I definitely don’t believe in the concept of “guilty pleasures” when it comes to enjoying things, but being a 36 year old who admits to fully enjoying (slightly cheesy) contemporary YA romance takes a certain amount of nerve. But Becky Albertalli’s books are so charming that I can’t resist! Her characters are always sweet and their stories are always heartfelt, and this latest novel, which follows high schooler Imogen as she discovers an unknown side of her personality as she falls in love, is once again absolutely enthralling. Imogen is at the very end of her highschool experience, and the novel follows her over a spring break trip in which she visits her best friend at college - where she will also be attending for the Autumn semester. She is thrown helter skelter into Lili’s group of queer friends, which she is totally fine with, until the catch is revealed: that Lili told everyone that they used to date eachother, putting Imogen into the precarious place of having to pretend to be bisexual or blowing Lili’s cover. Obviously this is pretty problematic, but it turns out the conceit is closer to the truth that anyone (including Imogen) expected, and as the weekend progresses she develops a crush on one of Lili’s friends and begins questioning whether she’s only ever had “real” crushes on boys before. Sometimes things are never quite as simple as they seem, and Albertalli explores the heteronormative expectations of society with her trademark wit and depth, bringing us a novel that I’m sure draws inspiration from her own experience as a formerly closeted bisexual person. I’m sure there’s a portion of the community who will continue to give her grief about her own experience and the novels that she continues to write in this genre, but I can’t help but feel like there’s a certain truth and honesty to her stories that shouldn’t be discounted. Regardless of what the critics say, I’ll continue to support her, because her books always bring a warmth to my heart and a renewed sense of humanity. ( )

Gr 9 Up—When Imogen spends spring break visiting her best friend Lili at college, a white lie leads Imogen to
restlessly question new romantic feelings. Filled with character dynamics that reel readers in, Imogen's journey is a
highly relatable one of introspection, embracing truth, and letting go.

Imogen's always been the straight ally of her school's Pride group, doing the work to educate herself and be respectful and a good friend. While visiting her best friend Lili for the weekend at the college she will soon be attending, Imogen catches big feelings for Tessa, one of Lili's pack of cool queer friends -- and it seems like the feelings might be mutual. What does this mean for Imogen's identity? What will it mean for her friendships, both existing and new?

One of the things Albertalli does best is creating solid friend groups with great dialogue and humor, and she really shines with this book as Imogen interacts with both her established friend group and Lili's college group. She also does a great job of looking at different aspects of identity and how people discover new facets of themselves. As a result, Imogen is really, really in her own head for a lot of the book, and her constant questions and anxieties might be exhausting for some readers. I wasn't bothered by it, because I could see myself in the way Imogen processes interactions and new information. If you've enjoyed Albertalli's other works, you'll probably like this one -- and if you haven't read any of her books, this is a standalone, so it's a good place to start (though I am hoping for more books from this set of characters in the future)! ( )

I think was a very quite read but one that had so many elements for queer moments and also queer realtionships. I loved the elements of this read and the setting the almost to college moment. I think this book had some really fun moments and def had some harder topics. I liked the roamnce and the found family vibes that often occur in college but i did not feel as conencted to this read as i did with previous books by this author. ( )

I think was a very quite read but one that had so many elements for queer moments and also queer realtionships. I loved the elements of this read and the setting the almost to college moment. I think this book had some really fun moments and def had some harder topics. I liked the roamnce and the found family vibes that often occur in college but i did not feel as conencted to this read as i did with previous books by this author. ( )