Dahlia Adler is fast becoming one of the best authors in queer contemporary YA fiction. Going Bicoastal is unlike any book I’ve ever read. Firstly, it’s written in alternating timelines, one where the main character decides to stay in New York, and the other where she goes to LA. In both of these timelines, she has a love interest: New York is a red headed punk girl, and LA is a guy who loves to cook. Then at the end, you get to choose your ending to see who she ends up with! it reminded me of those choose your own adventure books I used to read in elementary school, and I loved it. It had the potential to get confusing, but Adler handled it perfectly. I found myself rooting for both couples, and honestly, I couldn't choose which I liked more.
Another aspect I loved about this book is the Jewish representation! Natalya takes great pride in being Jewish, and I loved how both love interests were so respectful. I also learned a lot about what foods are kosher! (spoilers: have a snack on hand while reading because this book will make you hungry, the amount of food descriptions will have you drooling.)
Overall this was such a fun and adorable book, perfect for summer time! 4/5 stars

I thought this book brought things that I hadn’t seen before. I think that the dual timeline and the way it’s done is pretty unique.

This is a great queer romance for your summer reading. It’s refreshing to see a contemporary queer romance where the MC is already out so there’s no angst concerning what to do.

Please be careful if you read because there is a TW for past self harm scars.

Dahlia Adler is one of my favorite YA writers and Going Bicoastal didn't disappoint. This fun premise involves two timelines - one in which Natalya decides to spend the summer before her senior year in LA with her mom and the other where she chooses to remain in NYC with her dad. In LA, she meets cute fellow intern Adam, while in NYC she finally gets to know The Redhead, a girl she's been crushing on. It may sound gimmicky but it totally works and I loved seeing how Natalya's summer played out in each scenario. Props to Adler for a satisfying ending (I was worried things wouldn't wrap up well) and the excellent Jewish rep!

Thanks to Wednesday books for the copy to review.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Going Bicoastal. I will definitely include this in our young adult collections list at my library.

Going Bicoastal had very well developed characters, believable romances, and great Jewish representation. The author seamlessly weaved together the two different stories.

At first, I was entirely confused. The setting started off with Natalya Fox, a Jewish teen, living in NYC with her father. She mentions a redhead crush but we haven’t been introduced to her yet. Then she decides to move to LA for the Summer with her mom and she interns at her mom’s company. In the following chapter, she is back in NYC, we finally meet the Redhead, she is considering a summer job in NYC… so I was thinking…what happened, did we go back in time? Turns out this is a “sliding doors” book, where the character can have the best of both worlds. This is actually really really cool since the main character is bisexual. I so wish I had read this book in my teenage years. It would have been so affirming and it truly is perfect for a young adult. After i got used to alternating realities, I warmed up to each story. I later realized “Nat” is the nickname for the LA timeline and “Tal” is for NYC.

*Chef’s kiss* for the romance and queer friendships. Very cute and sweet! I wish this had been my teenage experience. It is so fucking adorable how Natalya’s love interest Ely calls her “Foxy.”

The descriptions of food was quite excellent. I loved the mouth-watering gourmet depictions of dishes ranging from Shabbat dinners to Senegalese stew and the cuisine from Bros Over Tacos, a food truck run by Nat’s other love interest Adam. However, the romance and food wasn’t enough to keep me interested in the plot. This needed drama and conflict to make the story more enticing. It would’ve been absolutely outstanding if the main character had a true dilemma or something to work through.

Despite all that, I have to give this 4* for originality. It felt affirming to read this book as I’ve never read anything like it. I learned a lot about Jewish culture and food. I hope other bisexual teens will find this book :)

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

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝘼 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙔𝘼 𝙧𝙤𝙢-𝙘𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙉𝙔𝘾 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙙 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙) 𝙤𝙧 𝙇𝘼 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙢 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜).

This was my first 𝘚𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 book, I didn’t read beforehand that it was one of those scenarios. Otherwise, I may not have picked it up. While I understand the point of it - the reader chooses the ending they want OR gets both endings, they choose - but I just struggled so much with the way the story was structured.

I’m not someone who dislikes the love triangle trope, it just has to be done right. In this one, it’s done a bit differently, which I did not mind. On one side, we have a summer in NYC and on the other, we have a summer in LA. Not only is it because of Natalya’s love interest, but also because of family.

This was definitely one of those lighthearted reads - perfect for the summer. I also loved both cities and the descriptions of both, especially the beach and food trucks in LA. While I do think both timelines were sweet, I didn’t really resonate with the story as much as I wanted to.

Overall, this was a fun queer YA romcom with a Sliding Doors concept. While I didn't personally enjoy that aspect, I can definitely see the intended audience for this book.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Cursing, Sexual Content, Abandonment, and Alcohol

This book was super cute! I actually liked that it was a dual timeline, choose your own adventure kind of story that had two happy endings. It was unlike any kind of book I'm used to, and while I was going in expecting like a love triangle, it wasn't that at all!

The perfect YA summer romcom! 🫶🏻🩷☀️

What I loved:
-bisexual Jewish main character 🏳️‍🌈
-choose your own adventure / two different stories in one!!!
-loved the relationships between Natalya and her Mom and Dad explored in both time lines
-two timelines=two love stories to choose from! I loved both love interests but Adam had my heart seriously! I loved their dinner scenes and him making a huge effort to understand her Jewish culture and her bisexual identity.
-loved the found family found on both sides of the coasts—so special!

Super fun, easy 5 stars!!! Can’t wait to read more by the author—always has such fresh YA books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC 💜

I got the ARC when it was available as Read Now on NetGalley but because I'm a mood reader, ended up listening to this on audio and really enjoyed it. This is a refreshing take of Sliding Doors (one of my favourite movies) featuring 17yo Natalia who has to decide whether to stay in NYC with her math professor father for the summer, or fly to LA to get to know her marketing executive mother who she's only been in contact with virtually for the last few years.
I loved how in both timelines, Nat/Tally gets to know her mother better despite their unintended estrangement through their mother/daughter book club and that her mother helps her figure out how to channel her artistic talent into a possible career in graphic design. I also loved how in both timelines, she figures out how to navigate introducing her Jewish faith and traditions to Adam and Ellie: Nat in LA ends up falling for her fellow intern/sort of nemesis Adam - he is secretly an aspiring chef who cooks Shabatt dinner for her and her mom, while Tally in NYC finally meets Ellie, the redhead she's crushed on for the last year and invites her to the Shabatt dinner she learned to cook from her Orthodox Jewish friend and across the hall neighbour Adira.
This got me thinking about Jewish rep in books - like other marginalized/minority identities that we know in real life exist and interact in large metropolitan cities like NYC and LA, we don't often see practicing Jews on the page. Nat's internal monologue reflects this when she considers whether or not to mention her dietary restrictions at her first dinner party with her new LA crew of friends. One of the reasons her parents got divorced was because her mother was moving "further and further into strictly cultural Judaism, whereas" her father "had some things that still felt really important to him - eating Shabbat dinner together, going to services on the High Holidays, having a Seder for Passover, and, keeping some semblance of kosher." Anyway, I don't really have a point to raising this, except that it's really just another data point for now which may lead to some kind of cohesive thought down the line. I just really appreciated seeing Jewish rep on the page and learning about the traditions and practice along with Adam and Ellie.

I love Dahlia Adler's LGBTQ+ YA novels and Going Bicoastal is a wonderful addition to this group. I had such a fun time reading it. I found myself smiling, laughing, and even getting teary-eyed.

There are so many things I really loved about this novel. Dahlia takes a different approach and makes it surreal this time around. We see two different situations for one character, like in Sliding Doors. However, both choices are ideal for Natalya and it's hard to decide which one I like best for her. There's very little drama compared to her previous novels. The most dramatic it gets is when a character has to make a difficult choice and it has an impact on their relationship with Natalya. I still enjoyed how light and upbeat it was. The descriptions also made it easy to visualize everything that was happening. I liked the armchair adventure aspect too.

I loved:
* That there was a character named Melissa.
* That there was a cameo from one of her previous novels. (And characters from another previous novel were mentioned in passing.)
* She gave Degrassi a shout-out in the acknowledgements. Anyone who knows me knows why I love that.
* Shabbat and keeping Kosher are mentioned/featured a lot in the novel. I also love that people respected Natalya's level of Kashrut.
* That I found myself rooting for Natalya the whole time, especially when she was trying to figure out what she wanted for her future.

My only concern was some timing inconsistencies. There was a glaring one later in the story that really should have been caught before going to publication. I'd be glad to help with that for future novels. ;) Obviously, this didn't take away from my overall enjoyment.

There is some mature content, but I don't feel like she goes overboard with it. Like she stops before it gets too steamy. I am fine with the other Dahlia Adler fan in my house reading this novel, but I wanted to put that out there.

I just really enjoyed this novel and I already am waiting for Dahlia to write another one! Her narrative is wonderful and her characters are so down to earth and relatable!

I LOVED THIS. It took me a second to figure out what was going on, but I LOVED it. You saw both possibilities play out and then the fun bit at the end! Ahhhh! And she has some of my FAVORITE cultural references in here. Oh, man. Another 10/10 for Adler.

Genre: Queer YA Romance
TW: Please Check
Spice: Closed Door
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️[3/5]
Review written by: M
*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review*
 
Plot:
Natalia has 24 hours to decide if she will be spending the summer with her father in NY, where she lives, or in LA with her estranged mother and attempt to fix their relationship. Both LA & NY play out in alternating timelines. In one storyline she stays in NY with her father and finally has the courage to talk to the girl she has been crushing on for what feels like forever, and in the second storyline she going to LA, attempt to fix the relationship with her mom, and falls for the guy she never saw coming.
 
Thoughts:
This book was cute, and quirky in its own way. I did enjoy the concept of it, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. As an audiobook the parallel storylines were a bit hard to keep up with at times without seeing the words printed in front of me. At times it was hard to figure out whether the MC was in LA or NY. I assume that it may have been a format issue rather than a storyline issue.
 
The descriptions of Jewish traditions throughout the book were beautiful. I did not know much about Jewish traditions, and I felt this book gave me an insight to them I would have otherwise not had. It was truly enriching.
 
The reason I gave this book a 3-star rating was because it lacked depth for me. The book itself is not long, and with the MC’s time being split between two locations and two relationships, I felt that it didn’t give itself the chance to truly dive into and develop those relationships. By the time the book ended I enjoyed it, but I did not feel drawn to root for either relationship. Also, because of the two different lives the MC was living there were so many side characters that at times it felt too much to keep up with. The side characters were also not quite delved into and just kind of placed there. I would have much gathered one romance story of either NY or LA but fully giving the space for the MC’s and the side characters to grow and form a connection between character and reader.

Ever since I read "Cool for the Summer", Dalila Adler has been an auto request/buy for me. Her three dimensional characters are her strong suit and "Going Bi-coastal" was no exception. Natayla is a very relatable main character. With only 24 hours to make up her mind, she has to decide on either spending her summer in LA with her mom or staying in New York with her dad. Both options play out in two different stories. While I enjoyed Natalya's summer story in LA, New York was just a home run for me. Such a fun summer read and definitely worth reading.

*I received an arc from Netgalley, my opinions are my own.*

This was an absolute delight to read! It was fun. It was light! It had a really fabulous writing style! We follow Natalya and her summer of choices! Does she stay where it's safe in New York? Or venture out into LA? It was really unique to watch both story lines play out! I really loved how certain details remained the same in both stories but were just written differently! And I am happy to say that there is a happy ending! I was slightly worried that one would be the dark ending, but no there was happiness!

This was a fun read!

I love (love!) a bisexual romance where it isn't about the character figuring out they're bi! Natalya knows who she is, and we got to see that that doesn't change whether she's dating a girl or a guy. That meant a lot to me. Both settings were a lot of fun, and it was interesting to see what things were different between the two stories and what stayed the same.

Because there are two stories happening concurrently, I wound up reading it pretty slowly, as the momentum kept being interrupted by switching from between LA Natalya and NYC Natalya. I don't think that's a bad thing, but it wasn't a "can't put it down" kind of read for me.

A sweet, straightforward YA book perfect for reading in stolen moments of hot sunshine that follows 17 year old Natalya in her choice between living with her mom in LA for the summer, or staying with her dad in New York. The title a quirky little pun at the expense of her bisexuality, and the cover a nice hint at the two lives she has to choose between. To my surprise and delight, the entire book dances between the two cities, flipping between Natalya's two possibilities and two timelines in a choose-your-own-adventure-style twist.

I can only describe the writing style as kind of quirky, like reading a pop magazine. A stream of consciousness run through Natalya's mind, prattling off every minute detail and every opinion she takes back, including every time she thirsts at the sight of a bare midriff or a buff forearm - to which, it was a lot. I know she's a teenager, who is bisexual, but it felt forced and overwhelming because of the nature of having two separate love interests.

It was a charming read overall, filled with friends and family and delicious food. I'd recommend it as a quick summer read; for anyone looking for a Jewish, artistic, bisexual MC; anyone who's down for a little alternate-timeline flip-flopping.

Really enjoyed this one. The dual timeline was different but it was great.
Felt the characters could have been a little older though.

Natalya is faced with a choice during the summer before her senior year of high school. She can stay in New York, where she lives with her dad, and work part-time as his assistant on his new math textbook. Or she can go across the country to live with her mother and be an intern in the marketing firm where she works. Her parents split up years ago, and her mother had moved to California to take a big promotion at work. Nat can see that there are benefits to both, but she can only pick one. Right?

In a Sliding Doors twist, readers get to see what happens with Natalya in both scenarios.

In New York, Nat tries to find another part-time job for the summer, so she can get out of the college library for a while each week and have something to do while her best friend goes to Puerto Rico for a month. She leaves resumes all over town, but can’t get a job. She decides to try to the Edgar Allen Poe coffeeshop, Nevermore, and that’s where she comes face-to-face with the redheaded girl she’s been crushing on for about a year.

Nat calls her The Redhead, and all her friends and even her father know that she’s seen the other woman all over her favorite haunts—bookstores, coffee shops, restaurants. And now, she is standing in front of Nat, asking for her coffee order. Elly, aka The Redhead, leaves her name on Nat’s coffee cup, and Nat finally knows who she’s had a crush on. An impromptu concert that Nat uploads a video of leads Elly to DM her, and they meet up for the rest of the concert and ice cream.

As that meat=up leads to more, with friends meeting and approving, Nat finds herself falling more and more into like with Elly. But she’s also spending some time talking to her mother—something that hadn’t been a priority since she had moved to L.A.—and exploring her art. But things like “College” and her “Future” still loom over her. Will she be able to figure out ow to make all the different areas of her life come together, or will she end the summer just as confused (although considerably more kissed) than she started it?

In another timeline, Natalya heads out to L.A. to spend the summer getting to know her mother. But when Nat goes to work in her internship, she find out that the company had hired another intern for the summer, and they are sharing a desk. Adam, who had started the day before, has taken over the one desk and doesn’t want to share. She tries to shake off her bad day with a friendly barista and her friends, who hook her up wit the location of some delicious food trucks. Nat goes to get herself some tacos, and finds herself face-to-face with other intern Adam.

Over a delicious dinner, she learns a little more about him and why he was such a pain at work. His parents ditched him on his eighteenth birthday, and after couch surfing with some friends for a while, his brother Evan told him to come move in with him. Evan offered Adam a sofa to sleep on and a taco truck to work in, but Adam wants more for himself. He fought to get the internship, so he could move himself towards college and a future where he can feel safe and settled.

At work, Adam is good with the spreadsheets, but he’s not artistic and doesn’t know much about social media. Nat steps in to help him with some of his tasks, offering some alternate design ideas and hashtag tutelage. As Nat comes to understand why Adam is trying so hard with the internship, she forgives him for the nepotism comments and starts to get to know the guy underneath the attitude.

But Nat still has to figure out wat she wants to do with her life. She’s still trying to make sense of her relationship with her mother. And when it turns out that Adam can cook a Shabbat dinner with the best of them, Nat finds herself falling for him. But at the end of the summer, she’s going back to New York, and Adam is planning on staying in California. Is there a future for Nat’s summer romance, or is it going to be over almost as quickly as it started?

Going Bicoastal is a double timeline queer rom com with larger than life characters and sweet romances that happen on both sides of the country. Natalya is a strong bisexual teenager with a lot of art talent, a love of food, and a willingness to see many different perspectives at once. She is a loyal friend, smart, thoughtful, and easy to fall in love with. As she struggles with her relationships with her parents, her dating life (lives?), and her future, it’s easy to get caught up in her adventures and cheer for her as she goes after what she wants.

Author Dahlia Adler brings these two stories to life in Going Bicoastal, and it’s a pretty amazing ride. The story is effervescent and charming, and I just wanted to keep reading to the end. However, I was worried about what the ending would bring. Adler made it difficult for herself, writing two compelling stories in one, and I wasn’t sure how she was going to bring it all back together. I won’t spoil the end, of course, but I will say that I hoped for more. But there is a lot of happiness in the ending, so it may not be perfect, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Egalleys for Going Bicoastal were provided by Wednesday Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I wasn't sure what to expect going in but wow, Dahlia Adler completely blew my mind! This was such an amazing read - I'm only upset it took me so long to pick this one up! When I tell you I was so torn trying to figure out which path to root for, I was stuck and frustrated because I wanted it all to be true and be perfect! Our MC was so endearing and I loved spending all the time with her. Seeing the way her life opened up was amazing and the ending. WOW, THE ENDING. When I tell you I was waiting with bated breath, wow. Incredible. Another amazing book by Dahlia Adler.