This is such an adorable, cute and cozy Fall inspired Ya romance. In Whit Crystal Maldonaldo created a very relatable and likeable character. She's struggling to accept her recent diagnosis of PCOS and the changes that it has made to her body.

I wish Crystal Maldonado was writing books when I was a kid! The representation in this book, along with her other book, made me feel seen. To read about a plus sized Puerto Rican teenager struggle to find a homecoming dress while shopping with her straight-sized friends felt life changing as this was my own lived experience.

Whit is full of personality and a deep love all things fall. It’s her senior year of high school and so far everything is going wrong. Her boyfriend moved away, her friends are couples up and spending more time with their significant others, and worst of all she’s sprouting chin hairs and gaining weight due to PCOS. She thinks her luck is changing when she finally becomes President of the Fall Fest committee. Little does she know that she’s going to get stuck working with her enemy/ middle school boyfriend Isaiah. Good thing she has her best friends, sister and Abuela be her side as she navigates all the challenges that come with growing up.

This story is so relatable to anyone who has ever survived being a teenage girl. Whit experiences so many of the very real hard moments many young women face, but there is still so much joy in her story. She has great friends, and a small but supportive family. I am so grateful that these stories are being written. I can’t wait to share Whit with my niece, so that she doesn’t have to wait until her 30s to see someone like her in a book.

Perfect read for the Fall season it gave all the vibes you’d look for with the cozy weather setting, pumpkin patches, apple picking, and a Fall Festival. But the book title and beautiful cover is what really had me sold. The story was super cute and swoony with lots of diversity, representation, and important topics discussed throughout. We’re given a curvy main character Whitney Rivera who’s battling with PCOS, weight gain, and a multitude of other issues that come along with having the condition and being a teen. The side characters were memorable and well-developed. Loved the representation with her sister being autistic and the diversity within her friend circle.

The authors writing felt authentic and believable. Can’t say I’ve read a book where the MC was dealing with PCOS but I love how the author kept that as the main focus throughout the book and took us on a journey as Whit learned to accept it.

Whit and Zay’s relationship was the cutest and what caused them to become frenemies back in middle school was solely based off miscommunication. As soon as you see sparks fly you’ll be rooting for these two to get back together. I kinda like when characters are forced to work together and put aside their differences and rekindle. Zay was a better option for Whit anyway because Aiden wasn’t giving her the time of day anymore. Their long distance relationship was the first sign it wasn’t going to work. Then the one word text messages and blowing her off were all red flags of a cheater but once Aiden came clean Whit wasn’t tripping. At that point I was all for her and Zay getting back together.

Overall, loved the book the narrative was captured perfectly. There’s lots of culture and diversity within the characters and I think many would find Whit’s character to be very relatable. If you’re into YA novels I recommend you guys give this one a read. Special thanks to the author & @holidayhousebks for my gifted copy!!!

Being a poc who has pcos and love psl's, I found that I related to the description. But I couldn't get into the story 😕. It could be that she's a teenager and my journey started I'm my adulthood. But I love that this story is out there for young people to relate to going through pcos.

This is an ARC review and these are my honest thoughts and opinions. This book was just not what I was looking for... its not bad by any means just not my cup of tea I guess. Whit(MFC) is just trying to figure life out, work on her own self acceptance and finding young love. I found myself liking the background characters far more than I actually liked Whit.
I want to say thank you to the Author, Holiday House and Netgalley for my ARC to read and review. As always ,please check the TW!

Read this if you like:
- PCOS representation
- lgbt Representation
- Plus Size Representation

Such a cozy fall read showcasing BI-POC characters and some great PCOS and autistic representation! As I read it I kept thinking how lovely it would have been to have stories like these when I was in high school and had just found out I had the same chronic illness. I’m so glad it’s here now, it’ll surely be valuable to younger generations.

If you love Gilmore Girls and everything Autumn, you do not want to miss this YA romance!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This author is new and it was a great story! I highly recommend and it was so sweet! I read it in one sitting and laughed a lot! This book was such a great time! Definitely read this one this year!!!

This is such a perfect fall read, I can't wait to reread this when the weather gets colder!

Whit Rivera is starting her senior year after a rough summer: her boyfriend moved away and long distance isn't working great for them, she's just gotten a PCOS diagnosis that she's trying not to let take over her life, and she's been avoiding her best friends because of everything she's got going on. Now that it's fall, her favorite season, she's decided to take back control of her life, and she's going to do that by planning her school's Fall Fest this year.

There's an adorable love/hate relationship in this book, which is what drew me in from the description, and it's handled really well (they have a history, but the guy is really cute and sweet!). My favorite part, though, is Whit's other relationships, because her best friends are great and the trio have a really fun dynamic ("LET. ME. LOVE. YOU!!!" made me laugh out loud forever). She also has an autistic younger sister named Lily, and the two are amazing together. Lily is just awesome, and she's not a stereotype at all, which was a huge relief. I can't say how good the rep is because I'm not autistic (just ADHD), but it felt very authentic. And Whit's abuela, oh my heart! Just lovely, lovely relationships in this book, and all of the characters are three dimensional and fully fleshed out.

I don't say this often, but I hope there's a sequel?! There's a bit at the end where it seems like it could be setting up for one, and if there is one someday, I'm here for it. I'd love to read more about these characters!

This was so cute. Although, this what I wish I got to read when I was a freshman in high school. It is so wholesome and real. LOVEEEE the black and latinx representation.

This book really surprised because not only did it bring back my love for YA books but it was extremely refreshing to read about BI-POC characters in a relaxed manner. This transported me back into the fall season and I honestly loved every bit of it.

This book follows Whit Rivera through her chaotic life, including being forced to prepare the fall formal with her ex-boyfriend. Her family dynamics and her little sister Lily made this book just perfect. The kind of happy, nostalgic moments the fall season tends to bring me is what was put in this book.

This was exactly the lighthearted, fun read I've been looking for!

(4.75 stars)

Obsessed with the Fall vibes, it gave me all the cozy feels and just like if I have been part of a Gilmore Girls season! Perfection!
Crystal Maldonado has a way with words that can rip you apart and restitch you better, more seen and educated.
I think out of all her books, this is my fave!

Whit is such a sweet character and one that will make you love her instantly.
I really enjoyed this book to the fullest. The author has done very well with the subject autism. I learned quite a bit about autism.
What drew me to the book was the cover and the sneaky look on Whits face and I adore the Fall colors.
I highly recommend this fun and cute read.
Whits journey to discovering herself along the way made me want to cheer her on. Cheer her on I did!
Once you open this novel you'll not want to put it down its so good!
My favorite thing was the fued between Whit and Zay. This was another thing that had me keep turning the pages. I had to see if they worked things out between them and I loved all the other little things that were mentioned too.
This was a great book! I hated to see it end. It will be added to my shelf of favorite books.
5 stars for a wonderful journey of poignancy, family and friendship along with a little romance tucked in.
I highly recommend it! You'll love it like I did.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was the coziest fall read with the perfect storyline to leave me with a smiling heart. Loved this story and loved the characters.

Crystal Maldonado has done it again and delivered a queer fat brown rom-com of my dreams. I love it so much. I feel like there aren't very many fall / autumn books but this is the epitome of autumnal. I love that our main character, Whit, is allowed to be so enthusiastically girly and that there's not a single ounce of pumpkin spice latte hate. I loved the PCOS representation and the romance element all of it was fantastic.

Whit's younger sister is autistic and she's introduced as autistic after a long list of all of her wonderful qualities and that made my heart very happy. I ended up doing a word search into the actual ebook because I listened to the audiobook and was trying to figure out whether or not the author ever used identity first language again. And I realized this is a secondary character and maybe she just doesn't know, but the sister's referred to as autistic and then afterward two or three times referred to as a person with autism. This is very much me nitpicking because the actual autism rep was fantastic and I loved her but I do think our main character was a little bit out of touch with what that actually meant.

That being said, I do love Whit's growth throughout the story and realizing that things are not all about her. I would have loved to see another conversation between Whit and her sister about how her sister's autism actually presented because she continuously thinks there are things that her sister would enjoy or like to do yet those are things that would directly cause overstimulation or something. Anyway I think I'm just rambling at this point so let's just ignore all that I really love this one and I'm really happy that I bought the audiobook because I definitely will be rereading this next fall.

Bi/pan Latinx fat MC with PCOS

This was perfect for the fall season, it was cozy and cute. The cover and book title definitely live up to all my expectations. Reading this felt like a warm hug. I was expecting a lot more drama, but quickly realized it wasn't the direction the story was headed which I highly appreciated.

Reliving high school moments and feelings through books is such a fun time especially when it's done in a healthy and wholesome setting like this one. Whitney was a lovely character to follow. Rooting for her and connecting with all her loved ones was effortless. The queer, latine, chronic illness, and autism representation added value to the story and were all well done. To be honest, the main reason why I kept reading and was invested wasn't for the romance plot, I was more invested in Whit's self-discovery journey than anything else.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange of an honest review.

This book is any fall-lover's dream! Packed with pumpkin spice latte's, hay rides and romance, there's something for everyone to enjoy. I loved the writing and the pacing of the story. It was pretty low stakes but still managed to keep my interest the whole way through! Watching Whit mature as a character and grow in confidence was really inspiring and it was touching at the end to see her surrounded by so many people who loved and supported her for exactly who she was.

As with a lot of ya contemporary books these days, this one did get a little too political for me. It wasn't quite as intense as others I've read but there were enough little quips there to set me on edge. I'm all for exploring hard topics in books, but when you just throw in off-handed comments here and there to try and be on the 'right' side of the argument with your readers, I have trouble getting behind that. However, in this case I'm willing to look past it and still recommend this one because of the diverse rep and empowering self-love theme. Overall, a fun celebration of the fall season!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC!

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- a cute, heartfelt story of second chances and love. Maldonado writes stories filled with plus sized protagonists that are nuanced, flawed, but find love and happiness that they deserve, and that's the case with this story as well, and along her fluent writing style, this book is made sweet and heartwarming.

Such a lovely book for all of us fall girlies! If you love PSLs, coziness, pumpkin picking, and overall autumn, you will fall in love with this YA book! As a fan of YA with Latine & queer rep and lover of all things fall - I was so hyped to sign up for this tour! I loved this book and I echo what others have said about how well the characters are crafted by Crystal Maldonado, I look forward to reading more from her!
Through this book, we meet Whit Rivera, a Puerto Rican girl who was recently diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We learn about her diagnosis and the symptoms that she experiences as she navigates her chronic illness as well as familial relationships, friendships, and second-chance romance. Whit is complex and far from perfect in spite of her passion and strong-willed demeanor and I enjoyed seeing her character development. Whit's sister has autism, and their relationship can be complicated at times. However, we witness Whit making efforts to improve and strengthen their sisterly bond. She also works on becoming a better friend.
I fell in love with the main character and her journey to self-acceptance and learning to ask for help (which are things I'm working on still as an adult!). YA books such as this one that explores self-acceptance and healthy relationships are good for my soul!
Overall, I found the discussion regarding grief, fatphobia, managing chronic illness, mental well-being, inclusivity, family dynamics, racism, poverty and medical challenges for people of color to be handled with great sensitivity and care.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook and the physical сору!

Thank you to the author Crystal Maldonado (@crystalwrote), Holiday House (@holidayhousebks), and Colored Pages Book Tours (@coloredpagesbt) for letting me be a part of this tour and for the ALC via @librofm

Thanks to Crystal Maldonaldo and Holiday House for the complimentary copy through Netgalley! It doesn’t affect my review in any way.

This book is a perfect choice for fans of Gilmore Girls and Taylor Swift’s Red TV. It gives off such perfect and cozy autumn vibes and is not just a sweet little romcom about old childhood sweethearts and an MC with such a strong-minded personality. Maldonaldo has done a great job representing friendships, queer characters, family, fatphobia, and most importantly, PCOS. It’s not common to read such portrayal of chronic illness that affects millions of women everyday. Whit’s insecurities and shame with her condition was definitely handled very well and quite realistically. Moreover, I loved how it expressed Latino culture in such a colorful manner.

The first few chapters of Whit’s story had me hooked! But unfortunately, the pacing became much slower and there was so much going on that I decided to DNF this at 19% because I’ve definitely surpassed my tolerance for highschool dramatics. My reading experience wasn’t enjoyable because this type of cliché wasn’t for me but I would still recommend this to anyone looking for a book that feels like a warm hug.

Do you want a cozy YA fall read? This is the coziest queer, fat, chronic illness rep YA romance full of PSLs and fall fun. Crystal Maldonado weaves a heartwarming tale of frenemies turned reluctant partners, Whit and Zay, in a story that's equal parts hilarious and touching. Maldonado's portrayal of Whit's journey is honest and insightful, shedding light on important topics without sacrificing the romance and humor that makes this story so engaging. Also is super refreshing to see both PCOS rep and MF queer relationships (bisexuals are still bisexual even if they are in a "Straight passion" relationship. "The Fall of Whit Rivera" is a must-read for fans of romcoms with depth and heart.