So good!!! My favorite Becky Albertalli book since Simon vs! I'll be honest, I was very anxious about reading this book because nothing sets me off like queer discourse. It makes me miserable, so I went in kind of dreading what I thought would be a discourse heavy story. But it's actually a fun, positive, and cute story that has a swoon-worthy crush, college visit shenanigans, lots of adorable animals, and some really outstanding characters! There is discourse, led single-handedly by one character who has major gatekeeper energy. It's the sort of unfortunate in-group criticism that's alienating and divisive (e.g. forcing people to come out, assuming other people's sexuality, not believing when someone says they're queer, etc.) This book does a good job of showing the affects that discourse on queer people and people who are questioning their sexuality. Thankfully, the other characters push back against these ideas. I loved that Imogen does find support, and she's finally able to work through her feeling and embrace her sexuality.

I ended up binge reading this in one day ended up having so much fun! The college weekend and all the flirting and banter is pure romcom gold. Was I smiling like an idiot reading a text chain between two fictional girls? Maybe so! As a person who discovered their queerness in their twenties, this book made me feel validated and seen, and I hope many readers will also find comfort and joy in this story.

Imogen, Obviously is a coming of age YA novel about the world’s best “ally” coming to terms with what it means to be more than that. The story was strong and the characters were realistic. This is the kind of tale I would have needed as a questioning teenager. Some of the plot was a little repetitive, and the main character was a little annoying with how many times she claimed to be straight, although that was the point. The romance was a little too easy, but sweet. Overall it was cute, but a little overbearing.

Love love love!!! Such realistic LGBTQ representation! This book truly showed the good and bad parts with in the LGBTQ community. A lot of ‘food for thought’ kind of stuff. This group of characters was all I could ever ask for and more! Imogen is literally so fucking funny, and Tessa is just and absolutely delight! (Screw Gretchen though.) u would live in this book if I could.


Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Children’s books, and Blazer+Bray for the ARC! Out May 2nd, 2023!!!

Imogen Scott is the sweetest, most caring friend and sister. She has always thought of herself as the straight ally to her queer sister and friends. Lily is a longtime friend, newly out and is already at the college where Lily will attend in the fall. Lily invites Imogen for a weekend to meet her new friends and enjoy the campus. She doesn’t know until she gets there that Lily has embellished their history and said they use to date. The friend group warmly welcomed her especially Tessa.

This is a story with so many levels. Imogen coming to realize she may not be as straight as she thought.. But she also doesn’t want to appropriate queerness if it isn’t real. There are streaming thought as she tries to figure out her feelings and attraction. And It doesn’t help that her other best friend keeps reminding her that she is straight. A lot of questions pop up on timing and the need to come out or be forced out. And reading the author’s notes this is a very personal story for her.

I’m going to read anything Albertalli writes because she is thoughtful and gets teens feelings. I did think the friend group falls into the YA jargon of too many slang terms and pop cultural references. I still don’t know teens that talk that way. But this book is so sweet. The texting between friends and especially with Tessa is adorable. The romance doesn’t feel rush even though the book covers just over a week. It doesn’t go beyond attraction and kissing which fits the time frame they know each other. I enjoyed this and think that are so many Imogen’s out there that need this story. For high school and up.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.. (4.5 Stars)

I loved this book so much. It is probably my favorite Becky Albertalli book to-date! Imogen's struggles with her sexuality were incredibly relatable and I was rooting for her the whole time.

I adored this so much. I adored Imogen and Lili and all of Lili’s friends!! The atmosphere!! The college campus vibes!! Also, I related so much to Imogen! I cannot wait to have a physical copy so I can hug it, which is basically like hugging Imogen herself, right?!

This is going HIGH on my to recommend list!!

I enjoyed reading about Imogen's journey as she learned more about herself and her sexuality and got to know her best friend from home's friends in college. This is a sweet story about a first queer crush. It's also about queer/bisexual gatekeeping, toxic friendship, the way everyone's journeys to coming out or realizing if they're not straight are individual, and so much more. I liked the way this touched on so many assumptions that people have about bisexuality. There was also some good dialogue about queerbaiting. Generally, I liked Imogen's sister and her new friends and enjoyed the overall journey in this book. And I liked that this one was more personal for Becky Albertalli!

I absolutely am obsessed with anything Becky Albertalli. The second she worked with Adam Silvera I fell in love with her. This book did not disappoint. I love when an author acknowledges the fandom's requests and gives them more about side characters that we did not get in the other titles. I loved this and it was exactly what I had hoped for.

Obviously this is the bestest book ever. I loved it. Lili and Imogen's friendship is the best. Imogen's inner thoughts and trying to fit in a box others put her in. Gretchen, grr.

This was a cute coming-out YA romance with more of a college setting. I think this will really help those that are struggling in the closet, it's refreshing in the way it shows that there's really no way or ways to be the right gay. There's not many books like that yet and there should be! At times it felt like a texting fanfic though

I don’t know how Becky Albertalli does it, but man, every single character she writes feels so completely relatable, regardless of what we have in common. This is clearly a very personal book for the author, as she delves into in her author’s note, but it involves her journey to discovering that she was part of the LGBTQ community. Which is Imogen’s journey, too.

The story basically revolves around Imogen figuring her life out. Not just her sexuality, though that is certainly a big part of it, but lots of stuff. Like her future plans, where she fits in the world, all that good stuff that we all have to navigate while growing up. She is very drawn to her friend Lili’s college friend group, and she seems to fit right in when she goes to visit. But what she hadn’t bargained for was some burgeoning feelings for one of the girls in the group. Worse, when she tells her friend at home, Gretchen (who let the record show behaves like she’s the Queer Police in general) about these confusing feelings, Gretchen completely dismisses her and basically makes fun of her. So now, Imogen is extra confused.

I adored taking this journey with Imogen. I loved her friends, and I loved the humor and wittiness infused on every page. It is very clearly such a heartfelt story, chronicling Imogen’s sometimes messy, always genuine odyssey to find herself.

Bottom Line: I loved every minute of this story, which is very clearly oozing with heart and love.

**Thank you for the ARC. All opinions are completely my own.**

4 stars. A sweet and short read. Highly recommended for those who want to immerse themselves in our lovely main character Imogen's perspective. I enjoyed Imogen's introspection and personality.

TLDR; Very cute!

Very cute! The characters all felt realistic and believable, and the writing style made it really easy for me to finish this book in just a few days. I’ve read a few books by this author before and they weren’t my favorite, but I definitely adored this one. I could tell that she drew from her own experiences when writing this and I think it added to the realism and raw emotion the characters were feeling. Imogen was really relatable, as I also had a big problem with doubting my own identity and not feeling queer enough in the past. I think that will really resonate with a lot of people.

Grammar and character voice were great, but I noticed a small typo in chapter 38: “I think that as tight as they go, right?” Super minor and very easily fixed. Can’t wait for the official release!

Imogen, Obviously is about a teenager that all she's life she thinks that she is only an ally to the community. She had to bestfriend who are in the community and a sister. All her life she thinks that she is a straight.
The story started to when Imogen will be visiting the College she will be going and her other best friend, she bonded with her bestfriends queer friends over the weekend and have sort of messaging friend and it confuses her stand about her gender.
This book is for all the queer that is boxed by their friends as being straight. This book is for all the people who is still finding their identities. May you all not be pressured by the society and may your coming out stories be yours and not being imposed to you.

Overall will rate this book 5/5 and recommend it to every Y/A readers I know. Maybe I don't relate to Imogen's story as a queer. But I love how Becky Albertalli shows in this book that it is not easy to be firm or be certain with your sexuality. It takes time and acceptance.

“And when she talks about the queer community, who does she mean? Who gets let in? Who gets shoved out? And what do you do with the fact that no two people seem to do queerness in quite the same way?”

Imogen Scott is about to graduate high school, has a favorite adverb (it’s obviously, obviously), and is straight. Obviously. Never mind that her favorite movie is But I’m a Cheerleader. Never mind that she dutifully shows up to every Pride Alliance meeting and is surrounded by queer friends. Never mind that when she meets Tessa, a cool college lesbian, she starts feeling… feelings. Point is, she’s just an Ally with a capital A. Otherwise, she would’ve known that she was queer much sooner, surrounded by as many queer people as she is. That’s what her friend Gretchen, says, after all, and she’d know, being unashamedly bisexual. Imogen is grateful that Gretchen’s always there to check her when she says something that’s a little problematic coming from a straight person and to make sure that she never oversteps into queer territory. Gretchen knows Imogen is straight, and Imogen can’t argue with that. Then why does she find herself flirting (can she even call it that?!) back with Tessa and staying up until 2am texting her? Maybe her sexuality isn’t so obvious after all…

From critically-acclaimed author Becky Albertalli comes yet another beautiful and hilarious queer coming-of-age novel. Even though I am a voracious reader of LGBTQ+ fiction, I’ve never read a story quite like Imogen’s before, where the focus of the book is on her struggle with identifying as bisexual while being perceived as not “queer enough” (whatever that means). The book unpacks what it truly means to be queer and acknowledges the unfortunate instances when some queer individuals invalidate the existence of others who do not fit their narrow definition of queerness. While the romance was undoubtedly cute—Tess is such a sweetheart!—Imogen’s growth throughout the novel is what stood out to me the most. She realizes the toxicity of her friendship with Gretchen, who keeps insisting that she’s straight because, apparently, she isn’t queer enough. Additionally, she grapples with her people-pleasing tendencies and the paralyzing self-doubt that tends to come with being a teenager on a journey to self-discovery. Imogen’s flaws are on full display, though the way she grows into herself by the end is inspiring to read and will doubtlessly empower many teenagers who pick up this book.

As Imogen herself realizes, every queer experience is different, which is why books like Imogen, Obviously, and other queer coming-of-age stories are so crucial for every kid to have.

DNF at 20%
I can already tell that this is going to be a three star book, at best. The writing is just ok, most of the characters are one-dimensional. The main character is ok, but her inner monologue is repetitive. And I really don't like her friend Gretchen.

I was really impressed by “Imogene, Obviously.” I think the author really nailed the inner monologue of a shy/quiet overthinker, as well as the journey of someone who has discovered their queerness “late” or of someone who has to discover it at all . You can tell that the author is writing from personal experience, from the disclaimer of course, but also from the reality of the writing. I think that the overall theme of figuring out who you are and being true to that in spite of the boxes that other people try to put you in will be relevant and relatable to teens at large. I also thought that the bits about internet discourse about celebrities’ personal lives were really relevant, and I liked that it addressed the prevalence of stereotypes that can affirm queer people who fit into them but can also exclude those who don’t.

The cast of supporting characters was a little large and a little underdeveloped, and the plot wasn’t the most riveting, but in a coming out story, it made sense that it was so internal and that the depth was limited to a few close interpersonal relationships.

It’s hard for me to review Imogen, Obviously because it meant so much to me. I’m not in the same exact shoes as Imogen, but my late-20s self felt incredibly seen by her journey and especially by the way her brain works through it. This is my favorite Becky Albertalli novel since Simon, and it has her trademark humor, entertaining friend group, and a relatable heroine in Imogen. But with this one, you can really feel how personal it is, and how much emotion she put into it. Bravo to her for processing her own experience, unfortunately lived so publicly, with questioning, coming to understand, and toxicity (Gretchen is so accurately infuriating) into a book that I think will help many young readers (and ones a decade older, or more, than Imogen!).

What a delight! I can’t believe I’ve never read an Albertalli book before. Clearly I have been missing out.

This is such an important book for teens who may be questioning or otherwise trying to figure out their identities.

The characters are well-rounded, and for the most part (looking at you Gretchen) likable.

This will make an excellent addition to YA shelves this year.

This was so freaking cute! I loved it. It also reminded me how much I enjoy young adult romance. I have to read more because it’s cute and so uplifting!

Imogen is my baby! Omg, her bisexual awakening was so real. The phase of “I’m totally straight but this girl is so pretty and I’d love to kiss her” is like a universal step. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I loved the support system Imogen had. Not Gretchen, she can go away and never come back. Aside from her, everyone was so adorable and amazing. Lili is the best friend ever. Always validating Imogen’s feelings and anxiety, and also protecting her from Gretchen’s toxic behavior.

The romance was so sweet. This book has a full HEA, but I would consider it more like a HFN, and I’m gonna explain why: this story is about Imogen’s identity, and developing a crush on Tessa is the trigger. So, while the romance is always present, we only get the first stages of the relationship (the story lasts one week and Tessa and Imogen didn’t know each other before), and that’s perfect because I know Tessa and Imogen are together, but I also know that the most important thing is that Imogen finally got to unlock a side of herself she never thought existed.

I hugely recommend this book to everyone, and I think it’s a wonderful book for the teenagers who are starting to figure out their identities!

Rating: 4/5
Steam level: None - Young adult

ARC provided by HarperCollins and NetGalley. Opinions are my own!