🌮BOOK REVIEW🌆

Going Bicoastal - Dahlia Adler
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

“In Dahlia Adler’s Going Bicoastal, there’s more than one path to happily ever after.

Natalya Fox has twenty-four hours to make the biggest choice of her life: stay home in NYC for the summer with her dad (and finally screw up the courage to talk to the girl she’s been crushing on), or spend it with her basically estranged mom in LA (knowing this is the best chance she has to fix their relationship, if she even wants to.) (Does she want to?)

How’s a girl supposed to choose?

She can’t, and so both summers play out in alternating timelines – one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the girl she’s always wanted. And one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the guy she never saw coming.”

Another great #pridemonth read! I loved the dual timeline concept in this one! I’ve seen others comment it was hard to follow but I didn’t think so! I loved that it was a genuine bi story exploring both sides. I enjoyed seeing Natalya’s relationship with her mom play out in both timelines and also was happy not everyone in the story was wealthy/entitled.

The narration by Mara Wilson was fantastic!

Recommend if you like:
- Jewish representation
- Bi rep
- Food and music themes
- Diverse characters
- Coming of age, YA stories
- Dual timelines

Thanks to @netgalley, @orangeskyaudio @missdahlelama, @tlcbooktours, @tlcdiversity for the ARC & ALC.

🌆Would you rather be in NYC or LA?

#orangeskyaudio #goingbicoastal #dahliaadler #LGBTQReads #yalit #pride #queerbooks #bisexualrepresentation #jewishrepresentation #lgbtq #lgbtqbooks #sapphicreads #diversifyyourbookshelf

This was such a fun romance and I’m so glad I waited until pride month to read it! The fact that Natalya was able to get a happily ever after in both timelines was so precious🥹 I personally will be on team Adam, but bravo on making both love interests so likable!

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler was an interesting format for a YA novel. The heroine, Tal or Natalya, is given a choice to go to LA with her mom or to NY with her father. Instead of choosing one over the other, she experiences two timelines in the same summer. In one, she gets to realize her long-time crush on Elly. In the other, Adam who is a new crush. Tal has a relationship with both but it's not a love triangle. I didn't find myself rooting for one person over the other. They were each unique characters that the heroine could see herself with for an indefinite time. Her parents were also very supportive of her bisexuality which was very refreshing and comforting because it brought down any semblance of turmoil or conflict. Sure, there was parental divorce and the nagging emotions of being split between two households, but each parent made the difficult circumstances work for the benefit of Tal. I felt there was a lot more naval gazing—inner thoughts about parent personalities and schedules and plans. There were occasions when the single parent would experience time with Tal and one of the love interests. I enjoyed the religious aspect and the education the explanations brought forth by Tal being Kosher. I respected and appreciated her adamancy at adhering to her religion for the sake of each parent. And it was lovely that Adam cooked Shabbas dinner for her and her mother. I would have liked a little more something. I can't pinpoint if I needed conflicts, twist because this was almost too gentle for my preferences. Yet, I did read this book quickly and I was left satisfied by the happily ever after at the end. Which one? You'll have to read it for yourself.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Going Bicoastal follows Natalya Fox as she struggles to decide what to do with her summer: hang out with her dad and talk to her crush, or go see her mom and try to fix their broken relationship.

Dahlia Adler has quickly become one of my favorite queer YA romcom authors, because she just gets it. The transitions between each possibility are seamless, the way Natalya grows as a character through these scenarios gives me such joy, and all the while you wonder just how it's going to end, because even though you can think of multiple options, and you've formed your opinions about which option is better, the way it all plays out still feels natural yet fresh and exciting and interesting and just the right amount of difficult-to-predict.

Seriously though, I would read Dahlia Adler's grocery list, this book was such a fun time.

4.5

This book was so good. It is the perfect ya queer book to read this summer. The bisexual representation is amazing. The main character was lovable and as someone who is also 18 and bisexual, I found her very relatable. I loved the character development both her and the side characters had. The reason why I didn't give it a full 5 stars is that the first few times where the alternative timelines switched, I got confused but after 2-3 times I got used to it.

I had so much fun reading this book, where the main character is living two different scenarios in her life. Where she can’t choose, whether or not to stay with her father in New York City, or go to LA and spend time with her mother. Nat has the most amazing friends, and the most amazing parents, they are trying the best that they can, and she doesn’t want to let either of them down and also she doesn’t wanna let herself down. Like all teenagers, she’s struggling with what she really wants to do with her life career wise and also when it comes to love especially in NYC. She’s a shy one and she’s finally coming out of her shell. I also love the little surprise, that the author leaves at the end, in which where we are introduced to the ending of the scenarios, and it’s amazing, I really really enjoyed this book, it’s the most amazing summer, romcom, coming-of-age read. Most definitely a book. I wish I read as a young adult.

Thank you Netgalley in the publishers for giving me the opportunity for reading this book.

I really wanted to read this because I enjoyed the idea of being bi and being bicoastal. I had no idea the format of this book would revolve around this as well.

Natalya is trying to make a name for herself but it has been difficult to figure out core parts of her identity since her parents are not only divorced, they also live in different coasts. Her father live in NY with her full-time while her mother is in LA.

Natalya is asked if she wants to spend her summer in LA with her mom and the book goes back to back in each chapter. Chapters start as if she didn't go to LA, then the next chapter literally identical other than the fact that she made a different decision. This was weird and a bit off at first, but as I kept reading I enjoyed the back and forth. In one reality the love interest identifies as female and in the other the love interest identifies as male.

Overall I thought the coming of age story worked really well. To be honest it is not super memorable to me and while i enjoyed the main character, some parts were a little cringy and annoying.

Natalya's parents are divorced and live on opposite sides of the country. For this final summer before her senior year in high school, Natalya gets the choice to stay with her dad in New York or go to spend the summer with her mom in Los Angeles. The book includes the what next with both of her possible futures.

Sliding Doors is one of my favorite movies and part of why I was excited to read this book. Whereas Sliding Doors is about fate and the implications of tiny little changes, this story is about the choices we make and the roads not taken. That makes sense for a YA audience, but I missed some of the deeper meaning that makes Sliding Doors resonate so strongly for me.

This kind of two possibilities setup makes for an interesting version of a love triangle. There's no cheating and no direct competition, but the reader still is choosing which of two possible love interests and cities to prefer. Personally, LA wins for the amazing food (tacos, ghormeh sabzi, and Dinner Party potlucks), but NY wins for the music scene.

The chapters are titled, but the reader still has to do the work of figuring out where each is set. I would have liked a quick little header of New York or Los Angeles for each to help keep track.

I really appreciated the way this book celebrates bisexuality. And as I have come to expect from Dahlia Adler, there's great Jewish representation along with the queer representation. And I loved the quick references to her earlier books. I think this a great book for the young audience.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

Rounded up to 4 stars

Natalya has 24 hours to make a decision that will change her summer, and possibly her life.

She could stay in NYC with her father, her friends, and finally work up the courage to talk to the cute girl she’s had a crush on for months (who she calls The Redhead). Or she could go to LA to stay with her estranged mom, maybe fix their relationship, and try new things, including working an internship at her mom’s company, alongside her grumpy but handsome co-intern.

So, which will she choose?

I thought this book was a lot of fun! We get to see both decisions play out in alternating chapters: Nat goes to LA to be with her mom and falls for Adam, while Tal stays in NYC and falls for Elly. It was so interesting to see both of these stories play out and the similarities/differences in Natalya’s growth. In some cases, the same event or conversation would happen in both stories, but the circumstances that led to it were different.

I love a good bi love story, and this one was just unique. Instead of there being a love triangle, both romances play out individually. And regardless of who Natalya is dating, she is a proud bi individual.

I also feel like I learned a lot about Jewish culture. I know I’ve read books featuring Jewish characters before, but I really liked that this one went further into detail about holidays and traditions outside of Hanukkah.

I won’t spoil the ending, but I also really loved it! I think it was pretty perfect for the book.

Overall, this was just a really fun, interesting, and happy queer book!

Ahh! This book was such a fun story!! 4.5 stars!!!

Going Bicoastal is a split-timeline book where our bisexual FMC Natalya must make a choice for the summer – to stay in New York with her dad or travel to LA to stay with her distanced mom – and we get to experience her summer from both choices!

I loved seeing these alternate timelines and watching Natalya grow over the summer from two perspectives. I truly couldn’t tell you which timeline I enjoyed more, but I did love that this story came from a perspective where our main character was already comfortable and confident in her queerness. This book is a treasure and I need to go pick up my own copy! 

Thank you to St. Martins’ Press / Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an E-ARC of this wonderful book.

I loved the dual timelines. One choice can change everything. I just loved Natalya. It was so cool to see both of her choices play out. All the friendships she has were so awesome. The support and all the food! This author is an auto grab for me! I definitely recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler is the queer YA romance that is a summer must read!

This book is brilliant and with all the queer vibes I love ! But its more than a queer romance, the author takes you on an adventure!

Natalya has an important choice to make for her summer plans. NYC with her dad and the cute female she really wants to get to know or LA with her estranged mom and the boy she didn't know she wanted.

Total Sliding doors vibe with alternating chapters between what would have happened in NYC and LA.

I loved the queer and jewish rep in this book. The characters are fun and well written.

This is a fantastic adventure romance (new genre?) that I loved!

🏳️‍🌈Bisexual MC
✡️Jewish representation
⏳Parallel Timelines
💓💜💙YA Romance

This follows Natalya Fox who is struggling with making a pretty big decision about how she will spend her summer. Her options are to stay in the comfort of what she knows in NYC with some potentially exciting new experiences or go to LA to explore a new city full of unknowns, take on an internship, and work on her relationship with her estranged mother. She can’t decide and thus resulting in both summers unfolding in alternating timelines.

This was slow to start, and I was a bit surprised and confused about the alternating timelines at first as I did not read the synopsis, but after I realized that and when the story picked up it was like I was reading two separate books. In a good way!

I’m glad we got a full story from both timelines this allowed for character development and we got to know the MC as she encountered different experiences. Particularly when it came to discovering her path, as she found herself surrounded by individuals who always had a clear sense of their aspirations and goals. I found this extremely relatable as I also found myself in a similar situation when I was younger.

This was a great queer YA romance with plenty of queer joy, Jewish representation, and a beautiful cover. I'm just so happy that these books are out there to be read, experienced, and for younger generations to feel represented.

CW: Divorce, parental abandonment, self-harm (not on page)

Thank you to NetGalley, Dahlia Adler, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the PERFECT YA summer romance read!!

Going Bicoastal is a queer sliding door romance that follows Natalya Fox and her summer in NYC with her father and friends and the girl that she's had a crush on all year... and her summer with her estranged mother in LA and the boy and friends that she never knew she needed.

This book was so much fun!! I'll admit, it did take me a while to get through, but that was mainly because I had so much going on and no time to read. But overall, I had a great time!!

I loved Natalya! She was very outgoing and likeable and confident in herself and her sexuality, and I aspire to be like her someday. She

Her LIs were amazing, and I was so torn on which couple I liked better, but I'm probably Team LA.

New York Timeline: Natalya and Elly made my heart melt. I loved how they were crushing on each other the entire time before they even actually met. I love how they went to a lot of music concerts together and with their friends and how they were able to bond over that. I also loved how even though she decided not to go to LA with her mom, she was able to start to repair their relationship. She also solidified her relationship with her dad, so that was really wholesome.

Los Angeles Timeline: This was probably my favorite timeline! I loved how Nat really put herself out there and made friends while she was in LA. THE! FOOD! I was salivating every time I read the LA chapters because I just wanted to go have dinner with them. I also really loved how she wasn't afraid to avoid her dietary restrictions. SHABBAT. DINNERS. It was so cute when she and Adam (mostly Adam) would cook Shabbat dinner together. I really enjoyed the way their story came to a close because for a moment I WAS STRESSING OUT.

The only reasons I've given this book 4 stars (and it's really more of 4.5) is because...
1) I was confused by what a sliding doors romance was, so the way book ended kind of confused me, but that's a me problem, not the book's fault and
2) The switching back and forth between timelines kind of gave me whiplash and in my mind, I would be like, "Where am I??" (but then again, that might just be a me problem).

Thank you so much to Dahlia Adler and NetGalley for the eARC!

☕️eARC Book Review☕️

“Being an only child through the divorce is definitely in my top three grievances in this life”

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler
Pub Date: June 13th, 2023
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(4/5)
Spice: 🌶(1/5)

Review:

Natalya Fox just finished her junior year of high school in NYC and is trying to decide if she will spend the summer in the comfort of NYC or out west with her mom in LA. Thanks to the brilliance of Dahlia Adler we get to experience what both journeys would be like!

In NYC, Nat spends the summer baby sitting and working for her math professor dad. She also finally meets the redhead girl she’s been eyeing for literally a year.

In LA, Tal takes an internship at her moms marketing firm where she shares a desk a cute but bashful boy whose brother owns a food truck.

On both journeys Natalya finds herself celebrating Shabbat, drawing (her favorite hobby that she wants to turn into a job), falling in love, reading, and getting to know her parents better than ever before.

Personally, I LOVED this story. Dahlia Adler’s writing is always amazing. Her ability to write queer stories is amazing. We have a full cast of queer stories that I hope she follows up on. We get a “Home Field Advantage” reference at the end of the NYC journey!!

I absolutely adored all the Jewish references direct and indirect this story. Obsessed with Natalya’s Shabbat observance and how she shares that with her non Jewish love interest. How Adam cooks dinner every Friday for her and her mom! How Elly comes over for Shabbat and loves it. It was so cool to have a food focused story line but showed the choices a kosher person makes. All around obsessed with the Jewish rep!

If you like:
- Sliding door timelines
- NYC and LA
- Shabbat Dinner
- Summer adventures

QOTD: How do you celebrate Shabbat?

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martins press/Wednesday Books for proving me with an eARC of this novel.

There are just so many contemporary queer YA books coming out lately and I am almost jealous that kids these days get access to such fun, queer, JEWISH, and delightful books. This is my third Dahlia Adler book and she's just getting better and better at balancing heartfelt stories with teenage antics. In Going Bicoastal, she tackles an extremely high concept, sliding doors type story where our protagonist, Natalya, must choose between spending her summer in NYC with her dad or LA with her mother. Adler says, por que no los dos and gives the reader a chance to see what happens if Natalya goes to LA versus NYC.

I was a little worried going into this story because this is such a hard device to pull off well and I think Adler does not only a good job but a seamless job. It wasn't difficult at all to tell the difference between LA and NYC chapters and it was so much fun seeing which parts of her summer mirrored the other and which parts when in completely opposite directions.

As the very punny title indicates, Natalya not only has different summer experiences but different summer romances. In NYC she spends the summer with The Redhead, Elly, and in LA she dates Adam Rose, a fellow intern at her mother's marketing company. I loved both Elly and Adam and there were things I liked better in each location so I was never upset or irritated when a chapter would open in a different location which is a hard feat to pull off. As I neared the end of the book, though, I was worried how Adler would pull the end off without it seeming like Natalaya was cheating or if one of the love interests who I had grown to love to, whether they would be left behind.

Thankfully Adler finds a clever way to wrap up all the stories, but I almost would have preferred them all sort of coming together in the end? Without spoiling, when Natalaya is in LA she helps a lot with one of the characters' future and business and it made me sad to know that if she had stayed in NYC then those poor characters might be out of luck?

Overall though I really enjoyed this book and I am so thankful to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Dahlia Adler! Her writing, books, storylines, ideas, all work for me. So a book with chaotic bisexual energy? Sign me up!

What I loved most about this book was often when a book has multiple love interest, there’s an obvious person to choose. In this book, I felt like each partner was given an equal shot at being end game with Natalya. While I had my preference (team Adam) I thought each relationship was authentic and came about organically. I thought the coworkers to lovers in the Adam storyline was so adorable. I like getting to see a little bit of his home life and the dynamic between him and his brother. The food truck & family dinner nights sound like something I wanna be a part of! I also liked getting to see her finally meet “the redhead” and seeing how compatible they could be. While I liked them together, I could see where their personalities were totally different & could picture them more as a fling than long term. However, I liked how in the Elly storyline we got to see all kinds of music references & tons of NYC content.

Another strong point was the ending. In a story like this I was constantly wondering “how is she gonna end this?!” How would both storylines tie together?? I was shocked & happy to see the “choose you own ending” that left it to where you could in your mind pick which way you wanted it to end. While I was team Adam, I did read both endings and thought they were both perfect ways to end.

ALSO! Why hasn’t anyone pointed out the little Easter eggs from Cool for the Summer and Home Field Advantage?!? I liked how we got a little glimpse into the future of characters from her other books!

I’m not really a fan of choose your own adventure books because I want one universe not a parallel one. I think that the decision to go to LA needed a little more explanation at the beginning because I was confused by it. I do wish that some things overlapped a little more but also found it confusing to read both simultaneously especially when there was overlap in the exact phrasing. I loved the bisexual representation and crushes

Cute book that I really enjoyed reading.

I love that the dual viewpoints came together in the end.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy

Remember Choose Your Own Adventure books? This has those vibes only it's a romance and you don't have to keep your fingers in the book everywhere you want to go back and see how the other choice would turn out. In Going Bicoastal, Natalya has to decide if she wants to spend the summer in NYC with her father or in LA with her mother. And instead of choosing, we get to see how both of those choices would have played out in alternating chapters. You can always tell which city you are in by the headers on the chapter page (buildings for NYC and palm trees for LA) and that's just one of the small touches that made this book so amazing.

I loved watching each story unfold and seeing how events played out in different ways in each timeline. I also really loved that the book has both queer and Jewish rep in addition to amazing side characters, food puns and amazing families of origin. The found family aspect is also really wonderfully done no matter which timeline you are in.

I really can't say enough good things about this wonderful book other than you should absolutely read it if you like romance and don't mind the young adult lens. Going Bicoastal comes out on June 13 and you should pre-order it now. Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an early copy. I'll be screaming about it until the end of time.