I'm torn about this book. Is it a fantastic coming of age/realizing sexuality book? Yes. Did it feel like I was having to suffer through never-ending internet discourse? Also yes. It was so frustrating to read all the overthinking, but it's obviously NEEDED and makes sense. But I so badly wanted to shake Imogen and be like, DEAR GOD PLEASE YOU'RE STRESSING AND NOW I'M STRESSING. 🤣

I absolutely adore queer reads and I adore Becky Albertalli. This is 100% YA and definitely reads like it. Which, again, is the point. And I pray that it gets into the hands of the right young adult who desperately needs it. 💕

*Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an ARC!

P.S. the cover is GORGEOUS!

Imogen, Obviously is another great Becky Albertalli book. Imogen visits her BFF Lili at the college she'll also be attending soon. Lili, a newly out pansexual has told her new friends that she and Imogen used to date. Imogen is game to keep up the pretence, but then meets the beguiling Tessa. Sparks fly, or do they?

Imogen struggles with her feelings - is she just holding to the back story or is sshenot as straight as she assumed?

Glorious queer representation, coming out stories, allocishetero assumptions, gatekeeping, positive friendships, toxic friendship, teen angst - this book covers so much.

Absolutely recommend for high school library acquisition

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins, and Balzer + Bray for allowing me to read this book.

Actual Rating 4.5

Imogen, Obviously is going to positively impact those who are discovering their sexuality at all ages. I deeply connected with Imogen's story in a lot of ways, especially having people like Gretchen in my life. I honestly wish I had this book sooner, but I am really gald this book exists for people who need it.

Please check out triggers warnings before reading this book.

Full review will be upon Instagram @abookwormsgarden on April 17th.

Adorable, relatable, engrossing, and earnest. That’s Imogen, that’s this novel, that’s Albertalli’s writing style. She’s one of the few authors that writes one sitting books for me. They’re always light and fluffy with an underlying seriousness that is all too relatable.

Imogen, Obviously is a beautiful love letter to all those who were just never sure. While not personally grappling with the issues that Imogen struggles with, she is yet another relatable all star in the Allbertalli universe. I can’t say enough good things about the way this book makes me feel because it’s so raw and open and honest. I think this is a story everyone needs to read and honestly? We all have a Gretchen in our lives. And I love the way Imogen tackled hers.

Ooo I bet writing this was cathartic for Becky Albertalli. I remember her feeling pushed to come out when so many accused her of co-opting queer space.

Ok so in the book Imogen has tons of friends and a sister who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. She’s always thought of herself as straight. At least she doesn’t meet what she thinks of as the ‘requirements’ to be queer.

But there’s always been something there. A little interest here or there. Toward girls.

While visiting her bff at college she’s asked to pretend to be bi as her bff lied about them previously dating to give herself some romantic history. Imogen plays along, but it also makes her question things even more.

She tries to talk about these feelings with her other friend, but that friend is very black and white in her thinking and protective of her role in the queer space.

This was a a great story of exploring who you are, bucking labels, leaving space for others.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the eArc of <i>Imogen, Obviously</i>. All opinions are my own.

Becky Albertalli is the bi Jewish queen we need right now in this age of social media, where queer people are keeping fellow queers out of the community for what, not going through as public a realization that they're queer as them? For being in a straight-appearing relationship? For not wanting to be publicly out? What Albertalli went through, a highly public forced outing of her bisexuality, is the clear inspiration for her new queer-friendly YA novel <i>Imogen, Obviously</i>. Imogen is that queer ally we all need—supportive of her queer friends and family and the first person in line for the GSA meeting at her high school. At first glance, she's like one of those fierce Mama Bears who'll protect you from the bigots during a Pride parade. Because she knows she's a good ally, she's constantly ceding to her queer friends, believing they know her better than she knows herself. Ultimately, this gives Imogen very little breathing room—until she meets someone who makes her feel like maybe, just maybe, she can carve a space out for herself in the queer community, and not just as an ally.

But eventually, Imogen has to make a decision about herself as new parts of her identity begin to unthaw and trickle down. You'd think living with such supportive parents, family, and friends that this would be simple, but what Imogen and Albertalli show us is that even in safe spaces, queer people can be made to feel...not queer enough. Imposters. Discouraged from exploring and chasing a part of themselves they hadn't realized was there...until it is very abruptly unearthed.

This book is a beautiful treatise on why the LGBTQ+ community needs to let people breathe and accept people unconditionally so they can find their own breath, their own wings to fly. As a secondary school educator and GSA advisor, I would absolutely recommend this very relatable book to my students, especially those who are questioning or doubting their identity.

Becky Albertalli has done it again! One of the reasons I love reading her work is how fluidly she capitalizes on teen culture with the insight of an adult who has "been there." I also love how intimately we get to know each character, especially the vulnerable, typically lovable main character!

Imogen is no different from any of other Albertalli's MCs. Imogen is quiet, introverted, careful with her words, and conscious of the importance of being an ally to others. It is in this particular characteristic that Imogen, perhaps, loses sight of her own self. She is so cautiously protective of the people she loves, she fails to realize important things about herself.

While I know this work comes from a deeply personal space for Albertalli, I can't help but wonder if this will resonate with so many other young people? I'm sure it is already receiving criticism, but I love Albertalli, I love her characters, and I think there is something syrupy sweet about the friendships she concocts that is honest and real!

Becky Albertalli is one of those authors who just feels connected with teenagers but also feels like she writes from the heart in all her books. I feel as if this story is probably really important to her just based on the subject matter. This book follows Imogen (obviously) who is the best ally with a queer sister and queer friends. She goes to visit her best friend at school for a weekend, hanging out with her queer friends. Those friends open her eyes to well herself. What if Imogen, the so called token straight, isn't so straight? Nothing will really ever compare to Simon because it's Simon. But this story feels so personal and I really loved the exploration of Imogen and sexuality throughout the book.

Thank you netgalley and harpercollins for providing an advanced reader copy of this book,

4.5 stars. You can tell Becky Albertalli put her heart and soul in this book. This book was fun and witty with diverse characters and main character that thinks and has been told she's one thing, but discovers she's not. Imogen was fun, neurotic, and passionate as an ally to the queer community while exploring who she was and the college she was going to go to. I loved Lili and Edith too. Such a good read.

yes there's a lot of deeply contrived terminally online unrealistic dialogue that ya authors seem to think is How The Teens Talk These Days and idk how I feel about the parts that were blatantly just about what happened to the author herself but I still had a great time reading this.

Imogen's journey of slowly realizing she's bi resonated so deeply with me and I think it will strike the same emotional chord with a lot of other readers as well. I legit sent so many quotes to the group chat I have with my queer friends bc they were all things we've thought or said before as we figured ourselves out. I hope this book can help young queer readers along on their journeys - I know having something like this as a teen would have clarified things a decade or two earlier for me!

thank you to netgalley for proving me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

it feels extreme to say this but i honestly think this is one of my favorite books of all time. becky albertalli’s books always have a way of making me feel like i’m being wrapped in a warm hug full of understanding and love. i was going to say that i fell in love with this book from the author’s note but that’s not accurate; i fell in love with this book the day it was announced. still, i tried to keep my rose colored glasses off and treat it like any book. so let’s talk about it. first off, it is clear from the jump that this book is incredibly personal to the author and that she put her entire heart and soul and years of introspection and hardship into the story and its characters. and that pays off spectacularly. and the thing is that it transcends becky’s personal experience because reading it felt deeply personal to me as well. i felt so understood and seen and i just wanted to scream “that’s me!! i’m imogen!!” the whole time. but even if imogen’s story isn’t relatable to you, it will feel that way when you’re reading. it will feel incredibly personal. because that’s how well written it is. reading this, i was suddenly thirteen years old again and making all of my camp friends read SVTHSA because i needed somebody to understand how i felt.

anyway, i digress. this book is heartwarming and groundbreaking and feels like coming home. the characters were amazing and well rounded and i just- i can’t say too much since it’s not out yet but do yourself a favor and preorder it right now.

rating: 5/5

taylor swift lyric: i once believed love would be black and white. but it’s golden.

Love, love, love, love, LOVE.

Albertalli is by far one of my favorite YA writers when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation and stories. She knows how to write complex characters and hilarious dialogue, and her books are always hard to put down. This one follows Imogen, a lovely little cinnamon roll who thinks she's straight...but there is some pretty solid evidence that that might not be the case.

I know the background here. Albertalli was attacked for being a straight women writing queer YA literature--mostly online--which led to her basically being forced to come out as bisexual. She was THEN attacked for not really being bisexual. It was a hateful, hurtful mess. (I actually used her story in one of my Diverse Literature presentations.)

It's pretty clear that Imogen's journey is very similar to Albertalli's, and that makes many moments even more heartbreaking. The LGBTQ+ community itself is vast and diverse, and this story shows that acceptance within the community is not easy or a given.

Thank you NetGalley! I really appreciate having access to this arc. This book was truly a joy. It was about so much but especially self discovery. I don’t base my ratings on whether I can relate to a character or not because I think relating is relative. However, I will say I did relate to the main character and I really felt that she was fully fleshed out. I really appreciated this and found it extremely cute.

Becky Albertalli is an auto read author for me so I was excited when I got an advanced copy of Imogen, Obviously. I enjoyed the upstate New York setting- which seemed like a bit of a departure from her Georgia settings, as well as the college setting. I loved the pacing- the chapters were short and interspersed with text conversations between the chapters.

I thought the characters were great- Imogen, of course, as well as her sister Edith. They had a wonderful, supportive sister relationship. Lili and Tessa were well written, however I was almost instantly annoyed by Gretchen. I couldn't quite figure out why Imogen kept a friendship with her outside of her people-pleasing tendencies. The book ends off with leaving this open and I'm choosing to believe Imogen moves on from her. I also thought the constant apologizing was a lot, again I understand it was part of Imogen's characterization, but it was relentless.

Overall I thought this book was great and has such a beautiful cover. I would recommend this to my students.

Becky Albertalli did a wonderful job with this book. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, the plot, and the self discovery that occurs. Imogen is such a relatable character for me because of her people-pleasing tendencies and her sense of rigidity about who she believes she is supposed to be. I also loved the college setting and the friend group that was formed. The plot was well paced, a very important topic was addressed, and the writing was great. I liked the text messages that came with each chapter, giving an interesting perspective, and that the chapters were short. The only thing I would have liked more of was further development of Lili and Imogen's friendship, and more on Tessa's character.

I’ve never read a book by Becky Albertalli that I didn’t love and this was no exception. This book was sweet, cute, fun, and funny. I loved the characters and the friendships. Some of the vocabulary I felt was a little heavy handed and maybe used weirdly in context like the amount of times the word “queerbaiting” showed up. But other than that I truly loved it and have already recommended it to friends.

I absolutely love this author. Her books tell stories that young people can relate to.

Imogen, Obviously follows the story of Imogen, a high school senior who is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality while also dealing with her own insecurities.

Imogen has always felt like an outsider, never quite fitting in with any particular group at school. She's always been attracted to girls, but has never been able to fully embrace her feelings. However, when she meets a new girl named Beck, Imogen starts to question everything she thought she knew about herself.

What I loved most about this novel was the way Albertalli handled Imogen's journey of self-discovery. The author captures the confusion and fear that often come with exploring one's sexuality, while also emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance and being true to oneself.

The characters in this novel are also incredibly well-written and relatable. Imogen is a character that many readers will be able to see themselves in, with her insecurities and struggles to fit in.

I will be adding this title to my classroom library.

This was such a highly anticipated read of mine because I love books with LGBTQIA+ representation, but especially when it is a bi-awakening story. The figuring yourself out, coming out, coming to terms with your sexuality. I love it so much. I went through it myself so it's such a comfort read for me. This was amazing. Imogen was so well written and the struggles of questioning yourself is so unbelievably real! I was hooked into this book from the very start. I felt so seen in Imogen, it was so comforting. I will definitely be rereading this as a physical copy so I can annotate all of my feelings!

Incredibly relatable and very cute. As always, I adore Becky Albertalli's portrayal of friendships and siblings and how they communicate and interact. Kind of like a pre- First Year at College book. For fans of Loveless, Fangirl, We Are Totally Normal, and Casey McQuiston.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’ve never read a book by Becky before and now I obsessed. Like oh my god. It’s been a while since I sat down and was so engrossed by a story I devoured it in a night. This book had me hooked. I loved Imogen & pals (expect for one) and I wanted so badly to finish it that it flew by. I’m going to have to read all the Simon books now because man Becky knows how to write a story that tugs at my heart.

This story felt so personal that it had me in tears. Even if it’s not 100% the same, I saw myself in Imogen. I think a lot of folks can relate to her struggles with her sexuality and that’s why books like these are so important. Recently, there has also been way too much news of celebs being forced to come out because they feel pressured by the media. Sexuality is so fluid and queerness should not be policed and I’m so glad this book has that message.

Imogen is so sweet and cute I loved her through this whole thing. I loved Lili & Edith & all of Lili’s friends at college too. They really seemed like an awesome group of friends and they remind me of why I loved college so much. Finding yourself and finding new friends. I’m not going to lie, my hometown friends sucked and I didn’t realize they were toxic until I got away and saw people who were actually kind. I grew so much when I left my town.

This story just ticked off all the right boxes for me. Sweet, heart warming, relevant, lesson teaching, funny, & full of amazing characters you want to get to know more of and love. I’m so impressed and I’ll be looking at Becky’s books from now on for sure!