Going Bicoastal was a fun YA read. It was great seeing how both options would play out: if she chooses to stay in New York with her dad, or chooses to go to LA to be with her mom, and the choose the ending of your choice was such a fun way to end the book.

Recommended!

This was cute. The book is well written. I preferred the LA parts over the NYC parts. Not my new favorite or anything but it was cute and fun overall. Also dang that cover is STUNNING. I’ll most likely end up buying a copy just because it’s pretty and I love to collect queer YA books.

Book: Going Bicoastal
Author: Dahlia Adler
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC. I really wanted to like this one, but I could not get into it. There were elements that I liked. Had those elements been more present in the book, I would have been able to give this a much higher rating.

In this one, we follow Natayla who has to decide what she is going to be doing for the summer. She has two choices that involve putting mom and dad against each and picking only one. She has the chance to go to Los Angeles and be with her mom or stay in New York City with her dad. Both involve amazing chances. The summer plays out in duo timelines, allowing us to see where both choices take her. Both lead to her doing the unexpected and exploring new options.

I am going to be honest. I preferred the LA chapters over the NYC chapters. I felt that the LA chapters were more developed and put together. The character interactions and relationships felt much more developed and natural than the ones in NYC. It felt right and it felt like the author was more comfortable with this point of view.

I did enjoy how the author had so many backgrounds represented. At first, it did bother me because it felt like she was trying to include everyone. However, it did work. The deeper I got into the book, the more I came to realize how much it did work for the story that the author was trying to tell. I enjoyed getting to learn about the different cultures and seeing how they all came together. I also liked how the characters taught one another about their culture. The Jewish dinners were very interesting. I liked how Natayla took the time to explain everything. This will make readers, such as myself, more aware and familiar with what is going on. This is a great teaching and learning tool.

The writing was solid. Again, I felt like the LA chapters were stronger and familiar. It felt like the NYC chapters were forced. They could have been good, but they were just missing something. They needed a little bit more to bring them home. The writing was quick and easy to get into. It gives you that light and good feeling when reading. These are the feelings that I am looking for whenever I read a book like this. I do wish that elements had been a little bit more developed.

Overall, I did enjoy certain things about the book, but I do wish that certain things had been fleshed out a little bit more.

This book comes out on June 13, 2023.

Going Bicostal.
Nat has a choice to make stay in New York with her Dad or go to LA and visit her mom for the summer. What we get is a sliding doors story where we see the two choices played out in parallel.
I think it’s cute easy read. Both stories had little to no conflict. I did both read this story really quickly and found it hard to fully love when I found myself liking one story line better than the other.
Over cute read.

3.5 rounded up.

I do want to thank netgalley and the publisher for the early copy!!

A total delight. I liked the writing, which is not surprising since I'm a fan of this author's other books. The plot was great and the characters stole my heart very quickly. Recommended.

Going Bicoastal was such a fun book! Natalya is a bisexual Jewish teen that must make the decision to either stay with her father in New York or go to California to stay with her mother. The book's chapters alternate between the two decisions, and you get to see how Natalya's summer goes in both New York and California.

I actually really liked the alternating chapters. I found both timelines interesting, but I do admit I liked her going to California best. The ending is chose your own adventure style, where readers can decide which version of the final chapter to read, based on which storyline they liked more.

The book has wonderful representation, and it's very positive. Natalya is Jewish, so aspects of her religion shine through, which I really enjoyed. She is also bisexual, where she dates a girl in the New York storyline, and a boy in the California storyline. And there was no homophobia or biphobia. There are also side characters that span across the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

For those who have read Dahlia Adler's book Home Field Advantage, there is a blink and you miss it nod to the book to watch out for.

Enjoyed reading both paths in this journey. I did feel a stronger connection to one story as I felt that character, and relationship, was described more. The main character was enjoyable to watch through both scenarios.
The food and culture throughout was what kept it fun for me. I looked up a few dishes and would love to try making them.

Ok, I'm going to be honest here, but it probably won't surprise you. I picked up this book based purely on the cover. That and the fact that I've loved the last two books of Dahlia Adler's. SO, I went in blindly with no expectations but to enjoy it.

Going Bicoastal is the story of 17 year old Natalya who has 24 hours to make a huge decision of how she is going to spend her summer between her junior and senior year. She can either stay in NYC with her father who she currently lives with, gets to see her friends that are sticking around and maybe keep running into the red-head girl she has a crush on. OR she can go stay with her mom in LA and intern at her work. It would be a big change and a chance to do something new and to get to know her mom since they rarely see each other or talk to one another. What would be easy and comfortable would be NYC, but she really does need to branch out, right?

I loved the way this story was told. It was almost like a "choose your own adventure book". In some ways, I wish I would have read it that way. All NYC story back to back and then LA, but the way Adler alternated chapters and had Natalya living her NYC life while also living her LA life was perfect! I loved it! I actually had to go back the first time I read when Talya had decided to stay in NYC and then the next chapter has her going to LA. Very clever!

We saw Talya bring her cool, bisexual Jewish girl vibes to both coasts and it worked. 2 love interests that I really enjoyed and friend groups that made it even better. I love the way the Jewish culture along with the LGBTQ community was brought to both 'stories' and how positive it was. Add in the fact that I love music, art as well as food trucks and this was a total winner. It's just a book that makes you feel good. It also made me look forward to summer.

If you've read Dahlia Adler's previous books, you may catch a few surprise guests. But this book totally stands on its own and it was a pleasure to read from beginning to end. I really enjoyed how the relationships developed between Talya and her love interests as well as her friendships and relationships with her parents, especially her mother. This is definitely a book you should put on your TBR if you want something fun and positive and filled with great characters all around. A true joy!

"It feels like the waves continue to move and we just have to move with them and hope that when everything lands, we've still got solid footing."

4 stars

This is such a fun read, featuring a round main character, great representation, and two coasts' worth of possibilities!

Natalya, the m.c., has a big decision to make: stay home in New York with her dad for the summer or visit her mom in L.A. during that time. Fortunately, Adler doesn't make her choose; she gets to do both! Readers follow Natalya on a very fun adventure as in one half of the novel, she visits her mom, makes new friends, sparks a new love interest, and learns about herself. In the other half, she does the same thing but stays home with her dad. Folks wondering if this back and forth gets tedious should be assured that it doesn't. There were absolutely times when I found myself starting to root for one coast over the other (as a lifelong West Coast dweller, I couldn't even stay partial to my home!), but the refreshing part is that the whole narrative is engaging. It's impossible to read this and NOT be attuned to Adler's exceptional organizational and planning techniques. Readers will come away from this one feeling excited about the many possibilities Natalya's present and future hold.

This is an innovative approach to the _Sliding Doors_ motif, but readers will feel right at home in two entirely distinct locations, rooting for Natalya's happiness and success wherever she may land. Also, the representation is an added benefit.

I'll be recommending this one to my students and beyond for all of the aforementioned reasons.

This book was super cute but a little boring. It was a really cool concept though! I just wish the two timelines had merged somehow at the end, instead of it being completely split. Still a good book though.

If you had two choices and had the chance to see how each one would play out, which would you pick? Going Bicoastal was exactly that and I absolutely LOVED it. Tal is truly one of my new favorite YA protagonists. Her energy was amazing and I loved how proud she was to be bisexual and Jewish. In one scenario she stays in NYC and the other she's in LA and I was hooked on both versions of her. I loved her group of friends in each city and how they both brought out new pieces of her personality and interests. The Jewish rep was phenomenal and it warmed my heart to see weekly Shabbat dinners, kosher food, and other Jewish traditions on the page of YA contemporary. I also thought the cast of characters was so diverse and well rounded. There were more Jewish characters and a variety of queer members as well. I thought each relationship was so thought out and well done. Dahlia did the alternating cities plot so nicely and I was invested in both worlds. This was an absolutely fantastic book and it's the perfect read for summer! Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC to read and review.

This was SO much fun! It's like a younger, more modern (and inclusive) version of SLIDING DOORS -- love the alternate timeline thing so much, and seeing it explored in different ways. The main character here was adorable, although I didn't find her as relatable as I'd have liked (I did still like her though)!

Aside from the alluring premise, I found the writing of this book to be quite entertaining & very well written. I highly recommend this book to any readers of YA Romance!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I really liked it at first but with the two different storylines, I got invested in Adam and I wasn’t a fan of Elly at all, which is surprising because I’m usually more into the queer characters but nope. The more emotionally invested in Adam and Taly I got, the more anxiety I got because I really didn’t know how it was going to end since completely different storylines were going on and I just wanted to skip to the end to see what happened but also wanted to finish the story. I did like how the author did the ending though so it helped with my conflicted feelings.

Ever wonder what would happen if you made just one different choice?

Natalya has a choice to make - stay in NYC and chance meeting the girl she's crushing on or go to LA to see her mom and maybe hit it off with the cute intern. Nat also has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She loves art, but that can't be a living. Can it?

This was a really neat take on What If...! Each chapter alternates between what if Nat goes and what if she stays. Adler essentially wrote 2 rom coms and spliced them together, and it WORKS! Also, I loved how Nat's friends respected her Jewish traditions and made space for her needs!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

4.5 stars.

One of my earliest reading memories is finding old “Choose Your Own Adventure” books in my grandparents’ house. Going Bicoastal has those vibes. Natalya has to decide whether to play it safe and stay in NYC (and maybe finally meet the hot redhead girl she’s been crushing on) or to visit her mom in LA and try to repair their relationship (while figuring out how to deal with her hot co-intern).

I think what I liked so much about Going Bicoastal was not the romance (although I am OF COURSE a sucker for that) but that Nat seems to come to the same decisions and revelations, despite what choice she made. Either way, she worked on her relationship with her mom, made new friends, and stepped outside of her comfort zone.

I did have a favorite of her love interests, as one of them felt like a more genuine connection. But both were good choices, regardless.

Going Bicoastal was a fantastic read. Great Jewish and bisexual representation!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the review copy.

Dahlia Adler does it again! Going Bicoastal starts with our bisexual main character Natalya trying to decide what to do during summer break. Stay in New York with her friends and dad, possibly talk to the girl she's been crushing on for years. Or go to LA where the only person she knows is her mother, who she barely talks to, and a paid internship with a cute boy.

Natalya can't decide, so we get a fantasticly wonderful book with two timelines! I LOVED this book, I couldn't put it down! The romance, the food, the characters, the two different timelines we get to see Natalya grow and change, and THAT COVER!

5 stars! Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press, for another fantastic eARC!

Going Bicoastal has uniquely done alternating timelines. Personally, I think the alternating timelines were a lot of fun! This book does deal with some heavier themes like divorce, but overall, I think that these themes are handled with care.

Going Bicoastal is a YA rom-com that explores the dual narratives of a bisexual teenager named Natalya Fox, also known as Tal or Nat (depending on which parent you ask), who must choose whether to spend her summer with her father in Manhattan or try to mend her relationship with her mother by interning at her marketing firm on the West Coast. The author does a phenomenal job of portraying the bisexual community and honoring the characters' identities authentically. The lack of angst around the characters' sexual identity is refreshing, and the inclusion of Jewish culture and traditions adds depth to the story. The unique dual narrative structure of the novel allows readers to experience both sides of Natalya's decision and creates a heartwarming story about self-discovery, family, and love. Overall, the book is an entertaining read that will leave readers feeling both satisfied and longing for more.

Full review will post on duffRUNStough on May 19th. Will update feedback with link then.

I read an eARC of Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.

This book had an interesting premise. Natalya has been given twenty-four hours by her mother by her mother whether she wants to spend her summer before college with her in LA at an Internship at her mother’s job, or stay with her father in NY. She is stuck between staying with a father she’s close with, and spending time with her friends she might never see again, or getting to know her estranged mother and fixing their relationship and using this time to do something daring and explore a new place.

Twenty-four hours is not enough time to decide, and that’s when the premise is revealed. At the crucial moment, the story splits, alternate chapters telling of the story when she went to LA and her romance with the grumpy fellow intern, and the other at NY where she stumbles into summer jobs and has an awkward relationship with a long-time crush “the red-haired girl”.

You can probably tell which one I prefer.

The thing about this book is it can be painfully boring. Natalya is a privileged young woman whose biggest hangups besides her mother’s estrangement seems to be finding restaurants that serve kosher food and learning how to cook for the sabbath. This makes her time in NY boring to read. Her relationship with the redhaired girl is one of those cutsey clumsy types, that I like, but only if interesting fantasy things are happening around them.

That leaves the LA storyline, which is much more interesting. Natalya is forced out of her comfort zone, her mother isn’t perfect, to begin with, and her love interest she instantly dislikes and has a much more interesting backstory and dynamic with her. It still wasn’t riveting, I’d say once they got together, the most interesting part was when Natalya was forced to realize her own privilege when put up against his, but even then, her life runs just a bit too smoothly for me to ever get really invested, and as a person, Natalya just wasn’t interesting enough of a character to carry an everyday story with normal characters of a girl just living her life, the only difference being where she decided to go.

So not a bad book, and I can see people who like low-stakes romances with a little twist, just not the book for me in the end.