Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl by Brianna R. Shrum and Sara Waxelbaum is a delightful read that beautifully balances humor, emotional depth, and lightheartedness. Initially, I found myself a bit skeptical as the writing seemed somewhat awkward and cheesy. However, this book quickly won me over, and I found it hard to put down as I became increasingly invested in the characters and their journey.

At its core, Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl is a character-driven story that shines due to its strong character development and the relatability of its cast. The characters are vividly drawn and incredibly lovable, each with their own flaws and personal growth arcs. The novel excels in exploring these imperfections, making the characters' struggles and triumphs feel authentic and engaging.

The diverse cast adds an extra layer of richness to the narrative, ensuring that the story resonates with a broad audience. The focus on character flaws and personal growth is a central theme, and the authors handle this aspect with sensitivity and insight, creating a narrative that is both reflective and meaningful.

Despite the initial reservations about the writing style, the emotional depth and character-driven plot quickly made up for it. The medium-paced storyline allows for a gradual and satisfying development of the characters' relationships and individual journeys, making the book a compelling and enjoyable read.

In summary, Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl is a charming and heartfelt novel that showcases excellent character development and a thoughtful exploration of personal flaws and growth. It’s a testament to the authors' ability to create a story that, while initially a bit uneven, ultimately delivers a rewarding and engaging experience. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a reflective and entertaining read with endearing characters.

Margo Zimmerman seems to have it all: intelligence, beauty, and a relationship with one of the school's most popular guys. However, everything changes when a game of spin the bottle at a party leads Margo to realize she's gay. With her brother unable to offer guidance, Margo turns to Abbie Sokoloff, the only openly queer person she knows. In exchange for academic tutoring, Abbie agrees to teach Margo about queer culture. This light-hearted tale humorously addresses lesbian and bisexual stereotypes, albeit with dialogue that occasionally feels more mature than teen-oriented. Despite some confusion in distinguishing between the protagonists' voices, this sex-positive romance offers an engaging story with Jewish, neurodivergent, and queer characters. While somewhat one-dimensional, the characters' journey of self-discovery makes for a compelling read.

This was a fantastic book, though there were some spots where it seemed to get a little stilted. Overall, it was great, even if I did think there were some parts that lagged a little for me. I think I just expected it to be something different. I'll give it another reread to see if it was just an off day!

omds this was an arc i received in 2023 (soooo sorry for the delay a depressive episode where the content i consumed was weird happened) anyway thank you net galley
before i talk about anything who the fuck names their child mendel this has got to be a crime some where.
anyway abbie my beloved babygirl. i also have family issues and abandonment issues. also the lessons they were sooooo.
i am glad margo zimmerman got the girl (by being adorably oblivious first then just a good human kind of)
anyway 4 stars. would recommend.

Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl is a YA/new adult book that takes readers along as Margo enlists Abbie to help her overachieving self explore her identity as a lesbian, and in turn, she'll help Abbie with her history grade. It's a quid pro quo arrangement that turns into more.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl reminds me of those 90s rom-coms where a popular kid teaches the nerdy kid how to be popular. Except in this one, we’re teaching Margo Zimmerman how to be gay. One thing I like about this one is how realistic it is to the behavior of actual teens. I think sometimes authors write YA books to teach morality to teens and sometimes they just want to read about themselves being just a little messy.

It was a solid read. We’ll say 3.5/5 stars because I really was entertained as I read it but I probably won’t remember it two years from now.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This book was fascinating and breathtaking. The concept and the execution were phenomenal and I am so glad I picked up this book. I picked this book up and finished it on the same day, I could not put it down! If you enjoy WLW relationships, this is definitely a book you should pick up. I can not recommend this book enough.

I read this months ago, but I haven't actually managed to write a review before now just because every time I try to write it I get writer's block. So here are some messy, unpolished thoughts.

The basic overview is I was pretty disappointed with this book. I think the premise was good, but beyond that I don't have a lot to say about it. It felt unbalanced and like it still needed a lot of editing. Either things were overexplained or not explained enough. I felt like there were terms like "masking" which I was familiar with, but which I don't think everyone will be familiar with which would have only taken one sentence to explain but they didn't bother. I was CONSTANTLY confused about the timeline of this book. It mentioned Thanksgiving, but also it was swim season (the winter, where I'm from), but also the AP tests were coming up? It also committed one of my pet peeves which is getting things wildly incorrect about college applications for The Drama.

I don't know, there were some funny parts I guess, but our characters felt underdeveloped and the writing felt clunky and awkward. And while I am all for healthy portrayals of sex and sexuality in YA, the sex in this book in particular felt really weird for me to read. I just don't really have anything positive to say about this book, which is a huge bummer.

*4.5 Stars*

Margo Zimmerman just realized she's gay. And she has a game of spin the bottle to thank for that revelation. But now, she really needs to figure out how to be gay. (or so she thinks) Liking women isn't enough, she needs everyone to know without having to say it. And so she asks resident Gay (TM) Abbie Sokoloff to teach her. Abbie is very confused at first but she ends up making a deal when she realizes she also could use Margo's help in AP History...

I really liked this one. I particularly loved Margo and related to her in many ways. I really liked her family also, especially her brother. I also liked Abbie. She was far from perfect but who is? A lot of this book is about learning to be properly Gay, which is obviously a non-issue but I understood Margo's position on this and felt for her. I also understood why Abbie ended up "teaching" her a lot of clichés. Margo did not take no for an answer. Anyway, I really liked this book. The characters were truly layered and so captivating, I loved seeing them fall for each other and I also really liked the family dynamics and how that was an integral part of the book. It had a lot of funny moments that I thoroughly enjoyed and I also shed a few tears.
Overall, I truly loved this and it probably would be a five star read if not for the John Mayer references, and like not even to mock him!! But actual praise of his music. Could not be me.

honestly i barely paid attention to this book... i didn't end up picking it up until after it was published but this allowed me to pick up the audiobook as well to listen along as i read (my favourite method of reading) and for most of it i kind of just zoned out while the audiobook was playing as i did other tasks. i just found myself not really interested in either pov and that the book was overall just: fine? hence the 3 star rating. i really don't have much to say about it, i didn't hate it but i probably could have spent my time reading a different book instead. i'm sure for some people out there they might relate and connect to this book but i just simply did not.

Margo Zimmerman has just now realized that she is gay. As someone who wants to do well in everything and know as much as possible, she decides she needs a tutor to figure out how to be properly gay.

Abbie Sokoloff is more confident in her sexuality, but she is flunking US History which is threatening her acceptance into her dream school. She needs to find the right tutor to make sure her dream doesn’t slip through her fingers.

Together, the two can help one another. Margo agrees to help Abbie in exchange for lessons on how to be gay. As they spend more time together, feelings get involved and Margo realizes she doesn’t want just anyone - she wants Abbie.

I think there were some positives about this book that I think a number of people will enjoy especially the group it’s aimed at. Unfortunately, there were a few issues with me that didn’t allow me to fully connect with this story.

Right off the bat, I was eager to learn more about Margo. The way she acted and some of the things that she thought or said. It was easy for me to connect to her. Yet, as time went on there was something missing there. In part, it could be how sometimes I had trouble separating Margo’s and Abbie’s POV. For two different characters with different backgrounds, they blended together a lot which pulled me out of the story more than I liked.

The dialogue was something that I feel could have used some editing or at least someone telling the authors no. It was cringe at times to eventually I had to laugh at it but unfortunately not in a good way.

I know these characters are 18, but with them still being in high school that was easy for me to forget. So, on one hand, I do think this would have been better in a college setting or more of a new adult book. On the other hand, it would be good for older teens to have this kind of sex representation. For me though, it was definitely a little uncomfortable for me.

A number of points seemed to be rushed. Where they felt like they were added in last minute or they had the idea to add it in and then were running out of the range they were given, I don’t know, but it was off putting. Margo and Abbie getting together was wild. Abbie figuring out things about herself also felt a little left field to me.

There was just a number of things that didn’t seem to click with me. I know this book isn’t for me, but I think a number of other people might be able to enjoy this.

Thank you, NetGalley and Inkyard Press, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Margo Zimmerman is gay, but she didn't know that until very recently and, as an overachiever, she's determined to learn everything about and she needs a tutor. Abbie Sokoloff is also gay and right now flunking grade in US history could jeopardize being accepted in her dream school. She also needs a tutor, so Margo and Abbie decided to help each other. As they spent more and more time together, though, Margo starts to understand she may be falling for Abbie...

Margo has no idea how to express herself and her identity and Abbie needs help for school. An unlikely alliances that slowly turns into a snarky romance I love deeply with two amazing and smart characters. I was so impressed by this book and how the author was able to talk about first love, discovering one's identity and trying to learn more about it, Margo being so clueless at first and Abbie so out and proud and their meetings and friendships and so much more. I loved this book. It's funny, snarky and so brilliantly written. Totally recommended it!

Another queer YA book that I thought was absolutely brilliant! Waxelbraum and Shrum put together a wonderfully complex story about young love, self-acceptance, neurodivergence, and found family. This YA rom-com follows Margo Zimmerman, who has just discovered her queerness but has no idea how to present herself within this newfound identity. She enlists out and proud Abbie Sokoloff to run and tutor her in a "Queer 101" session, so she can ace it like she's aced everything else in her life. Margo originally starts out wanting to be "gay" enough to get a girl, but as she and Abbie spend more and more time together, she realizes that she wants *the* girl - Abbie.

I loved this book! It was so cute and snarky. The neurodiverse representation was great and both characters were quite mature. While some of it didn't seem as realistic, it's a rom-com and I was totally okay with it! Quite predictable and a lovely little read for folks who love rom-coms - adult or YA.

Thank you to Sara Waxelbaum and Brianna R. Shrum, and Inkyard Press for this ARC!

Holy motherforking shirtballs, I love this book with all my heart. My only negative is that I can't go back and read this wonderful book for the first time over and over again. I loved the voices of these two characters so, so, so much. I loved the neurodivergent representation. The humor and chemistry is spot on. The commentary on intracommunity sapphic politics (looking at you, gold star lesbians) was so refreshing to see in a book for teens. And the polyamorous genderqueer brother? Perfection. I'm so glad that kids these days are able to get their hands on funny, deeply human, highly moving books like these. This is a writing team for the ages and I can't wait to see what they write next (together or alone).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There were things I liked about this book- both main characters are really likable and it was great to read their alternating perspectives. I just found that the plot dragged a bit and I was kind of bored. It was a lot of waiting for them to get together. While I appreciate the neurodiverse representation, I had a but of a hard time finding Margo’s masking to be so effective that she’s the homecoming queen and student council president.

Still this was a cute romance with some important messaging about the danger of labels.

a cute and snarky romcom that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

Margo Zimmerman is gay. Only, she doesn’t know how to be gay, or how to fit into gay culture. She needs help, and she knows exactly who to go to. Abbie Sokoloff is failing a class, and if she doesn’t bring her grade up immediately, the university she wants to go to will rescind their offer. Abbie is an expert on gay culture and Margo aces all her history exams. They realise they can help each other, but teaching gay starts to become something more.

This was just. Ugh. Yes. Funny and sweet with characters to die for who were real and whole and flew off the page. Yes. Abbie and Margo’s relationship was to die for, and the slow development of their relationship had me flipping pages faster and faster. I loved the autism representation, and how Margo was proud to be who she is unapologetically. I feel like one of the things I loved about this book the most is that where the reader would expect a third act breakup, there was actually mature conversations and a character who knew her worth enough to not get confrontational when presented with a difficult situation. I loved that scene, because it took the miscommunication trope and spun it on its head, so that Margo could hear what Abbie wasn’t saying, rather than what she was. Margo was just… exceptionally crafted and so real. I loved Abbie too, obviously, but I’d be lying if I said Margo wasn’t my favourite character in this book.

I have nothing bad to say. Nothing. I loved it. The character’s maturity is something we don’t see often in YA romance and I do think that needs to change. I loved how both Abbie and Margo were able to look their problems in the eye and find a solution, every time. It was just.

Yeah.

Thank you, Netgalley, for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was cute. Unfortunately it might end up being a little forgettable by the end of my reading year. The characters were ok. I didn't like ended up caring about them enough.

THIS BOOK! I think I read it in a day. This is some of the most fun I've had reading a YA romance.

I definitely think this is a "crossover" book that will appeal to the adult romance crowd. It has several tropes and has fun with roleplay. But there are strong coming-of-age themes, too, as well as figuring out identity. Margot learning about "how to be gay" from Abbie (who is actually bi) sets up a lot of discussion about gold star lesbians, biphobia, stereotypes, and other inter-community issues. It is also incredibly funny and has great autism and ADHD rep. This story also had its eyes on the future after high school, with a convenient but sweet (totally fine for a romance) ending for Abbie.