Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC!

This book was an okay read. I appreciate the representation, and I really wanted to enjoy it, but I feel like I'm not the intended audience. The writing style didn’t click, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters.
It's not a bad book, it just isn't for me.

The most adorable book about reconnecting friendships and the rocky relationships of being a teen girl. Watching Chloe, Ramona and Sierra reunite and form a bond was incredible and hilarious. Their antics and experiences were an absolute joy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐½ — 4.5 Stars!

Get Real, Chloe Torres is the ultimate feel-good, heart-tugging, summer road trip romcom you didn’t know you needed. Crystal Maldonado absolutely nails the chaotic beauty of friendship, heartbreak, and young love, delivering a story that’s as laugh-out-loud funny as it is tender and emotional. Chloe is a main character you’ll root for from page one — messy, creative, determined, and full of heart — as she embarks on one last wild plan to reunite her estranged best friends with an epic cross-country trip to see their favorite boy band. But this isn’t just about concert tickets and travel selfies (though those moments are a blast!) — it’s about repairing broken bonds, facing old feelings, and learning how to show up for yourself and the people you love.

What makes Get Real, Chloe Torres so special is its honest, joyful representation. From fat positivity and ADHD rep to its diverse Latine cast and beautifully written sapphic romance, this book brings so much warmth and authenticity to every page. The love triangle? Chef’s kiss. The banter? Absolutely perfect. And the emotional payoff? It hits so hard in the best way. Whether you’re here for the friendship drama, the swoony kisses, or the pure serotonin of a boy band reunion concert, this book delivers it all. Grab a copy, queue up your favorite pop playlist, and get ready to fall head over heels for Chloe and her crew.

Thank you to Holiday House and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I have pretty mixed feelings on this one tbh.

I loved the start, and the concept of a road trip to rekindle old friendships was really cool. It sounded so much fun and honestly, that aspect didn’t disappoint. I felt like I was really there with them in some moments.

I loved the romance. It was very sweet and felt natural.

The bits at the concert reminded me of my fangirl years and that was a lot of fun.

But something about the way this was written made it really hard to feel close to these characters for the longest time which did bring my enjoyment down.

This book is a cuddle. I really enjoyed it. This is my first Crystal Maldonado’s book and it won’t be my last, I promise.
The plot is well written and so the characters. And I love the way they communicate with each others. I’m a fan of the miscommunication trope, but I like that in this book this trope isn’t part of it.
I don’t know if it is a really a romance, the friendship seems more important to me, the romance seems a little secondary, but it’s cute, however.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was such a fun and lovely read, perfect for the warmer days that are coming.

Chloe just turned 18 and got the best birthday present ever from her dad and her step mom. She has a hard time at leaving her past and especially her two former best friends in the past to start a new chapter at the art school. That's why she's planning a low-key wild road trip. Of course not just to reconcile with her friends but also to see their favorite boy band live.

I had a good time reading this book. It gave me a cozy summer vibe. I think it would be perfect to actually read it in the summer and maybe even on a road trip. The combination of the road trip and finding back to each other but also growing up at the same time was really fun to read. The story felt real and even though some things didn't go according to plan, they tried to communicate and find a new solution together.

Some moments were a bit silly but overall it was an entertaining story. I don't really have anything bad to say about this book.

This book is perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and road trip fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for this EARC!

Get Real, Chloe Torres was a delightfully, cozy read. Chloe just turned 18 is getting ready for her transition into adulthood. Part of how she plans to help that transition is a cross country trip to see her favorite childhood band in concert. When Chloe is gifted three tickets she takes that as a sign that she should reach out to her estranged childhood best friends to see if they want to reconnect with a cross country road trip.

As Chloe, Ramona, and Sienna started their trip and dealt with the realities of reconnecting with friends after years of no contact I was worried that this book was going to be full resentment and awkwardness. But at every turn this book pleasantly surprised me. These characters were honest and open with each other. I loved the communication in this book.

In addition, while told from Chloe’s point of view, every character was well formed and felt equally strong in this book.

If you are looking for a book that is sweet and focused on strong female friendships with a little bit of romance thrown in, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Thank you Crystal Maldonado, Holiday House, and NetGalley for this ARC.

3.75/5 stars rounded up.

When I started Get Real, Chloe Torres, having never read a Crystal Maldonado novel, I expected a very generic YA story, that would be an easy lighthearted read and not much else. Well, what I got was a bit more than that.

In this book, you follow Chloe as she tries to get herself ready to leave her hometown and accept the changes that come with starting her freshman year of art school soon. At almost eighteen, she very much feels like this is the end and start of something enormous (as one does, at that age), which exhumes a need to tie up lose ends of her childhood, in the form of her now estranged two best friends, Sienna and Ramona. Fueled by a desire to make it right before she leaves, and prompted by the fact that her dad and step-mother gifted her three tickets to the reunion concert of the boy band they were fans of, she reconnects with them and all three embark on a road trip to Las Vegas with goals, feelings and a bucket list.

I found that the writing in this book was very flowy, particularly the dialogues. I first thought that they talked a lot, neglecting the narration, but as I moved through the book it did not feel detrimental to any part of the story and, as a matter of fact, helped the story feel more real. The conversations in the car, especially, and the overall weirdness of being trapped in it after all these years without updating each other of their lives, were nice. The characters felt fleshed out and well thought-out, diving into subjects like the loss / absence of a parent, ADHD, identity as whole (whether it was body related, namely fat positivity, or ethnicity, with discussions of being latine, and, of course, sexuality), giving a solid platform for the romance to develop.

Overall, Get Real, Chloe Torres is a fresh romcom perfect for this summer, which is right around the corner, mixing classic romance tropes with sprinkles of nostalgia and whimsy.

Thank you Holiday House, Crystal Maldonado and NetGalley for providing me with an arc. This review is entirely my own and honest opinion.

Overall I enjoyed this book but I do have *thoughts*
1. Let me start off with the good: books about healing friendships are so important especially in YA. Modeling how to have productive hard conversations is exactly what teens need to see. I also really appreciated that there was a discussion about parental control. Just because one parent is less bad than the other, it doesn’t mean you have to accept that behavior just because it’s not as bad as it could be. And showing that it’s okay to change your mind about future plans and that you don’t have to follow the cookie cutter college path was really empowering.
2. I know Chloe has ADHD and it is definitely an impulsive teenage girl trait to get upset and not think things through. HOWEVER, Chloe giving away her tickets on a whim to low key punish her friends felt incredibly privileged and bratty. Her dad dropped literal thousands of dollars on the tickets and that trip and she was willing to throw all of that away because her friends weren’t reacting the way she wanted. And it’s not really addressed at all??????
3. When the girls were on their little side trips visiting different monuments, the writing about those places felt straight out of a travel brochure. It’s possible Crystal has never been to those places so she did research about what they’re like but I expect a writer to be able to transform that kind of language into something more relatable.
4. This book and The Fall of Whit Rivera is clearly a love letter to boy bands (probably One Direction in particular) which is completely fine but if I had to read about which personality type each fictional band member had or their favorite color one more time, I was going to lose it. That needs to be explained MAYBE two times. It was way more than two times.
5. The dad is so incredibly overprotective, that I was starting to get uncomfortable. I think it was supposed to be funny and cute how over the top he was but to me it screamed red flag. He literally threatened to call his lawyer because the rental got a flat tire. That is bonkers behavior.

Get Real, Chloe Torres was such a sweet and heartfelt coming-of-age story. It’s a fun, fast-paced road trip adventure where three ex–best friends reunite to see their favorite childhood band, and of course, there’s drama, tension, and a lot of hilarious moments along the way. I especially loved Chloe’s relationship with her dad, and her cousin Diego absolutely stole the show! Please please please give him his own book!

Chloe’s emotional growth really hit home for me. I saw so much of my younger self in how she navigated friendships, self-worth, and big feelings. It was tender, relatable, and honestly had me tearing up a few times. Definitely recommend this one!

Awwww! This was suuuuper cute! 3 friends reuniting after years apart during a roadtrip to see their favorite band? Yeah it was fluffy, fast paced, and just adorable.

I really loved Chloe’s relationship with her dad. And I thought each girl was relatable.

Ohhhh it was so fun seeing little glimpses of Whit again too.

And it’s gay?! Hell yeah!! This book felt a bit healing in some ways. Not all or even most of our childhood friendships make it into young adulthood/adulthood, so this was a very wholesome, cute story.



Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A really cute YA novel with great bisexual and pansexual representation I would have loved to read when I was younger. I really loved the characters and relationships between Chloe, her friends, and family. The love triangle part of the story didn’t really land for me. I didn’t see the spark between Chloe and Sierras, but it was evident between Chloe and Ramona. I also thought the book suffered from too much exposition and info dumping at the top of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is the epitome of cotton candy - light, sweet, and total fluff. It was fun to be along for the ride with Chloe, Ramona, and Sienna. The whole trip was major wish fulfillment but I loved seeing their long-lost friendship bloom back to life. While the plot tried to do a lot in a short amount of time, the ADHD representation wasn't skimped on and I'm grateful for that.

This book is magic in a bottle! Get Real, Chloe Torres is unbelievably fun while still grappling with SO many of the challenges that come along with being a post grad teenager.

Moldonado beautifully paints so many realistic family portraits within this tiny little package. From a loving, present, accepting single father, to a positive portrayal of a stepmother and new baby on the way, a family that pushes their child too hard, adults who walked out on their children, to a truly hysterical laugh out loud cousin relationship, and somehow even more.

The amount of topics that are woven into this story without ever once becoming preachy is a truly impressive feat. Moldanod shows that she is a master of her craft by touching on so many important things while we experience the thrill of a summer road trip and a bucket list filled with a middle schooler’s dream items! She then wraps everything up with the most eloquent ode to women and fandom like a pretty little bow on top.

I cannot recommend this book enough, for queer representation, ADHD rep, iconic Latina characters, and plus size body positivity! This book was fast paced, kept you on your toes, and is the type of story I can see younger readers coming back to time and again in an ongoing loop. What a wonderful gift from Moldonado to libraries everywhere! Get ready to feel a lot when you crack this one open!

While I was not quite obsessed with boy bands as a kid/teen (they had nothing on Spice Girls and Eden's Crush), this book was still a super cute, fluffy read about three queer girls reuniting for a concert of their favorite boy band.

I adored how low-stakes this book was. It was lighthearted and sweet and basically a love letter to friendships past and reborn. All the side characters were fun. I love Sienna and Ramona. The BFF Summer List was cute. Diego was great. And I love that it tackled abandonment and growth. Just an overall really fun story. Will definitely read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I love a Crystal Maldonado, but this one was just okay for me.

I could not connect with the characters and I just did not care about this story. I feel like the language and the communication was older than the characters were, and it felt like a ya that was trying to be older.

I did like this, but it isn’t my favorite Crystal Maldonado.

Chloe was an absolute delight. She is fat, bisexual, Latinx, has ADHD, and doesn’t always make the right choice in the moment. In other words, she is real, she is an emotional mess, and she is scared and unsure of what her future will look like. But above all, I love her determination to get the trio back to what it was and ability to never give up, even when things got hard. She took matters into her own hands, when on a road trip of a lifetime, and gained the independence and confidence she needed to enter the world as an almost adult. I also appreciated that she was able to call Ramona and Sienna out on their shit and be able to own up to her own mistakes. I definitely related to her struggle with letting go of the past/ her childhood and fearing growing up and leaving certain people or things behind.

I was totally expecting Chloe to be more interested in Sienna than Ramona but was pleasantly surprised by her choice not to pursue that route. Sienna has that typically fun, happy, personality and seems to get along with just about everyone. While Ramona is a bit more moody, mysterious, and unpredictable. But I loved the fact that Ramona was a secret softie, her passion for wanting to be a tattoo artist, and how she truly began to break out of her shell around Chloe. I didn’t really care for Sienna’s storyline regarding finding her real father, but I know it gives her more depth. I would have loved to get to know Ramona more and wish the book was a bit longer so that we could have had more time with Chloe and Ramona as a couple. On the same note I wanted more of the details as to their developed feelings for one another and not the closed door romance that was given, especially in regards to the heated airstream scene… I did however really enjoy the friendship dynamic between the three of them and how they were able to challenge and balance each other out.

The side characters were really great too. Loved the fact that Chloe's cousin Diego was a secret drag queen and that Chloe’s Papi and step mom were both hilarious and overprotective. Whit seemed like a cool character, but other than the fact that she was going to the concert, we didn't get to know her very much, so again maybe that part of the storyline could have been left out. The representation was steller, between Chloe and her fully fleshed out ADHD, Sienna being pansexual, Ramona a lesbian, Diego being gay, and the Latinx community. Being an art person myself, I really enjoyed how both Chloe and Ramona explored art in different ways and that they had something in common to bond over. I know friendship was definitely the leading theme in this story, but I wish there had been a tad more romance and chemistry leading up to the reveal of Chloe and Ramona. I do appreciate how some of the tougher topics were portrayed such as grief, divorce, heartbreak, dealing with change, and letting go of the past. Even though there wasn't a whole lot of conflict, suspense, complexity, or romance, overall I did enjoy the fast paced lighthearted story and the characters.

The overall idea of this work is really appealing to me. It tells a coming-of-age story about early adulthood rather than a full-fledged romance; the romance feels more like a spice than a main topic. The characters are similarly endearing, depicting the difficulties of clinging on to the past while attempting to move on to a better future. As a result, it is an excellent narrative for readers who are brokenhearted or who want to ponder how to rebuild a broken friendship.

Despite the fact that I was unable to finish the book, I will not give it a bad review based solely on its premise. I'm not sure where things go wrong for me; is it the vibe? Is it the writing style? That limits its ability to offer a terrific slice-of-life story at an incredible speed. Maybe someday I'll give this book another opportunity, but for now, I'll have to pass it forward.

I am still recommending it to those who want to read cozy books or have read Maldonado's novels before.

Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House for an ARC of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.

There are a lot of great “coming of age” books… but Crystal Maldonado’s are always the best. She is the queen of this genre and we should all just bow down to her.

I’ve had an excerpt of her book ‘No Filter and Other Lies’ saved on my phone (in my favorites album) since I read it in September 2022. Her writing, and her characters resonate with me in a way that few other books do.

This book was no exception.

The characters are well rounded and lovable… and you can’t help but root for them.

This road trip setting in this book is great because it keeps propelling the story forward.

This story is perfect for young adult readers, but also millennials (it reminds me just a smidge of the 2002 Britney Spears movie ‘Crossroads’).

There is also some great representation in here!

-Plus size main character
-ADHD representation
-Latine representation (Puerto Rican and Argentinian)
-sapphic romance (bi, pansexual, and lesbian representation)

AND a CUTE cover to boot!

Add this (and any other Crystal Maldonado books) to your TBR today!

PUB DATE: May 13, 2025

SUGGESTED SNACK PAIRING: mushroom tacos with roasted corn salsa

“On tonight's menu: seared mushroom tacos with charred- corn salsa, plus some rice and grilled zucchini, yellow squash, and red bell peppers.”

Triggers: abandonment, alcohol use

Review will be posted on my Instagram closer to pub date!

Great read for young adults!

18 y.o., Chloe Torres is gifted with a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the boy band she was obsessed with in middle school. Only problem is she has no one to go with to said concert. After a chance encounter with her old crush, Sienna and near run-in with her old BFF, Ramona, the only two who were as obsessed with said boy band, Chloe decides to invite them on an impromptu road trip to complete the bucket list they created when they were all still friends.

Taking a few detours along the way, the girls manage to repair their fractured relationship and make it even stronger.

I thought this was a beautiful coming of age story that deals really well with the emotions one can feel when transitioning from the comfort and familiarity of youth to the unknown of pending adulthood.