This book was insanely unique! It took me a little bit to fully understand and embrace the format, but I really enjoyed it!

Dahlia Adler is one of my favorite authors, and she once again has delivered a really wonderful queer YA romance. This story was exciting, different, fun and easy to read, and generally very engaging. I loved the representation in this book, and always appreciate this author’s depiction of non-traditional parenting. The Jewish representation was fabulous, and as a gentile I found it both informative and respectful.

While I was always team Adam, I loved this story for showing us both the ways Natalya’s life would’ve played out had she made one decision or another.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own.

I was unfortunately kind of meh about this book. Modeling it after a Choose Your Own Adventure was cute, but it got a bit confusing as only 1 of the timelines can truly be "real" to a reader. You can alternatively view it as a multiverse experience, where both relationships happen simultaneously (just not to the same version of Natalya). Some moments do occur in both timelines, in a parallel way that almost felt klunky? There isn't much conflict in Ellie's timeline, while the conflict in Adam's felt unnatural. BUT apart from my criticisms, I really enjoyed the bisexual and Jewish rep, as well as getting to explore NYC and LA. I think that the Sliding Doors format just isn't for me, but I'm still a huge fan of Dahlia Adler and can't wait to read her future work.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Natalya Fox has a decision to make about her summer: stay with her dad in New York, or spend time with her mom in Los Angeles. Both have their pros and cons, but with only 24 hours to make the decision, Natalya is struggling.

Since Natalya can't choose, both timelines play out in a choose your own adventure kind of style book. We get to see what happens in LA and in NY, both with different romances and different options for her future. And at the end, you get to decide: which way did Natalya go?

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday books for an advanced copy of Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler to review! Always a fan of Dahlia Adler, so I was excited to pick this one up! And I am happy to say that I wasn't dissapointed.

I would like to note, I didn't notice the part about both timelines playing out and I was a bit confused at the beginning. But once I got into the groove, it was smooth sailing. This book is a bit like getting two books in one, both with adorable romances to boot. Nat's summer in NY is all about music, and her summer in LA is all about food. What isn't to like about that?

Even though it is two separate stories, they both feel evenly developed, in that I didn't feel like one story suffered at the expense of the other. Both had great side characters, and we get to see Nat's character development in different (but also kind of similar ways). It's actually a good example of excellent writing! And really, I'd recommend it just for that.

If you're looking for a fun, different YA queer romance to read this summer, I'd definitely recommend checking this one out.

The way this book made me ugly cry in public…
I felt seen, i felt empowered and i felt strong.
Thank you so much for this representation.
It means the world to me.
If you haven’t already, read it and give it a chance. You won’t regret it.

Natalya has to make a decision about what she is going to do for the summer. She can stay with her dad in New York, the parent who has always been there for her and the city she knows, and maybe get to know the redhead girl she has been crushing on from afar for months. Or she can visit Los Angeles to try to repair her relationship with her mom, and take on an internship at her mom’s company. The rest of the novel follows Natalya through both timelines, as she goes on different adventures in each, but ultimately learns a lot about herself in both of them.

I really enjoyed Dahlia Adler’s release from last year, Home Field Advantage, so I was more than happy to read an advanced copy of Going Bicoastal. However, I was also a little bit skeptical. As a book that essentially has two different stories in it, I was worried that I might love one story and hate the other, or that with only half the page time, neither of the stories would feel fully developed. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised to find I did not need to worry about either of those things.

I really was truly surprised to find how much I enjoyed both stories. Adler shows there are multiple ways to get to where you need to be. Although Nat’s path is different in each story, in both versions we watch as she falls in love, begins to repair her relationship with her mom, and discovers a potential career path for herself. I legitimately enjoyed both of the romances, so when I got to the final chapters, which offer two different endings depending on which romance you want to play out, I really wanted to read both of them. I was truly impressed that both of them felt fully fleshed out, and neither of them felt rushed.

Another piece of the book I absolutely loved was the representation. I have read plenty of books with Jewish characters, but this is the first one I have read which actively talks about Jewish practices so much. Natalya keeps Shabbat, and discusses extensively how much it means to her. I am not Jewish, but I know how important Shabbat is to my Jewish friends, so I thought it was really cool to see it get such a prominent place in Going Bicoastal. The bisexual representation was also wonderful. In one timeline, Nat ends up with a girl, and in another she is with a guy, but in both timelines she is unapologetically bisexual and her identity is never called into question.

Going Bicoastal is such a fun, summer YA romance, and a great way to travel vicariously this summer! If you are a fan of Adler’s other books, or just like YA romance in general, I would definitely recommend it.

In Going Bicoastal it's hard not to fall in love with Natalya. From the premise alone, I love the idea of Going Bicoastal. Of seeing your life at a crossroads and wondering which direction to go. Adler's recent release is about the differences - and similarities - our lives could go down. For Natalya stuck between her parents and two different paths for her future, she has to take risks. Even if she stays in NYC with her dad, her dad challenges her to take risks, have new experiences, and meet new people.

In Going Bicoastal I adored the family relationships between her and her dad as well as her mostly absent mother. To see the two timelines and we see her relationship with her mother evolving. Going Bicoastal is a fabulous story about the things that change and stay the same. How our lives can take different turns, but some pieces of our lives just end up falling into patterns. It's a fantastic and intriguing idea of fate and choice.

This story captured my mind and heart in every way possible. Watching two beautiful life paths and love stories play out while learning more about Jewish culture made for a highly enjoyable reading experience. This book shows that there is more than one correct choice in life, and I appreciated the level of similarity that occurs in the two stories.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

The perfect summer read about finding yourself and with such a fun ending! I loved the multiple opportunities this book allowed and highly recommend it.

🦇 Going Biocoastal Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❝ Regardless of domination, I'd still be who I am—Jewish and bisexual and proud as hell of both. I had a bat mitzvah and I fast on Yom Kippur and I made out with Kira Horowitz at an LGBT Jew Youth Center's Purim party my sophomore year. I contain multitudes. ❞

❓ #QOTD What recent decision set your life on a new path? ❓

🦇 There's more than one path to happily ever after. Natalya Fox, a proud bisexual Jew still trying to figure out her place in life, has a choice: stay home in New York City with her dad for the summer, or spend it with her estranged mom in LA interning at a digital marketing firm. When Natalya can't make her choice, the universe makes the decision for her: splitting her between alternating timelines. In LA, she spends the summer repairing her relationship with her mom while working alongside the boy who adds unexpected flair and flavor to her life. In New York, she crosses paths with The Redhead; the girl she's had a long-time crush on, but never had the courage to speak to. What happens when the summer reaches its inevitable end?

💜 First off, I never award a book with a five-star rating unless it WOWS me, so don't take those stars for granted. I teetered between four and five until the last two chapters, which brought this brilliant, well-executed concept to a beautiful, unexpected end. Everything about this book—from the representation (this is coming from a Muslim bisexual, by the way) to the amazing character growth—is stamped on my little, queer, ink-stained heart. Dahlia Adler gave us a real, raw main character and a story full of emotional depth. We learn about Natalya's customs through her family, her friends, and the food she shares during Shabbat dinners (whether in NY or LA). Seeing a bisexual in two relationships ("simultaneously" but not) demonstrated that love is love, regardless of gender, sexuality, or culture. Natalya's story is full of heart, quirky mishaps, romance, and self-discovery. I can't wait to see what Adler brings us next.

🦇 My only hangup was the size of the cast, which is understandable since Natalya has a friend group in both locations. It was a little difficult keeping everyone straight (no pun intended, giving the amazing number of queer characters) at first. However, Adler did a wonderful job of making each character unique, coast-to-coast. Each side of Natalya's story stands on its own, making this two-for-one queer rom-com a must-read!

🦇 This book is perfect for summer. Recommending to anyone who loves YA with loads of character growth. If anything, read it to see how the dual timeline concept plays out!

✨The Vibes✨
🏳️‍🌈 Bisexual Representation
✡️ Jewish Representation
💙 YA Contemporary Romance 💜💖
📅 Dual Timeline

🦇 Major thanks to the author @missdahlelama and publisher @stmartinspress/@wednesdaybooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I recently read Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler, and I was excited to read her upcoming book Going Bicoastal. It is the perfect quirky and fun read for the summer.

The dual timeline is such an intriguing concept. The book starts with Natalya being unable to decide if she wants to spend the summer in California or New York, which makes it so cool to get to experience both scenarios play out. The most captivating element is noticing what the two scenarios have in common – the eclectic friend group, the repaired relationship with Natalya’s mom, the discovery of a career path. It supports the argument that there are many different ways to get where you are meant to be.

I loved both Adam and Ellie and their relationships with Natalya. Ellie encourages her to come out of her shell and helps her in realizing that she wants to become a graphic designer. In turn, Natalya and Adam support each other in their internship and help each other thrive in their strengths. Bisexual representation in literature is pretty limited, so it feels so important that Adler portrays Natalya in relationships with both a male and a female.

Jewish representation in books is so importnt to me, and I loved reading about the way Natalya relates to her Judaism. Shabbat dinners are very important to her and her dad. They have that weekly moment to slow down and connect with one another, and Natalya brings that to her mom when she goes to LA. I appreciated that both Ellie and Adam attend Shabbat dinners with Natalya and learn about the traditions. Adam even learns how to cook a traditional Shabbat dinner including soup, challah, roast, and kugel. Natalya also doesn’t eat non-kosher food like shellfish and in both storylines, her friends are very respectful and accomodating of her religious practice.

As someone who spent four years living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, I loved Adler’s portrayal of the neighborhood. I loved that the restaurants she mentioned had names that are close to real restaurants on the UWS, but the names were slightly changed. I also wish there was a Poe themed cafe like Nevermore in the neighborhood. Ellie even lives in the Dakota, an Upper West Side landmark where John Lennon lived. It felt like a loving tribute to the neighborhood I love so much.

Going Bicoastal is delightful, and I cannot wait to see what Adler writes next.

Going Bicoastal was exactly the book my pan-heart needed! This book was a great queer escape into two worlds: one where Natalya stays home on one side of the country in NYC and another spent on the other side in LA. I wasn’t sure how the author would maneuver the dual timelines and stories, and I absolutely love how well it was done. It felt like two stories in one in all the best ways. It was so fun to see a bi character finding herself and figuring out how her sexuality fits in her life. This book was fantastic and I’d recommend to anyone looking for a quick, fun YA read with lots of queer coming of age!

I really like this novel for the unique manner in which parallel stories lines for the main character, Natalya Fox, show bisexual representation and how her beautiful queerness exists whether she is in a relationship with a male or female partner. Adler is an author whose writing continues to get better with each novel. I love the queer worlds that she creates and the the generally kickass parents. There was also some very cool cultural Jewishness happening with both the main and side characters.

Super fun! Both stories had so many great YA/romance/character growth. And the ending surprised me and was really neat 😉 iykyk

I had fun reading this! At the beginning of the book, the main character has to decide if she wants to stay in New York for the summer or if she wants to go out to Los Angeles to spend the summer with her mom. The rest of the book is told in chapters that alternate between a reality where she chooses New York and a reality where she chooses LA. It’s a quick read that’s very summery; there’s a lot of food and music! The main character is Jewish and that’s an important part of the story, and she’s also bisexual (in one reality she meets a girl and in one reality she meets a guy).
YA contemporary books are hit or miss for me but this one I really enjoyed!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC! I enjoyed this book greatly. Dahlia Adler is quickly becoming my favorite author; her books are always incredible. I love how much food and art play into the plot; that was so fun!

Also, the Jewish representation was everything I could have hoped for! (although, what else, other than perfection, could I have hoped for from Dahlia!)

“My thumb hovers over Answer Call, and then I make my choice.”

Going Bicoastal stuck out to me the moment I read the synopsis as a story I was super curious to read, and it did not disappoint at all.

Getting to see both timelines play out was really interesting. I wasn’t shocked that Natalya comes to the same conclusion for her future in both, but I enjoyed seeing how that played out. Watching her relationship with her mother change in both timelines was also really important to me.

I was surprised that I was rooting for one love interest over the other, and it wasn’t the one that I started the book thinking would be my favorite. But I’m glad that Natalya gets her happy ending in both timelines. At least, whatever happy ending a 17 year old can get.

I truly believe Natalya speaking about being religious and her bisexuality is a conversation that will stick with me for life. It was such a freeing moment to read her words, and opinions on how the two shouldn’t even clash.

CW/TW: Discussion of scars from past self harm
Rep: Bi MC, questioning female love interest, multiple trans characters, sapphic side characters, Achillean side characters, Jewish side characters

Don't let how long it took me to read this book fool you - I loved this book!

This book will be perfect to read over the summer months, just like Cool for the Summer.

I am ashamed to say that I did not remember who Lara and Jasmine were before reading Adler's review on Goodreads, but I have since searched through my eARC for every mention of them to silently squeal over their growth.
We also get a minor Home Field Advantage reference, and, y'all, I actually screamed.

Okay, so, back to this book and not Adler's other masterpieces.
Both timelines are so intriguing! I loved all of the characters in each one. In the past I've said that Adler's side characters felt one dimensional and unmemorable, and while there are especially a lot to keep track of in this book, each one felt unique and had their own personality!

I loved both love interests. I was stressed while reading, thinking that Natalya would have to break up with one love interest to end up with just one in the end, but I adore how this book handles its whole premise!! And I never got either timeline confused with the other. Each Natalya is distinct, but still the same, if that makes sense. It was so fulfilling to see her growth throughout the summer, on each coast.

I've never read anything quite like this book. It was such a good time, and there's so much queer joy. Read it.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this!

Quick Stats
Age Rating: 14+
Over All: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 5/5

Special thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.

I absolutely love Dahlia Adler’s writing style and voice, so I was very excited for this one. However, I was also a little nervous. I wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to pull off two distinct and balanced stories in just over 300 pages. But she definitely did!
I was no more invested in one story than the other, and I felt fully connected to both sets of supporting characters, both love interests, both storylines. I really enjoyed seeing the parallel Natalya’s grow as a character.
This book did feel a bit more “slice of life” (or I guess slice of lives?), as opposed to having a string driving plot. This made it a little bit slower in a couple places, but it always picked up again fairly quickly.
I’m not bi or Jewish, but I loved the completely unapologetic rep for both that was in this book. Dahlia Adler’s books always have such amazing discussions on both those topics—and the intersection of them—and Going Bicoastal is no exception.
This may be my favorite of her books that I’ve read. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next

The concept of a sliding doors romance for a bi-sexual jewish girl is executed to perfection by Dahlia Adler. Natalya Fox is given the chance to stay at home in NYC with her math professor dad and her close-nit friends or living with her mother in LA and working as a summer intern at her marketing firm. The chapters alternate and follow her life as if she makes both choices. In LA she meets fellow intern Adam who dreams of going to culinary school. Staying in NYC she finally talks to the red haired girl Elly that she’s been crossing paths with for over a year. Elly wants to be a music journalist and her father is a musician and mom is a famous musical photographer.

There are a lot of extras that the author brings to the storyline. The Jewishness is prominent in both storylines and although Nat isn’t orthodox, I learned subtle differences in observance. The food descriptions for Shabbat are especially mouthwatering and I appreciate the kosher explanations. With Adams interest in cooking food is a large part of the LA story. Music and Nat’s interest in art are prominent in the NYC plot. I confess I didn’t know many of the modern musicians name dropped.

The absent mom is part of the plots. And I honestly I would have given up some of the friend time on either coast to have a few more scenes with mom and daughter reconnecting. My heart wanted them to have a better relationship. Being okay that mom is dating a new guy seems superficial but is a something. My personal preference is for the sapphic storyline. I love that in the last chapter there were a couple of lines tie this book to Adler’s previous novel Home Field Advantage (June 2022) putting them in the same universe.

This is my third novel I’ve read by the author and she is now an automatic read. Her characters are smart, have depth and are memorable. I love that her she understands the emotions and challenges of being a teen. Appropriate for older middle school and up. Thank you Saint Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books for ARC via NetGalley. And I am leaving a voluntary review.