I know so many queers who were just Excellent Allies first--so this tracks! This book was fun to read, of course, since all of BA's books are, and i am sure it will feel really resonant for lots of people to figure it out, and then wonder how they never did before.

Thank you to NetGalley and Balzer + Bray for an electronic ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled to receive an ARC of a Becky Albertalli book, and it did not disappoint! The author’s note was actually as significant as the story itself.

Imogen considers herself an ally, many of those closest to her are queer, but she is definitely heterosexual…or is she?

When she goes to visit her best friend Lili, newly out of the closet, in her first year at college, she discovers that said friend may have told her new queer friends a little fib…they all believe that Lili and Imogen used to date.

As Imogen goes along with the lie, she begins to question her own feelings—and her sexuality.

An important story, because it’s one that isn’t usually told. The usually queer party line seems to be “I always knew”. Different people have different struggles—and this story addresses the discovery/realization that one has same-sex crushes as well as opposite sex crushes, and the maybe this means that the individual is actually bisexual. It also hints at the reactions bisexuals may get, even from the queer community.

I loved this story because it wasn’t all clean and clear cut—it showed the messy bits. It’s the kind of story people need to hear.

Highly recommend!

As always, Becky Albertalli is GREAT at writing the teens, even awful ones (least favorite thing about this book is that it gives Gretchens a bad name). I know this book was deeply personal for her, and she really made her point.

So the first 50-75% of the book was lovely and nice. The last chunk of the book gets 10/5 stars. So fantastically written: the heart of these characters is just lovely. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend.

Feedback will be given when a new contract is negotiated with HarperCollins Union.
Feedback will be provided when a new contract is negotiated with HarperCollins Union.

Feedback will be provided when a new contract is negotiated with HarperCollins Union.
Feedback will be provided when a new contract is negotiated with HarperCollins Union.

I received an ARC for this book and I’m so glad I did. Imogen’s thoughts highlighted a part of our culture that I don’t think is discussed a lot. It’s definitely hard to stay PC in this day and age but it’s so necessary to think about our actions. Given it was a bit over exaggerated, but a lot of her thoughts were exactly the things that argued about in my head.

The progress of her relationship with Tessa was a great way to portray her coming out story. I feel like explained how realizing your sexuality works for a lot of people, as opposed to the whole “the closet was glass” analogy.

Gretchen was an interesting addition to the story. She didn’t really offer much throughout the book, until the ending. Her (toxic) opinions revealed how the LGBT community has so many different perspectives about what qualifies people as a member. There are so many different viewpoints that it gets hard to determine what’s right and what’s wrong. (Obviously in Gretchen’s case she was clearly wrong, but the whole thing with Kara really had me for a loop)

I love this book. It has great vibes and the cover is beautiful. This story is so important and the representation is fantastic.

Imogen Scott is straight but she’s the best Ally there is, she’s got two queer best friends, and is finally going to be visiting Lili, one of her queer best friends who is in college and wants Imogen to meet her other queer college friends. Imogen’s other best friend is a fellow high school senior who goes out of her way to keep Imogen’s biases in check. Upon arriving at the college campus Lili promptly informs Imogen that she might have made a tiny little lie saying that she and Imogen use to date, so she could feel like she would fit in more with her friends before they became her friends and Imogen offers to go along with it. Yet the more time Imogen spends with all of Lili’s friends including Lili’s best friend Tessa, a stunning girl who has Imogen’s heart fluttering, Imogen is beginning to question what her sexual identity is and if what her best friend Gretchen has been doing this entire time was gatekeeping her queerness and trying to force Imogen into being something she’s not. This was a fun story about sexual identity, friendship, and what it means to come out on your own terms and to recognize your own sexuality in your own space and time. Imogen believes she is hetereo but then she meets someone who has her questioning what her sexual identity is, and having a best friend who constantly tells you what your sexual identity is and what you are not does not help. Imogen has to deal with figuring out who she is and what she identifies as, as well as who is truly her friend and who is not. It was a fun story with some light romance but really focuses on friendship and identity.

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I'm cishet so can speak only about how reading the book felt to me, as a reader, not in terms of how effective the portrayal was of the lead character's bi awakening. This story took a little while to get into since it effectively dumps us into the middle of a scene with many characters. But once it hit its stride, it was a very easy read (as with all of Albertalli's books I've so far read). Imogen believes she is straight. However, she's a strong ally for her gay sister, her pan best friend, and another close bi friend from school - and even attends all the Pride Alliance's meetings at her high school. When she goes to visit her best friend, Lili, at the college she too will be attending in six months' time, there's an instant connection with one from Lili's new gang of cool, queer friends. Not to mention the fact that Lili, in a panic at being a baby queer, has told everyone that she and Imogen used to date, and that Imogen is bi.

Imogen is a really well-developed character, even though her anxiety can make it a little exhausting to be in her head at times (not a complaint, just a CW in case it's a trigger). You really live through her questioning. her confusion, her panic, her guilt at potentially co-opting a queer space when she might not even be bi. Her friendship and growing feelings towards Tessa feels real in that its cute, its messy, it takes great care to show two young people figuring out their feelings through the lens of their own former experiences and potential issues.

Knowing what we do about Becky's own coming-out story, and what she says in her author's note at the beginning, the intensely personal nature of the book makes sense.

There's a lot more I could write about this, but I might add it all in closer to pub date or include it in my review on Instagram. This is a very engaging story.

There are no words to describe the perfection that is this book. I knew going into this that I would love it (I mean, come on, it’s Becky Albertalli), but I didn’t quite anticipate just how much.

Imogen, Obviously follows Imogen (obviously lol), a high school senior visiting one of her best friends, Lili, in college during spring break. Imogen is excited and nervous to meet all of Lili’s new friends and see her future college campus. The catch? Lili drops the bomb that her friends think Imogen is her ex-girlfriend because a newly out and panicked Lili told them Imogen was as a way to justify her queerness. While shocked (and unsure if her “pretending” to be bisexual will even be believable) Imogen decides to go along with the farce. Her younger sister Edith, her other best friend Gretchen, and Lili, of course, are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. And Imogen is an ally and firmly heterosexual, right? What could possibly go wrong? Enter Tessa, one of Lili’s college friends and the person that has Imogen questioning everything and learning who she truly is.

Imogen, Obviously is one of Becky Albertalli’s best books to date, and it is so clear that she wrote this book as a love letter to the person she was always meant to be. I am so glad books like this exist in the world (or will once it is published in Spring 2023). My hope is that someone will pick up this book and know that it is okay (and beautiful) to be their authentic self.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced reader copy!

I found Beck Albertalli's new book Imogen, Obviously to be a delightful read that explores what it means to find yourself in this coming of age story.

Imogen may be straight, but she is so ready to be the best ally every for her sister and friends who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. She wants to do her best by then and support them in any way possible - even when her friend Lili lets her know that she MIGHT have told her college friends that they once dated. That's fine - she can support Lili's story - no big deal right? Except that she really enjoys Lili's new college friends and quickly finds herself becoming part of the group. And then there is Tessa...

Imogen is really exploring her own story and figuring out who she is - and maybe, just maybe, who she is isn't quite who she thought she was... Albertalli explores how Imogen's identity grows and changes, she explores gatekeeping, she explores what is really meant by a safe place (and for who), and she does it all in a way that is resonates with readers. I loved this story and found Imogen to be a character that was relatable on so many levels.

I received a gifted copy of this book from Netgalley, and I am sharing my review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
I know this is fictional, but Imogen's story is very much like my own.
I am also bisexual, and it took me a very long time to come to terms with that, due to constantly questioning it and feeling like I wasn't "Bi enough," because I've been with more men, and I have been with one guy since I was in high school, so I haven't had a lot of time to think about it. I think I came out of the closet like 3 separate times, the final time being when I was 21. I had a lot of internalized biphobia.
And let me just tell you--people like Gretchen are a big part of it. I freaking HATE discourse. Gretchen's character is a huge part of why. Bisexuals face a lot of BS from the community as a whole--we are constantly told we aren't queer enough, that we're "straight passing," that we can't be queer if we date men. And while Gretchen is a bisexual character, she perpetuates a lot of biphobic stereotypes and gatekeeps a lot. I have had friends like Gretchen. Emphasis on HAD. As a queer community, we should be standing together. I loved this book--I adore slow burns and sapphic romance.
However, she is the only issue I have found within this book. I loved the characters, I loved Imogen's character development. I like the representation of most queer identities.
Relating to Imogen was just a plus. This book was so cute, and I really resonated with Imogen. I remember how much I went back and forth about my identity.

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli immediately surprised me within the first page. First chapter even. But then that incredulity stretched to 50 pages, 100 pages, and it just kept going. It was so hard to take this book seriously when it referred to the gay frat house as 'Rainbow Manor' or during Imogen's (frequent) anxiety-fueled rants on her sexuality when she made references to Sweater Weather by the Neighbourhood and Tiktok or delusional insights towards 'sitting culture' and sexuality. I felt like so much was focused on getting the author's personal message across, which I should butt in to say that I agree with, that the story of Imogen and Tessa was lost. Left to the side until the very end, where the book itself did get considerably better. My only qualm with that was that it was too short and we could've done with more of their shared moments and less of the awkward skimming of pages filled with weird identity politics. It was just too much. I had to push myself through this until the very end and I cringed for over 80% of it. The writing, I will say, was good, although its quality faltered every now and then. I loved how certain scenes between Tessa and Imogen were written.

E-ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Becky Albertalli is the queen of LGBTQ+ Young adult romance. In her newest book Imogen is straight as can be supporting her friends who are in LGBTQ+ community. She considers herself an ally. But when she visits her friend Lili at the college she will be attending in the fall she finds out Lili told everyone that they previously dated and now all Lili friends think she is Bi. Imogen goes along with the lie, but maybe its not all a lie. This was such a great sweet young adult read. Not just romance but friendships and connections and what it truly means to discover yourself and your sexuality.

I received an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and boy, am I glad I did!

Imogen, Obviously is one of the best books I've read all year. Imogen's journey to unpack her sexuality, her opinions, and her general identity and place in the world resonated with me in a way few books have ever captured. Her insecurity and people-pleasing tendencies were painful to read but accurate.

The book is gentle with Imogen's queer journey, while also grappling with very real issues of biphobia and gatekeepers inside and outside of queer spaces. What does it mean to be queer? What does it look like? Shouldn't you just "know"? What if you're just doing it for attention? Her entire experience felt as if someone had waded inside my brain and painted it across the page. It gave me a chance to feel really, truly seen. I cannot wait for this book to be published that so many others can have the same experience and the same validation I did. What a powerful, beautiful book.

A book that only Becky could write. Time and time again, Becky shows that she can write the most effortless teen dialogue that tackles very real issues, especially pertaining to sexuality and self discovery, and Imogen may be her strongest work yet. A new favorite that will get reread time and time again.

It's not a surprise to us how a great storytelling Becky Albertalli is, right?. She did it again with "Imogen, Obviously"!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for provide this arc. I couldn't be more happy about this.

"Imogen, Obviously" is a brilliant coming-of-age with much of Becky's experience about queerness. The narrative is amazing as its characters. I was invested 100% throughout all the book.

Can't wait for future Becky Albertalli's books!

Obviously this book is one of the most anticipated and absolutely the best YA fiction/ romance novels of 2023 with realistic LGBTQ representation!

I cannot tell how much I loved this book and I was absolutely invested in Imogen! She is layered, well crafted character, a brave voice you want to hear! I loved her inner journey! Her searching the right space in the social circle, discovering her sexuality, coming out of her shell to embrace her real self!

When her best friend Lili told her friends they’ve dated before, her pretending bisexualism turns into a real search about her own sexual choices. She even finds out she likes Lili’s friend Tessa a little more than she can admit.

Realist, genuine, unique approach about a girl’s searching for her true identity without being described by other people’s opinions make you easily resonate with the main character.

I’m obviously giving my five shining stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books / Balzer+Bray for sharing this fantastic digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This may have become my favorite Becky Albertalli book of all time (not that I have read all of them yet but idk how they will beat this). I was sold from the start with the letter from Becky in beginning and it just got better from there. This book just hit all the feels for me and was just such a cute read. As a bi girl who had similar thoughts around the time I was coming out it just really brought me back. It was also set in a town and college near me and I thought that was so cool. I can't wait for you all to read this book, I think you will love it just as much as I did