Going Bicoastal is lively, sprightly, and fun as all get out. Taking a Sliding Doors approach to one teen’s choice between parents, coasts, and summer experiences, it’s warm and fun, the sort of tale that any young reader will truly enjoy.

Seventeen-year-old Natalya – Tal - Fox turns to her best friend, Camila Morales, in an attempt to figure out how to spend her summer vacation. Choice one: she stays at home in New York City with her dad, which will mean being close to everything she knows – and having time to pursue The Redhead, her crush, whom she has not had the courage to approach yet. Choice two: go to Los Angeles and spend time with her mom, with whom she has not been in frequent contact with since Melissa moved to LA for a promotion and Tal refused to uproot herself. There, she has no idea what’s waiting for her, other than adventure and hopefully a closer connection to her mom.

In alternating chapters, the story explores Tal’s two options; in one reality, she stays in New York and with her dad. There, she gets to know The Redhead, whose name is Elly Knight. During her staycation, Tal learns more about New York, broadens her friend base, takes on several volunteer jobs – and gets ever closer to Elly. In the other reality, she flies to Los Angeles and tries to adapt to the west coast. Along the way she attempts to get closer to her mom, takes up an internship at her company, and meets Adam Rose, her infuriating competition at the job. It turns out that Adam has unknown depths, and the two of them have more in common than Tal initially thought. Readers have the chance to watch two different romances, two different summers, and two different versions of Tal’s relationship with her parents bloom, right up to the two-part ending.

Going Bicoastal is one part choose-your-own-adventure novel, one part sweethearted romance. Tal is a likable girl, and both of her romances are sweet as pie. I got attached to both Elly and Adam and I kind of wished Tal didn’t have to choose between them.

Tal’s folks and her relationship with them is wonderfully nuanced. Her dad, Ezra, is math-obsessed and brainy, which means he sometimes comes off as self-absorbed; Melissa, meanwhile, is so wrapped up in her work that making time for Tal has become a secondary priority. The LA chapters do a good job of using Adam to bring Tal and Melissa back close together. While Tal clearly loves both parents, there’s a distance there; as she says early in the book, her parents did not intend to have her, and the resultant battle with each other and over Tal has left them all in strained circumstances. Things do get a little better here over time.

The diversity here is wonderful; Tal is Jewish and bisexual, and the book absolutely makes her faith a true part of her character. Her friends practice different faiths, have different gender identities and sexualities and are of a multitude of different races, but they hum along in one semi-harmonious hive. That’s the glory of real life at its best brought to the page. Going Bicoastal allows its main character to dream wild and free, creating quite the entertaining novel.

This was told in a really fun way, with Natalya's choice to either stay in New York City or go to Los Angeles splitting her life into different stories. I liked both choices a lot, each has a new romance, Tal strengthening her relationship with her mom, and making new friends over the summer.

It's difficult to say which storyline I preferred, since they both were interesting and helped Tal branch out of her bubble. The L.A. one did come with food trucks and delicious sounding food though, so I'd probably pick that one. I'm a sucker for yummy things and trying a new living situation sounds like a good time.

The pacing was a bit slow in parts and around three-quarters in, I started getting a little bored. The ending was intriguing and not how I thought it would go and overall it was a great summer story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.

Thank you to Wednesday Books via NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

cw // past self-harm (mentioned), divorce

This was my most looked-forward to book of the year, and I can say without question that I was not disappointed. Adler did such an excellent job and had me so invested in both of Nat’s relationships so heavily, I could never even begin to even think of choosing a favorite between Adam and Elly. The amount of pop culture references was just right for a group of 17/18 year olds and I was THRILLED to see Nat having a group of queer friends in NYC, it made me so soft. Nat’s family being so accepting of her bisexuality was so beautiful, and I really enjoyed both her relationship with her dad and their neighbor, Adira, as well as seeing her relationship with her mom grow. What an amazing book.

When a character is faced with an important decision, do you ever wonder what would have happened if they had chosen differently? In Going Bicoastal, Natalya Fox has to choose between staying with her father in NYC (and muster up the courage to speak to the cute red-headed girl working at the cafe) or go to LA to stay with her estranged mom. Told through the sliding doors trope, we can to see how both paths pan out.

This was such a fun queer sliding doors story. I found that I was equally invested in both storylines, and I thought the author did an excellent job portraying the various components to Natalya's identity: a young woman, a bisexual, a child of divorce, a Jew, etc. This book would be very relatable to YA readers, and it does a good job of being "modern" in its language and references without trying too hard to be "woke."

Nat has to decide if she wants to go to LA and visit her Mom or stay in NYC with her Dad. At that point the book splits with each decision. A total Jewish sapphic Sliding Doors book. I really loved this book. Sliding doors is one of my favorite movies. How different choices can affect your life. The whole what if debacle. In the end you get to choose which scenario would be best.

Natalya Fox has to decide if she wants stay with her dad in New York City or go to Los Angeles with her mom for the summer. The book splits into two timelines, one where she stays in NYC and one where she goes down to LA. I thought this book was just vibes, there was no dilemma or development even. Nothing really happens except of course she gets the man and girl of her dreams in each timeline. I wanted a bit more but I’m also not too mad because it was an easy read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

4.5 stars. If you loved reading ‘Choose your own adventure’ books when you were younger, you will love this! The dual timeline was so cool and not something you see very often.

Both stories, her summer in L.A. with her mom and meeting Adam vs. staying in NYC with her dad and meeting Elly, felt so authentic to the character. The Shabbat dinners staying consistent with each version of the timeline, her journey of figuring out what she wants to do with her life, I loved every second of this book. And I love that each love interest gets a mention in the others final chapter!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Like the concept, but it’s VERY hard to follow on-page. Being jerked back and forth between timelines and having to keep everything straight just didn’t work for me here.

ARC: 4.5 ⭐️ Rounded Up

This gave everything I wanted from bisexual representation in a YA romance. I left feeling like we truly got the best of both worlds with a feel good attitude.

Beautifully done bisexual and Jewish representation in a book? Sign me up every time.

I had such a great time reading this book! Natalya was a fun character to follow and the portrayal of her family dynamics felt incredibly real. The sliding doors concept was done so well allowing us to truly see the outcomes of either decision and I loved that the ending honored the reader's investment in the storylines. What really sold me on this book was the LGBTQIA+ representation and the Jewish representation! I felt like the author showed us the wide breadth of diversity in both communities and I especially love seeing that in a YA title. Another thing I loved about this novel was that the story was really focused on Natalya. Many of the outcomes were the same in both timelines showing her growth as a character in the areas that mattered to her like her relationship with her mom improving and figuring out what she'll go to college for. The only difference was who she was dating and that really allowed her character to shine for me, because her identity wasn't wrapped up in who she was with. Overall, I would highly recommend this book and think it's the perfect YA read for the summer!

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 This was absolutely adorable!

I loved Natalya so much. She's so cute and honestly hilarious, the book had me laughing and giggling throughout both stories. The flirting was super fun, and to my great surprise, I was actually deeply invested in both couples. I was sure I would prefer the NYC plotline over the LA one, because I'm a sucker for a hot mysterious girl crush. But I loved both, honestly, and I really don't think there was an ending that made me happier and giddier than the other.

I was surprised that, despite the fact that "nothing really happens" in the book (something that I know Adler specifically sought out with this novel), I had a lot of fun with it! I'm not big on cozy, slice-of-life stories, and I usually need some kind of emotional turmoil to keep me invested. But I was genuinely really entertained by this, and I'm so glad I picked it up.

On a completely personal note, I still think Home Field Advantage is my preferred Dahlia Adler book. I knew it would be hard to beat, considering it's one of my favourite YA novels out there, and as fun as the slice-of-life, "everything is good and great" energy in Going Bicoastal was, I do prefer some emotional damage in my novels, just to really hit me deep in my soul. But if you're someone who is looking for a book that will make you feel good and at peace, this one is absolutely for you, I 100% recommend it!

Thank you so much, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for an advance reader copy of this novel. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Wednesday Books (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

This was SO cute and has firmly cemented Dahlia Adler as one of my favorite YA authors 🥰

It's pitched as a queer <i>Sliding Doors</i> rom-com and it delivers on all fronts. Natalya, our main character, has to decide what to do the summer before her senior year of college: spend it, as usual, in NYC with her friends and her dad and (maybe, finally) talk to the cute red-haired girl she keeps seeing around the city; or do the scary new thing and take a 2-month long internship at her mom's company in LA, when she hasn't spent more than a few days with her mom since she left for the west coast a few years ago.

I knew I was going to love this book when we got two Chapter 3's: that's when the storyline splits and we get the beginnings of Nat's adventures in LA and Tally's adventures in NYC (good thing Natalya has, like, 4 nicknames so it's easy to differentiate her chapter titles!).

One of my favorite things is that, no matter which storyline we follow, Natalya ends up learning some of the same things:
1. She discovers that she wants to do graphic design in both timelines. It's through slightly different means, but she comes to the same conclusion that she'd be able to use something she loves (art) in a career.
2. She's able to rekindle a relationship with her mom. That was one thing she wasn't optimistic about at the beginning of the book. She'd never had much in common with her mother, and the distance made things harder. But both when she's with her mom in person and through phone conversations while Natalya stayed in New York, she and her mom are able to reestablish a relationship that worked best for them.
3. She learns how to cook a Shabbos dinner! Natalya mentions MANY times that she needs to ask her neighbor Adira to teach her how to cook a Shabbos dinner since her mom doesn't observer the Sabbath, and her dad doesn't cook, so they rely on Adira's cooking or takeout. In both timelines, Natalya learns how. In NYC from Adira, like she always wanted to, and in LA from Adam, whose amazing cooking skills allow him to be a quick study once Natalya tells him which dishes are traditionally eaten during a Shabbos meal.

I think my highest praise for this book is that I was equally invested in both the romances (although maybe, possibly, slightly leaning towards Elly a teeny bit 😋). Adam and Elly get equal screentime, and I absolutely LOVED how the ending came together because I had no idea how it was going to happen.
(spoiler ahead) I was really on the edge of my seat during the last chapter and I would have been 100% fine not knowing who was on the other side of the door, but the "choose your own adventure" vibes of the follow-up chapters were so cute and I of course read both of them 🥰

Also: not really a spoiler but I very much enjoyed Jasmine and Lara's cameos in the NYC timeline 😌

Anyway, if you're a fan of contemporary YA romance and you haven't read any of Dahlia Adler's books yet, what are you doing?!?!?

I thought this was brilliant. Her writing has gotten better and better. The Easter eggs in each time line were master level. It was bisexual Jewish rep without falling into stereotypes. You just route for EVERYONE

This book is a similar plotline to the broadway If/Then. The main character and the story were both a lot of fun, and the love interests were so cute and genuine the reader couldn't possibly pick between both of them. I in depth Jewish representation was amazing since a lot of contemporary books don't get into conservative Judaism. I also loved that the author was able to show the LA Jewish scene, which I feel like is often overlooked in a lot of media that focuses just on the New York aspect (which is obviously still super important, it's just nice to see LA getting some love too). I will say, I was surprised at the ending and liked the choice the author made with it. Great representation and a fun story!

thank you to netgalley for my advanced copy!

okay, I loved the cover, the concept, both love interests, the Jewish rep, all the food references, all the music references, AND Natalya’s relationship with both parents… so yea I pretty much love this entire book!

I think my only not as positive feedback is the middle lost me a little bit and I was wondering if we would actually get a reality ending to see what choice she actually made- to spend the summer in LA with her mom, Adam and that cast of characters, or if she actually stayed in NY… but the author kind of made it like a choose your own path ending, and left it up to the reader to decide which partner and ending Natalya chose. I think I like that but also still wanted an answer of which path she chose, haha.

I loved that she got to teach both/either romantic partner of hers about Shabbat and other Jewish customs, like keeping Kosher. I loved how casual and accepted it was that Talya was bi, and this wasn’t so much an identity-discovery model in that sense for her, she was already a fully formed person before the story started.

Thank you Dahlia Adler for writing another summer fun, queer, Jewish, and delectable read- I definitely enjoyed this one a lot!

And… as a queer Jew myself, it would be really hard for me to choose between Elly and Adam, so I totally get not wanting OR having to choose one at the end of the book (haha)!

A dual timeline book with a male and a female love interest!!!! omg yes please.
Personally I do not and will not pick between the love interest and I will be treating it as alternate universe versions. It would be too hard to pick a favorite timeline, both are so cute and relationships of all kinds are formed/ strengthened in both so I can't imagine one of the timelines not being true if that makes sense.
Obviously if you read you are welcome to pick but if you're like me then just treat them as separate entities....
I learned a lot about Shabbat which was cool. I wasn't sure on all of the aspects of it so that was fun to learn about.
L.A helps Natalya come out of her shell and explore a new place while also making new friends on her own and growing her relationship with her mom.
N.Y helps her finally meet the girl she's been secretly admiring and helps her start going out and doing more adventurous things as well. She talks to her mom but I think it is different to her L.A life in the sense that strengthening a relationship is way different over the phone as opposed to in person.
It's also hard to pick since so many things are set in motion by her choice that would probably not happen if she had chosen the other option. In both however Natalya still figures out what her future can look like career wise and that makes me happy that it isn't all about the love interest, it's also just about her finding herself.
Both timelines are so cute and make me happy as someone interested in both guys and girls.
Queer love stories are so important and I am so thankful that I got to read this story.
Happy Pride Month!!!

Natalya Fox has been given a choice for the summer: stay home with her dad in NYC or visit her estranged mom in LA. She knows that she has to get out of her routine and explore the city, repair her relationship with her mom, and figure out her future. But is she going to do that while chasing the girl of her dreams or falling for the guy she never saw coming?

This book felt like the perfect depiction of the “why not both?” meme and I absolutely loved every second of it. Going into the story knowing only that it was “a queer Sliding Doors YA rom-com” and not knowing what Sliding Doors was or even having the foresight to look it up, I definitely stumbled a bit in the beginning once the split between the New York and Los Angeles timelines happened, but I caught up really quickly and fell in love with the way in which Dahlia was able to so effortlessly not only flow between the two but to also weave elements of one timeline into the other.

I’ve always been a believer that people have more than one soulmate, that timing really affects who is the right person for you. And that’s exactly the same vibes that I got from this story. Natalya lives out two very different paths, but even though they happen on opposite coasts with different groups of people, they both made sense for the person she was becoming in their respective timelines. There isn't so much a wrong choice as a different choice with a different outcome.

Anyone who lives off vibes or moods will be happy to find that this book’s release is very timely. All the summer vibes are there in both timelines and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this book is going to be one of the books of the summer. I want to pull up a lounger by the pool with a fruity umbrella cocktail in one hand and this book in the other and just relive the experience over again. Oh, and please add in some tacos. Speaking of which, do not go into this book on an empty stomach. All the food talk had me salivating and wishing I was actually living the story instead of just reading it.

Balancing a two different plotlines that jump between every chapter or so is incredibly difficult; I wish I could say this book pulled it off.

I just couldn't get invested. The bland and uninspiring prose doesn't help, either. I'm always looking for good books with good bi rep, but this bored me too much.

3.5 ⭐️s

- Young Adult
- Bi FMCs
- Jewish rep
- Alternating timelines: one set in NY, the other in LA
- All the food & all the music references

What a cute YA book! I had a little trouble in the beginning remembering which details belong to which timeline, but as I read on, the more invested I got into each story. I personally preferred the LA timeline, but both stories were super cute.

I loved Natalya's growth on both timelines. I loved her exploration of her Jewish culture, and the possibilities of her future career-wise. The fun set of side characters rounded out this book very nicely, too.

A great summer read for YA fans!

Thank you, Wednesday Books, for the ARC.

1. There is a casual Empire Records reference and I LOVE that.
2. As an only child who lived through my parents getting a divorce... I felt Natalya's comment about being an only child of divorced parents so much. It's a very different lived experience when you don't have siblings to go through it with.
3. Even now that I'm done reading this book, I still can't decide which version of Natalya's summer I liked more.
4. Obviously I loved the Poe references as well.

I think this is my favorite Adler novel yet and I cannot wait to get this into the hands of some of my teen patrons. It's nice to have an already out teen protagonist so the YA romance can be about romance and not about our main character figuring out their sexuality (not that those types of books aren't great too). There is plenty of queer rep that is allowed to just happily exist and both sets of friends groups are great in their own ways. I also really liked how Adler let the plots play out simultaneously and I LOVED how both East and West Coast characters end up kind of crossing paths at one point in the plot line to tie things all together.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.