I loved it. Imogene’s story is so deeply relatable as someone that came out as bi later in life. Her insecurities, fears, realizations, the way she digested and loved queer media with her whole heart while thinking she was straight, just everything. And then knowing about Becky Albertalli’s personal coming out story and being able to see that in Imogen was heartbreaking; especially after reading her author’s note (which if that really isn’t included in the final print editions is a shame).

Beyond all of that, it’s just a good story that’s well written and nearly if not perfectly paced. The characters are properly built out for a YA and the chemistry between the two love interests is so cute.

I hope this books finds its way into as many hands as possible, but particularly those that need it the most.

Also, huge shoutout to the audiobook narrator and Leni Kauffman, the illustrator for the cover, because they both did a great job.

Also also, Becky Albertalli- please write a sapphic romance book where all the characters are out and just living life! My little queer heart needs more of your relationships out in the world, our Flag Means Death style (pirates or no that’s your call, just kidding, unless…). Preferably one without a third act breakup that doesn’t utilize the miscommunication trope. Please and thank you.

Ohh this was so sweet and yet also emotionally tense. Imogen is such a sweet main character and her intense self-doubt/flagellations were hard to read at times. Parts of this felt a little like, lecture-y but in a relatable way--I think most people, especially Gen Zers, know at least one person who tends to speak in all Discourse like Gretchen does. And (as Becky Albertalli's own life experience indicates) there are a lot of messy Discourses within and without the queer community regarding coming out etc. I think this will really resonate with a lot of queer and questioning readers (teens but not only).

“I think I miss it.   
Being straight.   
I mean, I miss people thinking I’m straight.
And by that, I miss people knowing I’m   
straight.   
Because I am. Straight.   
One girl can’t topple your entire sexuality, right?   
   
This book was such a joy to read. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It made me appreciate authors who wholeheartedly invest themselves into writing a book that touches the lives of so many individuals. Especially those who have gone (and may continue to go through) or are going through the journey self-discovery.    
   
Beautiful. Queer. And simply deserves to be on every library shelf across the world.    
   
Please make sure to read the content warnings for this book. 🤍🌈

SOOOOO good! very cute and funny! This book was just filled with lovable characters! I like how Imogen found her self and discovered so much! The love was so sweet!

*I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley.

Imogen calls herself "hopelessly heterosexual." As the only Ally in the Pride Alliance, she has many queer friends and knows more about that world than the heterosexual one that she finds herself in. She decides to spend her Spring Break with her friend Lili who is newly out and at college with her new friends. But it turns out that Lili has told all of her friends that she used to date Imogen. While this was never true, Imogen will do anything she can to keep up the image that her friend is projecting. But Lili's new friend Tessa has Imogen second guessing everything. Is Imogen really straight or has she just not met the right person yet?

This book features mostly the inner journey that Imogen goes through to discover who she is. As a senior in high school, she has only been around one group of people and grown up having friends who knew exactly who they were. I love that Imogen doesn't really have a final answer as to what her sexuality is. So many people figure out who they are as they grow. Our definition of ourselves are always evolving and growing. This book is definitely a growth of characters more so than a plot moving forward. It's an internal struggle that I know many of the teens I serve could find themselves in. I think that's what made this book so meaningful. It also has a very diverse cast of characters so every reader can find themselves in it somewhere.

My favorite Albertalli since Simon Vs. ... Imogen is real and relatable. I loved the friendships, and learning that sometimes friendships aren't always what they used to be or what you need. But mostly this was great for anyone who has ever doubted that they know themselves better than anyone else can and that it's scary, but better than feeling lost.

This was a very personal story from Becky Albertalli and I absolutely loved it! Gretchen was awful (which I think we all saw coming) but everyone else was so sweet and wonderful.

This was a hard book for me to get into. It sat at about 20% done for two weeks, which is very slow for me. I'm glad I stuck with it as it really picked up. It felt very raw and real and I found myself mentally yelling at Gretchen quite a few times.

Can I give this more than 5 stars? I loved this book so much. I am a big fan of Becky Albertalli's work in general, and I think this novel is especially authentic, as she uses it to process her own coming out experience.

In a way, it is a take on the fake relationship trope, with Imogen's friend Lili pretending they are exes, and therefore Imogen is bisexual. Imogen is thrown into an identity that she has never had before and starts to wonder if it might actual fit.

Albertalli captures the experiences of teenage crushes and insecurity so well, and I liked how she deals with the issues of being an ally while also exploring your own sexuality. The characters are well crafted, and I found despite the over-the-top premise, the interactions between the friends felt true.

I highly recommend reading this book.

I absolutely loved reading this book. Not only did I enjoy this, I also found a new author that writes in a captivating way. This book was utterly amazing,I adore Imogen her character is just so relatable and the book will live rent free in my head. It was beautiful and the way that identity plays out in it really stays with you.

I feel like I have so much to say about this book. First, let me talk about the romance and self-discovery story that the author expertly delivers. I think I’ve only read maybe half of the books Becky Albertalli has written, but every one I read is well-crafted. And every one seems to be better than the ones before. Which isn’t to say I didn’t like the earlier books… just that I’m even more engaged with each subsequent one.

Imogen’s character pretty much had me at hello. She’s a sweet, anxious girl who struggles with people-pleasing (totally relatable!), and she continually strives to listen and learn as a queer ally. I adored the connection she makes with Tessa and the way their friendship and the possibility of more develops. I couldn’t wait to see how things would turn out for them.

All in all, I think this was a sweet, engaging story of romance and self-discovery. I love that it explored some queer issues and discourse often debated online, and that it gave readers a minute to pause, digest, and challenge ideas at their own pace.

This is actually my first book by Beck Albertalli, though I've watched the the masterpiece that is Love, Simon. In this story that begins with a must-read author's note, we meet high school senior Imogen as she visits her BFF Lilli who is a freshman at the very college Imogen will be attending next year. But embarrassed by her lack of experience, Lilli has lied to her friends and said that she and Imogen used to date! Except Imogen is straight... maybe? Imogen has always been comfortable in queer spaces, but that all changes when she meets Tessa, who thinking she's queer, flirts with her... and Imogen flirts back...

This is such a beautiful story, full of angst and self discovery and incredible banter--mostly through texts. The story clearly resonates with the author, and it shows. The story demonstrates both the importance of found family and how important it can be to cut out toxic friends. I can't say enough good things about this young adult romance and coming-of-age/coming-out tale, and would whole-heartedly recommend it.

Thanks to Balzer + Bray for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

This is the book I was hoping UPSIDE was all those years ago. It had all of the heart of SIMON VS., along with tackling a sensitive subject with care. Now, I do want to mention that I'm not queer in any way, so I might very well be missing something a queer person might decide is concerning, but I thought this was done with a lot of care, especially knowing where Becky is coming from. That's all I'm going to say about that though, seeing as there are more qualified people to talk about that aspect of it. The characters were great though, and like always the side characters were just as great as the main character. I have no doubt there will be some people who won't click with Imogen just because of her personality, which could be a little irritating at times, but she's a young girl learning who she is, so I didn't mind it. Once again all of the adults were great, and while I know that's not always the case in the lives of teens (or adults) who come out/are already out as LGBTA+ it's nice to see adults in teen lit that have that frame of mind, because goodness knows there's enough media with terrible parents. The romance was also adorable. It was just a pure delight reading the interaction between Imogen and her love interest; cotton candy and butterflies for sure, the sweetest. I loved the side characters as well, and the non-romantic relationships (both friendships and sibling relationships) were great. Becky is great at writing genuine, positive relationships between characters. The only things that I didn't love about this story were the fact that it seemed to romanticize college to a degree (don't get me wrong, college is great but it's not all great, and there are some people that it just doesn't click with), and there were a few things that seemed a little inconsistent character-wise as the book went on. But really both of those are such small things, and overall I enjoyed the book very much. I will be more than happy to recommend it to anyone coming into the store looking for a teen LGBTQ+ book, and for fans looking for more works like SIMON VS. I can't wait to see what Becky comes up with next.

Every time I think I've aged out of being able to enjoy YA contemporary Becky Albertalli comes to prove me wrong. This is the queer coming age (and coming out) story of your dreams, lads. Becky Albertalli hasn't written one book that doesn't have such a strong narrative voice that you feel like you know and love her protagonists, that you believe they are a real person down to an atomic level, it is a true skill and a delight.
I loved Imogen and all her quirks - she is fashionable! she tries hard! she is a people pleaser [non-derogatory]! she worries so much about never stepping on anyone's toes that she doesn't realise the box (or, alas, closet) she finds herself in simply because she is scared of occupying spaces that she doesn't feel worthy of. Her finding herself and coming out was handled with so much heart and care, so tenderly and carefully that I couldn't help but feel for her.
I also loved the group of chaos gays™ she finds herself surrounded by. Anyone that loves the queer found family aspects of any Casey McQuinston novel, HEARTSTOPPER or OPHELIA AFTER ALL will love this ecclectic group of friends.
Albertalli also has a gift in using the right amount of pop culture references to help you understand perfectly who her characters are and where they stand in the world (whether these references are bound to age the book quickly or not, they manage to perfectly capture who her characters are in the here and now). This was also SO funny! And so quick!! I thought I was finding myself in a slump, and also with little time to read on my hands, but I always managed to fly through an unexpected chunk of this book because it did such a good job in drawing me in and sweeping me up.
Also MIXED MEDIA ALERT for those who, like me, LOVE this in books - we have plenty of text conversations between our protagonist and her friends, and the voices once again shine through so well!! (emoji use says so much about a person!!)
Overall a treat and a delight

Thanks to Netgalley & HarperCollins Children’s Books for the ARC of this!

Imogen was absolutely adorable in all her overthinking, maybe-a-bisexual disaster. Gretchen was the worst friend and she had me so upset. Im glad there were so many positive characters to balance her out! Overall very cute and sweet without too much drama or upset.

StoryGraph review in link. Thank you for the book!

I really enjoyed this book and I felt that Imogen was a relatable character that you could connect with. This is definitely my favorite Becky Albertalli book.

This book was so precious and it makes me so happy it exists for anybody who might find themselves in a position similar to Imogen. It’s sweet, well-written, and all the characters feel so real! Overall, such a joy to read.

Everyone knows that I loveee a good found family trope and I am so happy that I was able to receive this book! This was heart-warming, cute, and very beautifully written. Thank you NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley and Balzer + Bray for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: biphobia, coming out, queer phobia, discussions of a person being internet bullied into coming out, toxic friendship

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-f/f YA romance
-epistolary
-found family
-bi rep

This book was a masterpiece I couldn't put down. The pacing, the light frothiness of Imogen. The flirting and just first crush vibes. Imogen was an amazing main character and I adored her. Visiting her best friend at college. This book is an ode to coming out at any age, of acceptance, of family (blood and found) and of just loving yourself.

Imogen believed she was straight her entire life, despite how comfortable she felt in queer spaces, but once Tessa enters the picture she begins to question everything. Despite how heavy some of these topics can be this book addressed them head on and in a beautiful and light way as Imogen navigated understanding herself and just accepting herself.

The romance with Tessa was like the icing on the best tasting cupcake. I adored their flirting, how they became friends and just the really sweet way they were with each other. just the gentle way they fell into their crush and how adorable they were as they bumbled through it. Could not recommend this one more.

Steam: 1

You know those formative authors that you love so hard that you worry the next book that they have you may not love? Well, apparently I do not need to have that stress with Becky Albertalli. I adored Imogen in all the ways that I hoped I would.