i love u sapphics, i love u coming of age fiction, i love u pr!!! what a fun little book — my first by crystal maldonado but certainly enjoyable enough that i would love to read more. the romance is more of a side plot from the main story which was a little disappointing because i thought this was a romance, but this was a beautiful exploration of queer joy, friendship, and family!

OK, so, way better than Crossroads! Haha. Maldonado does cute teenagers very well. The voices ring true, the characters are believable and fun to get to know, and the story was well-paced and fun. The bucket list structure moved the plot along nicely. Enjoyed the representation and the content, and will definitely be recommending to teenagers in my library!

A fun, queer, coming-of-age story!

I really enjoyed this one. This is a YA story, and it definitely reads like one, as is described. It met the expectations it set!

This book has 3 queer friends who drifted apart reunite for a road trip full of fun stops. I think this was a beautiful story on friendship and how meaningful it can be to work to keep your friends in your life.

I also really appreciated Chloe being conflicted with all the changes happening in her life and growing up. I think this can be really important representation for young adults transitioning into college or adult life overall.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

I really enjoyed this one! The low but feeling big stakes felt very real, and the friendship group full of past and present crushes really worked for me. Plus, I love a road trip!

This book has some really strong 2000s to early 2010s vibes paired with queer Gen Z energy and I live for it! It's a very fun, stress-free book because there's no huge conflict but it also perfectly captures all of the internal doubts that arise when you're freshly graduated from high school and faced with the fact that, wow, okay, you're entering a new stage of life now and everyone seems to have their path figured out except you.

Chloe has ADHD and this factors a lot in why she feels she isn't ready to leave the safety of what's familiar behind. Her doubts are so relatable and it's so endearing to see the people around her showing so much understanding and care towards her while also encouraging her to trust herself more. Ramona especially was so thoughtful in all of her actions, she can take the award for kindest partner in fiction!

I loved the friendships in this book, between the trio but also between Chloe and Diego and their other friends. It was just full of love, joy and cheering each other on. I also loved Chloe's family so much. The dialogue in this is also super lively, it just flows and doesn't get boring, and as someone who isn't a fan of dialogue taking a central part in a novel, I found that impressive.

I was grinning from ear to ear during my read because this book is so joyful and I was pretty sure it would end up being a favorite. The only thing that disappointed me a little is that the book doesn't have a lot of depth going on. It shows each character dealing with some difficult aspects of life, especially Sienna, but there isn't much development to that, and towards the end I found myself wishing there'd been more to the story.

Despite that though, I find myself thinking about this book very fondly because it gave me something that I rarely had in youth: fun, cheesy (in a very good way) media about teenagers on a road trip with a fat, bisexual, neurodivergent, Latina main character who embraces and loves each of those parts of herself, surrounded by a cast of characters that is also Latine and very queer. As someone who loves that kind of media, it means so much to me to be able to recognize parts of myself here because it feels so comforting.

So, if you used to love (or still do) teen movies of the 2000s but never really saw yourself in them because it often only had straight, white, thin, neurotypical people, I'll highly recommend this. I think it's also a great read for those who enjoy stories about friendship, growing up and trying to enjoy all the little things in life.

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

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨✨ 3.75 stars for cuteness

Thank you to NetGalley, Holiday House, and Crystal Maldonado for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chloe Torres has just graduated high school and she's struggling with the idea of leaving the comfort of her family home and moving away to go to RISD for college. She can't quite let go of the past, and the two best friends that got away: Ramona and Sienna.
When Chloe's father buys her three VIP tickets to the reunion concert of the girls' favourite band, Intonation, Chloe decides to reunite with Ramona and Sienna for a cross-country road trip to get to the concert and complete the bucket-list the girls made together before their group grew apart. If she can just get Ramona and Sienna to agree to join her eight days of fun she knows she can reignite the friendship she isn't ready to let go of.

One of my favourite things about Get Real, Chloe Torres is the representation. Chloe herself if bisexual, Latinx, fat, and on the ADHD spectrum. Four elements we don't often see much of in young adult fiction, but especially not together. I was particularly impressed with the ADHD representation throughout the book. As a woman who was diagnosed in her late twenties it was really refreshing to see a female character who was diagnosed during her school years and who found a way to thrive. The support from Chloe's family and friends was also lovely to read about. There are a lot of characters I've read about who certainly present as being on the ADHD spectrum, but they're not diagnosed and they're often villainised. That certainly wasn't the case in this book. Chloe's supported by everyone around her. And finally someone else gets what it's like to have a brain that "feels like it's full of bees."

Another of my favourite things about this book was that it shows the importance of boy bands to young women, and especially queer women. The Simpsons was on the money with Non-Threatening Boys magazine—boy bands give queer women and girls male figures to idolise while dealing with (or, for some of us, completely ignoring) often confusing feelings for other girls. They also give us countless songs about loving women to sing along to. Win win.
As a fellow lesbian I really related to Ramona who has no interest in men whatsoever, except for Intonation. I've felt the same about One Direction and BTS over the years. I have no time for men in general, but so help me I will scream when I see specific men in concert. I'm sure a lot of lesbians can relate.

While this book isn't perfect—I could've done without the Whit plot, and the whole thing with Sienna's bio-Dad felt a bit out of place at times—I think that it showcases a really realistic friendship breakdown, and a joyful reunion between women at such a pivotal point in their lives. I think this book could be really meaningful to readers who are at the age where they're leaving high school and starting higher education, or moving away from the homes they grew up in. I know it really could've helped me to process my feelings back then.

If you're looking for a sweet sapphic romance, lots of good representation, plenty of laughs, and a nostalgia hit then Get Real, Chloe Torres could be just the book for you!

This book was fully adorable. The unique writing style takes a moment to latch onto, but I truly felt connected to and enjoyed these characters and their story. It was very low stakes, heartfelt, and just an overall lovely journey. I felt I was in the passenger seat the entire time on this road trip, and seeing three best friends find their way back to each other was truly lovely. A few confusing moments with the writing style, but mostly I enjoyed the unique voice this was written in. Quite an uplifting, delightful queer story.

I enjoyed this novel a lot. Huge YA vibes. There was coming-of-age and life lessons and relationships in flux. There were fun scenes and great dialogue. Good communication, and (thankfully not too much!) bad communication. I think this is a great little novel and for the right audience it would be a very good read.

A lot of the plotline went a little too convenient and easy for me, but at the same time I can absolutely not say that it was unrealistic. If you’re looking for low-conflict conflicts, this novel can deliver for you. I am not upset with how it chose to take the storyline, I was initially concerned it would be overly-dramatic and filled with unrealistic angst, so I am happy that it didn’t go that route.

This was an incredibly easy and fast read and I enjoyed it. I recommend that you give it a go if it sounds like something you think you might enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

Soft DNF for me at the moment due to not being in a YA mood. (The downfalls of a mood-reader!)

I do enjoy the girl’s relationships and am enjoying the diversity in the novel,

This was a very solid 4 stars.

You already know I love a good road-trip romance and this hit all the marks for me. Chloe and her former friends Sienna and Ramona haven't spoken in over 4 years. The 3 girls grew up together and formed the "crappy parents support group" for each other and in middle school they bonded over the mutual love for a major boy band. For Chloe's 18th birthday, her dad and step-mom get her tickets to the boy band's show in Las Vegas, but Chloe doesn't have anyone to go with her due to work and family obligations. After running into both Sienna and Ramona within 24 hours of each other, Chloe decides the universe is giving her a sign to try and mend the rift in their friendship before the 3 girls go off to college in a couple of months. She (miraculously) convinces both girls to go with her and the 3 of them embark on a road trip from New England to Las Vegas and they attempt to fulfill their pre-college bucket list (written in middle school) along the way.

I loved all of the road trip shenanigans (although my type-A brain probably couldn't handle all the detours and stops irl) from visiting the zoo on a whim to skinning dipping in the pool the trip truly seemed like a blast and an excellent last hurrah for young adults about to start college. The book was very coming of age/nostalgia vibes throughout and it just made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I thought the characters were developed and written extremely well and I absolutely loved the diverse representations. Chloe's ADHD was well written as well.
-Latina female main characters
-bisexual, pansexual, gay, and lesbian representation
-positive plus-sized representation
-ADHD representation

I think the only thing keeping it from a full 5 stars is that throughout the book some plot points could have been wrapped up just a bit more or elaborated on. Example: after visiting Sienna's bio dad, she cries about him being crappy and having a whole other family and then it's just really not mentioned ever again. That is to say, I feel like the main focus of the book was the developing romance between Chloe and Ramona and everything else was just kind of filler that wasn't always 100% fleshed out. I still very much enjoyed it and thought it was a good read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced e-book, all thoughts are my own.

This is a solid book and it gave me the exact feeling I wanted--nostalgic, light-hearted, fun, but with some weight. The characters are well-crafted and the roadtrip is a lot of fun. That being said, there are some elements that kind of took away from my experience. Namely, there's quite a bit of info-dumping in here, and I think a lot of the emotion and reflection is a little on-the-nose. I know that a lot of adult readers adjust their expectations for YA books because we're not the target audience, but I think this thinking can do a disservice to actual teen readers... Of course I think content should be age appropriate, but I don't think things need to be dumbed down quite as much as they were here. I would've appreciated some more nuance is all. I'm still a fan of Crystal Maldonado's and will definitely read her next work.

This story hits home for a small city girl from Massachusetts. “Get Teal, Chloe Torres” tells the story of female friendships, second chance at love, and how to openly live with your heart on your sleeve. This book made me cry with joy and laugh as Chloe, Ramona, and Sienna reunite after years being estranged. I think this will connect with people who are going through a lot of changes in their life. I think this is my new comfort book to go back to. The sapphic romance and queer representation in Maldonado’s books always brings a smile to my face. This romcom should be on everyone’s TBR!

Super fun and cute road trip story about three friends who fell apart and are now coming together for a trip to hopefully repair their friendship and for two of them a bit more than that. I really enjoyed this one, definitely a summer-y read full of heart and lessons on speaking your truth, hearing out those you care about, and occasionally when to give second chances.

This book wasn’t for me. I found it very repetitive. I didn’t really care for the overall story. I also feel like this was a little childish.

As a 39 year old female who still loves Backstreet Boys since she was 10 and got to see them live a few years back for the first time I highly recommend this book to my fellow boy band lovers. The characters are complex and the trip to go see their favorite boy band is a fantastic experience to be a part of as it took me back to youth!

Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

In these dark times, I love having some queer joy, female friendships, and wholesome road trips to recapture the magic of being young and far too into boybands while on the cups of becoming adult media.

Chloe Torres has ADHD, an overprotective dad, and some anxiety about moving away to a prestigious art school as an adult as she turns 18. As a birthday present, her parents buy her three VIP tickets to a reunion show for a boyband she and her best friends were super into in their younger days, which gives her a chance to try and repair friendships with her estranged childhood besties, Ramona and Sienna. Things went south for the three besties in the past when Chloe had a massive crush on Sienna, who moved away, and then Ramona kissed Chloe, which made them avoid each other afterwards.

On this seven-day road trip to see the band they loved as kids, Chloe, Sienna and Ramona can catch up and try to repair their friendships (and perhaps something more?) before they get on with their new adult lives. From start to finish, this is a wholesome, funny, and delightful ode to queer female friendships, being bonded by your intense love for a boyband, and the sadness of drifting apart from the friends who feel like a part of you.

I loved the trip, how the girls clear the air and work on being better friends to each other, and help each other grow and get through tough times in their lives as they are on the cusp of adulthood. There are also fun supporting characters such as Chloe's cousin, Diego, who is on a quest to win a drag queen competition, Chloe's overprotective dad who is having a bit of trouble letting his baby grow up, and her stepmom and aunties trying their best to support her as she's spreading her wings.

In short: delightful, queer, and wholesome as heck, which is much needed in darker times.

This book is absolutely adorable and I look forward to reading it once it’s released! Unfortunately it wasn’t quite formatted enough for me to be able to read on my ereader.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this! I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

RATING: 3.75/5

“Get Real, Chloe Torres” is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story featuring the lively and vibrant Chloe we all know (and love) from “The Fall of Whit Rivera”, featuring the both hilarious and beautifully emotional writing of Crystal Maldonado.

I loved Chloe from the second I read “I took a bite of a bath bomb inside of a Lush once” all the way to her joyful conclusion; the ADHD representation in her character was authentic and real, highlighting how ADHD can be both a fun quirk while also being a very real and debilitating disability. I wish there had been a bit more fat positive rep throughout her story, it mostly felt condensed into the first few chapters of the book, but I still loved her as a character regardless.

The story itself was extremely compelling, I’m always a huge fan of a well done roadtrip trope, and Maldonado does not disappoint! Each stop of their adventure was full of fun and engaging activities while also stringing together a slow burn sequence of heart to heart conversations about the ways in which the breaking up of Chloe’s friendship trip impacted each member differently. The estranged best friends to best friends for life pipeline truly brought so many tears to my eyes, and I feel like this is an element of this story that the author absolutely nails perfectly. I also really loved how accurate the details about tattoo apprenticeship were, as well as the exploration into the camaraderie that blossoms in fan girl culture.

Romance-wise, the gay pining that Chloe felt for Ramona was palpable in each scene, and I loved their ways in which they rekindled their friendship as well as ignited a romance. In terms of the love triangle aspect, I feel the triangle fizzled out by the 30% mark of the story, but I enjoyed Chloe and Ramona so much that I didn’t mind the lack as much.

I had a few small pet peeves with the story, namely how Diego felt shoehorned into a Gay Best Friend character and how there were far too many song lyrics present in the text, but my biggest critique of the story is in the lack of scenes that built closure or introduced good tension into the plot. I wanted a post-skinny dipping gay panic scene. I wanted a REAL conversation where Sienna voiced feelings about the brewing romance and her parental pressure instead of both topics being shrugged off. I wanted a scene where Chloe has a scary convo with her dad about her future academic career. I wanted a scene where LITERALLY any of Chloe’s family members addresses the prominent tattoo she has. I wanted a scene where Chloe gifted Sienna and Ramona the watercolor paintings she made of them while on the trip. I feel the story suffers from both plot holes and jagged story transitions with the lack of these scenes and it’s the sole reason this book didn’t hit as hard as “The Fall of Whit Rivera”.

I’m still a massive fan of Crystal Maldonado, her work is always emotionally devastating and creative & funny at the same time; “Get Real, Chloe Torres” just didn’t fully work for me, but I would still recommend the story for a lighthearted story full of friendship and gay panic.

Former friends going on a road trip to see the reunion show of their favorite band who broke up while also crossing off items from their childhood bucket list!?! This sounded so cute + the cover is so pretty… so of course I had to check it out!

Unfortunately, I was annoyed basically the whole time. The main character, Chloe, is so annoying. She was very sensitive and while I get that, it gets repetitive at some point. She kept getting annoyed at her (former) friends because she found out they had ulterior motives for coming on this trip…

I say: of course they did!! And also, WHO CARES? You guys haven’t talked for YEARS and suddenly you invite them on a road trip with like three days notice and you don’t expect them to have an ulterior motive???

Anyway, I did like Sienna and Ramona for the most part. They each had their annoying moments but usually they were chill. A lot less annoying than Chloe.

I also found the dialogue super cringy. It was not realistic for 18 year olds at all and the amount of pep talks/long speeches was both unrealistic and annoying. No 18 year old talks like that. It sounded like they were in a self help group or talking to a therapist half the time.

At about 60% it started to get more interesting and I enjoyed the ending. The romance was cute as well as their rekindled friendship! There’s definitely a lot of things to like but (for me) there was also a lot of stuff I disliked. It’s definitely a young adult book, and I love those, but this one might be better for a bit of a younger audience!

Aspects:
🧳Road trip
📋Bucket list
💞Friendship
🏳️‍🌈Queer & Latiné characters
🧠ADHD rep (though I found it to be a little repetitive)

This book made my heart happy with all the representation (ADHD, plus sized rep, bipoc rep, LGBT rep) and love between characters. There’s a special kind of magic when you’re able to reunite yourself with people you used to be friends with through an out of the box journey and an imaginative bucket list. I need to read more from this author.