of speculative fiction novels for teens. (Before Dawn, The Second Shadow, and The Second Sign.)

The book is about Noah and Evan. They first met in sixth grade through a pen pal exchange program at school. Do you remember doing that in school? I do and I had two penpals. One was Lucy from England and the other was Maria for Italy. The penpals are anonymous.

Over the years, Noah started to confide in Evan and I think that was because they never thought they would actually meet in person. That is until one day Evan moves. What will each other do and say to the other? Will secrets they shared privately be exposed?

Not only is Noah a gamer but he is an up-and-coming rockstar. Up until now, Noah has kept a secret and that is he is gay. Evan encourages him to come out but how will everyone react especially his father?

Evan is a high school football player who has secrets of his own. I felt so sad for Evan because he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be loved and that he doesn’t deserve better and to me, that is so sad. Everyone deserves a good life and to be loved. I guess this is where the mom in me comes out because I just wanted to reach into the book and tell him that he deserves to be loved and to have all that the world can give him. Evan is worthy of all that. But will he see that?

I really enjoyed this and you can’t help but root for Noah and Evan throughout the book. There were a few things that didn’t sit well with me and that was how dominating Evan could be and Noah just taking it and not standing up for himself. I wish there would have been a little more back history as to why Evan was like that. I guess when you have parents who leave you alone all the time it could be expected.

Also, I love how forgiving Noah can be. Without giving away anything I will say when someone does him wrong that was major he is like okay I forgive you let’s go grab a coffee. For me, I don’t think I could be that forgiving right away if someone did something major to me and I know for sure I wouldn’t say hey let’s go get a coffee.

Not sure if there is going to be a second book or if this is a standalone but I felt like there were a few loose ends that needed to be tied up. Not sure if it’s just me or not.

I have to say that this book has been pretty much under the radar. I didn’t hear about this until one morning when I was scrolling through NetGalley to see what new books were available to read now, after reading the synopsis I instantly downloaded it, and then I got an email from Xpresso Book Tours looking for hosts to do a book blitz of the book and I instantly signed up because this book definitely needs to be out there.

I really enjoyed this. Evan really made my heart hurt and I was rooting for him and Noah from the start.

I liked how one of the characters knew the identity of the other from the start. That was refreshing, since usually one finds out sometime in the middle. But for the rest, I felt it was a pretty cliche story. I really liked Axel and Thomas, and I enjoyed what Evan’s brothers brought to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Evernight Teen for the electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Noah Stone and Evan Santiago meet anonymously in 6th grade, as part of a school pen pal assignment. They are only introduced by initials, NOS, meet XES. They stay in touch throughout the rest of their school years without giving their real names, but when they are in high school, Evan’s family moves, and he inadvertently learns that Noah is NOS.

On the surface, they have little in common. Noah is a musician—on his way to becoming a rock star, under his father’s management—as well as a gamer, and newly out of the closet. Evan is an athlete, on the football team as well as being a competitive swimmer, and a bit of a player.

Their worlds begin overlapping—a stray football hits Noah, giving Evan a reason to interact with him directly. Noah is mentoring one of Evan’s brothers. As the book alternates between their points of view, it becomes clear that they are definitely interested in each other.

This is a book about secrets—how they affect our lives and relationships, and the way others see us. It’s a book about family, and the roles we play in our families, whether by choice or necessity. It’s about figuring out who we are, and how that fits into others’ expectations. It’s about father-son relationships. And it’s about first love.

I raced through this book—it was an easy read, and I really cared about what happened to the characters. The only thing I struggled with was remembering that they were teenagers. Their experiences sometimes made them seem much older—and then the story would jump right back into high school to remind me that they were seniors. I really appreciated how the book addressed mental health issues, and how this tied into the father-son relationships. I will be keeping an eye out for more by this author.

Sad I didn’t love this, it’s not my favorite. It needs to be edited. The characters lack depth. It just seems surface level… not really good or bad? Just in the middle.

“Noah believed in love everlasting. Love trumps all. Love is enough. I loved him with all my soul, but the inevitable still had us separate. And in truth, I just had no clue.”

I LOVE this book! I love the characters, I love their growth and how they took on the challenges they faced and came out on top. I loved the way Evan and Noah’s relationship grew and how even in the moments that they were tested - both personally and as a couple - and made decisions that would normally make me as a reader want to scream and shake them, I just loved them every more. There was a great balance of lighthearted and serious moments that kept the story from becoming boring or predictable! It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. 100% recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this beautiful novel!

This book was a mix of cuteness, sadness and LGBT representation ! So, I loved it !

First of all, the representation of gay people was nicely written and the characters were very endearing.
The story is a bit basic but it really works, a gay man who plays an instrument and the quaterback guy. I found the combination of the two really sweet.
Then we have the background of Evan, made me sob a few times, not gonna lie. No spoilers but him blaming himself was so well put it made the story really sad and i just wanted to hug the boy.

All in all, the book was a really nice read for me and i put it 4 stars.
I really recommend it to anyone who loves a boy/boy romance with angst :)

This is the first time I came upon a book with no hype surrounding it. No one was talking about it. Even Goodreads had only a handful of ratings. But I'm glad I accidentally stumbled upon this book on Netgalley and immediately grabbed it.

My Not So Anonymous Best Friend is a sweet classic teen love story. It will give you all the feelings of falling in love for the first time, coming out to your family, having lots of amazing, supportive, caring friends, music, lots of pining for the hot hunk of a football quarterback and dilemma about whether love is enough or not to keep a person in your life.

I love the writing style. It was very easy to read and felt like I'm reading a children's book. The plot was very cheesy and cliched. While the story kept me hooked, the whole book was predictable. This books gave me mixed feelings. I didn't hate this book neither did I love it.
I felt that my 17 year old self would have liked this book even more than present me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Evernight Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of "My Not So Anonymous Best Friend" by Elizabeth Arroyo.

Noah and Evan have known each other for years but only Evan is aware of this fact. He has moved and met Noah at school one day and found out that Noah is NOS, his old pen pal from elementary school. Now that two are dancing around each other as the attraction between them is there but neither feels like they can confess it to each other. Evan is posing as straight not only because of his football credit but to keep himself alive at home wit an abusive father. Noah has only recently come out at school and has left his first boyfriend, he also thinks that Evan hates him and so is afraid of acting on his feelings. When the two of them finally do get together the chemistry explodes.

I really enjoyed this book, as an older reader I have found myself starting to get frustrated with YA reads (expectedly and not as a problem with the writing in any way at all) because of the characters. Noah and Evan only mildly hit that problem area for me and their character building and background more than compensated for that. While I adored this story I do struggle with the idea that it is categorized as YA, for me it reads almost as adult or as very late YA for 16 and 17 year olds at the earliest. The talk of sex, abuse, drugs and more that happens in this story made this book read as older for me.

Things that I loved about this book was the chemistry between Noah and Evan. They really did seem drawn to each other even when they were fighting. I also appreciated that Noah wasn't the conventional rock star type and nobody, except for his father, is trying to change anything like that about him. Noah has great friends who support him but also call him on his bullshit. The same can be said for Evan his friend is there for him through everything (though really what senior has parents that are never home and just leave you this house?). I loved Evan's siblings and how they were catalysts in this story and not just background players.

There were some things that I struggled with in this story. The references to Evan's dominant character were awkward, unexplained, and tried to be used to explain away his controlling nature. I would have liked to see Noah stand up to him a bit and seen some growth with that. Noah and his father's relationship is very fraught and the ending really didn't give me any of the closure that I wanted, Noah just gives in even though in the middle of the story it seems like he really doesn't want to pursue music at the end he just goes with it. The last real problem I had with the story was Noah being SO forgiving. He couldn't hold a grudge at all, which is great as a character trait and allowed for some of the story to move on much more quickly than it would have otherwise but his forgiveness toward Sasha after she betrays him with the fan site (I apologized and she apologized and we had ice cream and coffee seems a little trite) and his constant forgiveness of Evan grated on me just a little.

Despite those challenges this was compelling, I didn't want to put it down almost from the first page and I was rooting for Evan and Noah the whole way through. I gave this story 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

3 stars

It was alright. I was pulled in by the story and rooting for these characters but ultimately I felt let down. I felt like Noah’s story with music should have been more. I still think Noah was originally written as female abs changed to “suit” the story. Evan was your typical male protagonist and I’m tired of the borderline abusive male getting the guy (or girl) at the end. He made me uncomfortable and I want to see growth before they deserve the other.

Yet I still rate it 3 stars because I couldn’t put the book down. I liked Sasha. I don’t know. I read it and quickly but it leaves a taste in my mouth.

My NOT So Anonymous Best Friend
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
by Elizabeth Arroyo
Release Date: April 29, 2022


When Noah , using the handle NOS2321, began messaging his pen pal, known by his handle XES6969, neither realized the would continue messaging for years. Little did they know that fate had so much more in store for them. Through heartbreaks, dad-agers, high school life, budding music careers, sports, and some serious family drama. They share their lives, at least some of it. They stay anonymous, but XES6969, or Evan, has a secret. He knows who NOS2321 is.

BEYOND THIS POINT MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

I am mentally freaking out over how much I freaking loved this book!!!! Noah and Evan are both such amazing characters. They have developed backstories and real life stuff that drives or hinders them. I really expected this to be a fluffy rom/com, but what I got was an amazing story that should be up there with Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli. I am so excited for this to be released so that you can all read it. I’m going to go pre-order it now because I need a physical copy!

I think there's a lot of potential and good ideas but it didn't worked for me. I think that some editing could turn this arc into a compelling novel.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thanks NetGalley and Evernight Teen for this eARC, these opinions are my own. When I read the description of this book I had to read it! Anonymous pen pals, where one of them knows who the other is, sounds so good especially when you add a possible love connection! Noah and Evan were given a school assignment in eighth grade to write to pen pals, they ended up being long term friends but they decided to stay anonymous! That is until Evan moves to Noah’s town, going to his school, and learns who Noah is. But he decides not to tell Noah, complicated things as the two grow closer! Add in Noah’s growing musical career and Evan’s family complications and it makes for one heck of a ride! There were times in this book where things seemed slightly weird but overall everything came together quite nicely! I enjoyed the build up to Noah and Evan, I liked that there was complications to their relationship and that things weren’t easy! I liked that there wasn’t just one event they had to overcome but rather multiple events! I felt for Evan and the difficulties he was dealing with, there’s some tuff family situations in this book so pay attention to trigger warnings or content warnings before reading! Overall this was a pretty good story and I’ll be excited to read it again when it comes out!

Thanks for the ARC to NetGalley and the publisher.

I’ve been reading my fellow reviewers opinions on this book and sadly I have to agree. This book needs more editing. The writing is a little immature and it annoyed me a lot reading it. The conversations seemed off for some reason and the story line was done by so many authors and they all did it so much better. I’m sorry to say it so harsh. I think this book could be good with better editing, maybe polishing some of the rough scenes. And the characters need more depth. The main character literally only had one trait: liking video games and being an underdog. That bored me very much.