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." I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, and the narrator did an excellent job!

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.

Mara Wilson does a great job with the audiobook narration.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio in exchange for an honest review.

This was just a blast all around! “Going Bicoastal” follows the dual storylines of Natalya choosing to either a) stay in NY or b) move to LA for the summer. This was such an engaging way of writing a story and while it definitely was a bit odd at first, I quickly found myself enjoying it! So much so that I’m writing a review right now at 12 am instead of sleeping.

Both of the storylines were fun and fleshed out. I personally enjoyed the LA storyline more but that’s the fun of this book. Both romances are cute and it’s fun to see them both play out instead of potentially being disappointed by a love triangle. The inclusion of food and music in their respective storylines was also a great touch! Seeing adam’s emphasis on food and Elly’s emphasis on music make their way into the story was super fun.

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick and entertaining queer summer read, definitely check this out! Thank you so much to Wednesday books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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!

Thank you too OrangeSky Audio and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book

This was a very unique format and it did take a little more focus than some other YA romances might, but I really enjoyed it!

I love the way certain details were woven into each storyline. I also loved the cameo of Lara and Jasmine and a few other callouts to Dahlia Adler's other works.

I found myself unable to pick which storyline I liked better and for that reason I was very happy with the ending.

The narrator for this is the one and only Mara Wilson and she did a fantastic job!

I would definitely recommend this one to fans of YA romcoms.

Thanks to OrangeSky Audio and Wednesday Books for the free book.
This was so much fun! Natalya can't decide what to do for the summer - stay in NYC with her dad or go spend it in LA with her mom - and lucky for us, Adler didn't make us choose. The novel explores both decisions in alternating chapters, and I enjoyed it so much. There wasn't one timeline I liked better. Both were full of friends, fun, and food. I liked the exploration of being a queer Jewish woman. Adler had Natalya in so many different experiences that helped her learn and grow, which is what I love about YA. Seeing these characters become more mature in a way that feels natural and authentic to the YA experience. I wanted what was best for her, and both timelines give Nat that. I could've listened to so much more of this story because of how invested I was.
This is the first book I've listened narrated by Mara Wilson, and I immediately went and listened to her narrate another book right after I finished this one. Her performance was impeccable. She captured all of the different friends and love interests, and I had no problem keeping anyone straight. I can't wait to listen to her narrate more.

The pun in the title was an obvious and immediate point in this books favor. I knew I’d pick it up just for that. For me that’ll be the most memorable aspect.

The plot here is really just ‘Sliding Doors’ made modern and aged down. Nothing wrong with that! I’ll be honest though, reading this made me feel old. I loved it for the representation and definitely think it’ll be a great slice of life for some readers to see themselves in, but I’m just not that person for a handful of reasons. For me this was a middle of the road story, enjoyable enough but nothing that really connected or stood out to me. I don’t have any strong complaints but likely wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this.

Audio 4/5 - Surprisingly easy to follow the diverging plot lines! The actress did a great job with the story!

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!

Thank you too OrangeSky Audio and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book

Natalya must choose between summer in NYC with her dad or LA with her estranged mom, and learns there may be more than one path to happy ever after.

This was such a unique premise with both of Natalya's choices playing out in alternating chapters between life in NYC and LA. Adler pulled off the duality in that the alternating settings were never confusing and I wasn't more invested in one path than the other. Ultimately I was rooting for Natalya as she grew and stepped out of her comfort zone, tried new things, met new people, and repaired her relationship with her mom.

We see Natalya explore her Jewish culture (loved Shabbat dinners with Adam) and own her bisexuality. It's a cute story overall with a great cast of characters and may leave you craving coffee and tacos. Perfect summer read for YA fans -- the audio narration was great!

Many thanks to Net Galley and OrangeSky Audio for an audio copy of Going Bicoastal for an honest review.

I flipping loved this book! In dual timelines, Natalya Fox explores relationships with a guy and a girl. I found myself cheering her on in each. The narrator did a fantastic job!

This was a really fun YA queer romance that sees Natalia, a Jewish, bisexual teen girl forced to decide which of her divorced parents to spend the summer with: her dad who she lives with all the time in NYC or go to LA and spend some quality time with her mother.

In a twist of fate she somehow gets to live out both scenarios in a magical realism sliding doors situation. I really enjoyed both her summer experiences (but I think LA was my fav). The audio narration was excellent by Mara Wilson and I am OBSESSED with this gorgeous cover too!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Orangesky media for the free ALC in exchange for honest review. Loved the narration. This is my 3rd Dahlia Adler book and definetly my favorite. I really appriciate this book and how YA readers will get to see themselves on page. Love the cover. Definetly will need to add a physical copy to my forever shelf.

Natalia has to choose which of her parents to live with during the summer … She could live with her dad on the east coast which coincidentally is where her cute redheaded crush lives. Or, she could live with her mom on the west coast which comes with an internship at her moms company—and a cute intern, too.

This takes place chapter by chapter, in chronological order, shuffling between her choice of either the east or west coast. Honestly, I was surprised at just how much I loved this book. I expected to like it … I didn’t expect to love it.

New York: Talia’s father is a mathematics professor at Columbia working on the second edition of his algebraic topology text book. He is adding … ANIMATED DIAGRAMS! I’d have loved that in my algebraic topology textbook (yes, I have actually taken algebraic topology). I know, no one else cares, but it made me smile and, for me, helped the book start off on a huge positive note. This story has the beautiful redhead, bonding with her friends, working at a cute backyard summer camp, Sailor Moon references, music, and more.

LA: Talia’s mother is a tough one to get to know. She is either ignoring her daughter or just super busy. Then, there is her fellow intern, Adam. He hated her at first, and I was his biggest fan…until I was. I really liked Adam, his brother Evan, Evan’s friends, the taco truck, Adam’s care in helping Talia keep kosher, and more. Adam was so sweet. I get why Adam didn’t like Talia at first and was upset, but I am so glad he moved past it. Also, for the record, lutefisk really is that gross.

I loved Talia’s growth and how, in each timeline, she worked on figuring out what she wanted in life. I loved how she was unabashedly herself. The times the stories crossed over were sweet, too … for example, the sunflowers. I also appreciated the queer and Jewish representation.

In a lot of books like this, the main character is whiney and childish. Talia, to me, was the antithesis of those characters. She was thoughtful, kind, considerate, and acted like an adult with her love interests and her parents. I truly appreciated the care taken with her character.

I loved the ending, too. I’ve tried to hide it, but I had a preferred storyline and was “stressed” at how it might end. It was perfect. I mean it, absolutely perfect. Definitely read this book!

PS- Pythagorean theorem! I couldn’t get over that.

Thanks to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for an arc of this audiobook. I apologize if misspelled any names or locations, I read this via the audio narration. Thanks to Mara Wilson for providing a wonderful narration.

Listening to "Going Bicoastal" was definitely the way to go and I recommend listening to this narrated by Mara Wilson.

I do wish Adler's latest was marketed as a "choose your own adventure" and was puzzled that the last few chapters were held as such. I found the chapter titles humorous and would've made a great choose where Natayla goes story! Overall, it was a quick read where the main character is already out of the closet and some fun nods to Dahlia's other books.

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. Also, I'll definitely be recommending the audiobook; Mara Wilson is the PERFECT narrator for this fun read!