This book was everything. I adored the way Imogen started to see and accept her sexuality. I loved the discourse about if actors/artists/authors should be forced to come out (obviously not!!), and I really connected with Imogen’s arc. It felt like I was reading my own story.

Also: this book gave me my new most hated character in fiction. Gretchen needs to go kick rocks.

I absolutely loved this book. I saw so much of myself in the story and it was beautifully written. Keep LGBTQ+ books in schools!!!! I felt validated as an adult, so it could be life-changing for kids.

I love Becky's books but this one didn't interest me as much. It was filled with so much of the character's doubt and insecurities that I just found it to not be as charming as her other books.

Imogen, Obviously is Becky Albertalli’s most compelling book since Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. I’ve read quite a few of her other books but this one just got me in a way the others just didn’t.

I love Imogen. She and I share the same kind of overthinking, the same kind of anxiety. She’s much more outgoing than I am but we react in very similar ways. Her internal biphobia is reminiscent of my own, and coupled with the anxiety, is bound to lead to disaster. I particularly liked how she questioned her own identity because her friend Gretchen is like queer personified. Gretchen seems to be under the impression that if you are not visibly queer, if you haven’t known you were queer since you were a tiny child, that you aren’t queer enough. If you haven’t suffered, haven’t been discriminated against, can pass as straight, you aren’t queer enough. Gretchen is that ultimate queer person that I am definitely afraid of, the one who will always question my presence and my lack of ability to talk about queer issues in an intelligent way. She is the person who makes everyone else uncomfortable or afraid to speak up about their own experiences because, if they don’t align with hers, they are invalid.

I love how Imogen spoke about the different kinds of people she is to other people, what they expect of her is different from person to person, and how she was happy to be molded by Gretchen into the person Gretchen imagined her to be. Sometimes that’s easier, especially if you’ve been friends for a while. The world is a scary place and sometimes it’s easier to be someone else so you don’t have to be alone.

When Albertalli spoke about the statistic unlikelihood that every kid in a family would be queer, I found that to be really funny, and completely relatable. How likely is it that all the kids in one family would be queer? Or all the friends in a particular friend group? Pretty darn likely, if you ask me. Both my sister and I are queer.


With the first half of the book spent on campus, we don’t even see Imogen’s home until nearly the second half of the book. I really enjoyed this because it just signaled just how ready Imogen was to go to college and find this new place to be comfortable, with new friends and old friends in a new setting. Lili was so wonderfully supportive, especially as soon as she realized what Imogen might be experiencing. They have a great relationship, one that translates well to college and won’t be left behind even as the characters mature. I’m quite jealous of that.

I wonder if Albertalli had a Gretchen, a specific person in her life who made her question her queerness. The world makes bi people question themselves every day, no matter how you look at it. A woman is in a relationship with a man and she passes as straight. She’s in a relationship with a woman and she’s a lesbian. God forbid she actually marry one or the other, because if she did, she would be either full straight or full lesbian. Bi people can’t exist as bi unless they’re alone, and perhaps even then might express a preference for one gender or another, or have more relationship history with one type of a person.

Here in pride month, I feel Imogen, Obviously brought up a lot of important topics regarding biphobia and just being queer in general. I loved the writing style and the characters are simply amazing. I kind of hope Albertalli writes more in this world, about Lili or Tessa. I highly recommend this book to queer people everywhere. It’s a quick read and would be great for anyone, including younger readers, perhaps middle school and up.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review! I have been WAITING for this book to come out, and it did not disappoint! Such a cute story!

This is absolutely my favorite book of 2023 so far!

Becky Albertalli, you are an icon (a BIcon if you will) for writing this book. Anyone familiar with this author will understand how significant of a story this is to Albertalli and I am just so impressed. She managed to craft a perfect example of someone discovering their identity a little later in life, in a less "conventional" way than what society feeds us, all the while confronting toxic people who think they have the right to comment on someone else's orientation. It was messy but so dang beautiful.

Imogen's entire characterization was relatable to me, the college setting was super nostalgic, and it really felt like I was part of the new friend group too! If you don't connect with the MC though, there is a good chance you will see parts of yourself woven into the large cast of diverse characters which we love to see. My only minor complaint is that rather than meeting each of the 10+ characters naturally they were all listed at once in the beginning making it difficult to form individual connections.

The romance though? I was literally sobbing, giggling, and squealing with delight. Seriously, I devoured the majority of this book in one sitting and couldn't put it down. ALSO, the little callbacks (Waldo, kissing in the rain, etc) made this story feel even more special than it already was. Such a fun reading experience overall!

If you're looking for a single book to read during Pride Month (or any other month) this is THE one as it centers valuable conversations around queerness and the accompanying online discourse. It is well worth the read and I will be re-reading, my own physical copy that I just purchased, soon!

4 stars!

"Imogen, Obviously" by Becky Albertalli is a coming-of-age bi-awakening novel about Imogen, a staunch queer-ally to all of her friends and family, but who has never once questioned whether or not she is queer. This is the first book I have read by Becky Albertalli, but I can tell what a thoughtful author she is if this book is any indication. In this book, Becky Albertalli is signaling to an entire generation of kids and teens that it's okay to be who you are if you are queer. And of course it is! Homophobes and transphobes need not apply! Be gone with you!! I cried multiple times reading this because I can just tell it's going to be so important moving forward. Albertalli is having such meaningful, deep conversations about inclusivity and individuality and queerness and coming out, but she does so in an easily digestible, competent, and consequential manner. She never talks down to her audience. Adults and teens alike will be able to read and comprehend this material in an honest, eye-opening manner. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cheer, and hey, maybe you'll learn something about yourself, too. This story shows that no matter who you are, you're enough for the queer community, that you don't need to be one specific thing or one specific person, that it's okay to be different than everyone else as long as you're true to yourself. This book shows that there is always more work to be done as an ally and that we should constantly be checking our own biases and preconceived notions. It shows that it's okay to keep asking questions (as long as the intent is not malicious). It shows that it's okay to keep striving to be a better ally, that we don't get it right on the first go-around. It stresses making sure that conversations don't center on us as allies, but rather on the queer community, and that allies should be more diligent when having conversations surrounding the queer community. I can imagine that Imogen's experiences in this novel have and will mirror those of so many others. I personally loved the inclusion of the internet, texting, and modern slang because it makes the book feel that much more authentic. I loved the characters! Imogen is such an adorable ball of anxiety and emotions and wonderful cinnamon-roll-ness. Tessa is an absolute delight! I loved them together. In fact, I loved all of the secondary friend characters, too, especially Edith (Imogen's sister). Can we get an Edith book, please!? Even Gretchen gets her (horrible) chance to shine because not every person (queer or otherwise!) can be a good friend. As I said, the authenticity is REAL! Please do yourself a favor and read this book. I think it's going to be an invaluable tool for so many people moving forward.

Thank you to NetGalley, Becky Albertalli, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Balzer + Bray for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

In the last i’ve enjoyed Albertalli’s books, but I think they’re just not for me anymore. I didn’t really have any connection or even emotional attachments to this book, I found myself skimming it often and not immersed in the story. If i’d read this when I was younger (when i’d first read Albertalli’s SVTHSA) i think i would’ve really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC of this novel in exchange for a honest review. I was honestly very uncomfortable at times reading this book which is to the book's credit. Reading the thoughts of Imogen and how hard she tries and how she overthinks almost every interaction was rough at times because she just wants to be accepted and loved. The author's note was also an eye opener and a reminder that we should all be kind to everyone. It gets lost so much in this world that everyone has their own stuff going on and we should do our best to never put our stuff on theirs. As with other Becky Albertalli novels, this is very well-written and I really enjoyed it. If you like her other books, you will also like this one. Just be prepared to have your own biases challenged and know you can grow from novels. I know it is giving me an enhanced perspective.

This was my first Becky Albertalli book, since I was never interested in any of her past books. I really enjoyed this! I remember the controversy behind the author feeling forced to come out because of all the backlash from her past books because of queer representation and this felt like incredible comentary on that side of queer culture. I liked the main character, Imogen, and I enjoyed seeing her come to terms with her bisexuality despite it feeling wrong. The college setting was interesting and I wished I had a friend group like she does. My only complaint is that I wish there was more! Another chapter, an epilogue, something! Overall, a great story about discovering queerness and acceptance!

I remember when people started calling Love, Simon and the book connected to it as something written for straight people and I never understood that. As a baby gay when I saw Love, Simon at the time with my then partner, I was instantly obsessed. It was the first time I saw gay teens being focused on, and the book just opened up this whole new world of the fact that gay people can be the lead in books. To this day, it is still one of my comfort books and movies, I always recommend it to people as a good book to start when it comes to reading queer books.
And I remember this crap getting so bad that Becky was forced to come out- while I appreciate wanting to read books that come from actual queer people about queer identities, I always found it sort of ironic how much Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda was about "why is straight the default?", one of the best damn scenes in the whole movie is everyone coming out to their parents as straight just to show how dumb it is.
And yet people took that, heard that Becky was married to a man, had kids, and just assumed she was straight.
And this book perfectly captualizes the pure stupidity of it. There are multiple points of what it means to still be part of the lgbt community even when not being- or not knowing- you're queer, about how even if you didn't realize you were at the end of the day you were the entire time.
I might not have always known that I was trans, but I was always trans. Its not something that just appeared one day. And I love seeing Becky take that rage and write a book about it, to hopefully make people realize how crazy it was. And I hope to see her write more WLW books, they always are some of my favorites of hers.

I unfortunately was not able to get to this book before it came out, but I still can’t wait to read it! I have heard nothing but good things and know I will love it when I am able to read it!

To literally no one's surprise Becky Albertalli wrote a phenomenal book. I laughed and cried and felt a whole shit ton of feelings. My heart hurts knowing that so much of the story is based on Becky's own experience.

Simon Vs was the first queer book I read as an adult and I vividly remember reading it and it was before I came out as queer and I feel like I have such a strong connection to Becky's books and her experiences cuz they're just so relatable. Feel like I really come full circle and see so much of myself too in Imogen. I think that Imogen is my favorite of her books and I cannot recommend it enough!

This is the type of YA book that makes me love YA. Imogen is the straight friend in all her friend groups. She’s a high school senior but visits her best friend Lili at college and becomes close with Lili’s queer friend group, but they think Imogen is also queer. Is the plot predictable? Yes, especially if you know Becky Albertalli’s personal story. Is it still adorable? 100% yes.
Also.. points for it being set in the finger lakes region of NY, which is not far from where I live! I am not close enough to be a local but it seemed to hit all the landmarks (including the thinly veiled actual college ) really well! Didn’t expect that after all of the Atlanta books!!

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli is an LGBTQIA book about questioning sexuality after being an ally to friends and family. Imogen visits her best friend during a college tour, trying to enjoy herself while spending time with her best friend's college friends. After her best friend reveals that she's told her friends that Imogen is her ex-girlfriend, Imogen begins to question her sexuality: is she hetero or bi? When she's attracted to Tessa, a friend in the LGBTQIA friend group. Once this starts to unfold, Imogen incessantly questions her attraction and identification. And when I say incessantly, it becomes a repetitive inner monologue that becomes redundant. While I believe the "questioning" aspect of this is important, it overrode what could have been a dynamic story. There was conflict between Imogen and her friend Gretchen, who spend most of the novel texting about their tour experience. I would have preferred reading more about Imogen and Tessa's attraction and connection develop. Even the times when the group was playing pranks on each other were a nice distraction from Imogen's back and forth. Yet, despite the feeling gymnastics and guilt over potentially not being enough of an ally, Imogen, Obviously gave a satisfactory happy ever after.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Becky Albertalli has done it again! I felt so seen reading a book about capital A Allyship that had something bigger at play. I can see so many teens also feeling seen and needing this kind of story, especially in today’s terrifying climate. All identities matter and are valid!

I wanted to love this book considering how much Imogene’s journey paralleled my own (we even have the same birthday oddly enough) but unfortunately the novel fell flat and didn’t grab my attention like I hoped it would. At one point, I looked at my reading progress expecting it to be at least 60% done but I was only about 30% done.

I felt like I was being beat over the head with the overall theme. Like, I get it, Imogen is straight but she’s having butterflies when around this new queer friend, oh but wait no she’s queerbaiting, or is she? It was so repetitive I honestly almost DNFed about 40% in.

I do believe there are some important points & conversations that occur throughout the book about who gets to decide who is welcome in queer spaces and how no one is owed an explanation for another person’s queer identity. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone in the beginning of their queer journey who might be unsure of their feelings. I could see myself needing this book 10-15 years ago when I had no idea who I was.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins - Balzer + Bray for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Imogen, Obviously is incredibly precious and Imogen is a cinnamon roll. This coming-of-age queer awakening story shows how compulsory heterosexuality can mess with how someone explores their own sexuality. As a person who did think they were "just an ally" for 27 years too long, I can't even express how much I LOVED this book. The passion and care Becky Albertalli put into the pages of Imogen, Obviously is crystal clear.

Where do I sign up for my own Tessa? I've been looking for a Jewish lesbian love interest myself (so if you know anyone *hint* *hint*). She is chaotic, quirky and full of flirty banter. Reading through her texts with Imogen is one of the best parts of the story. Whenever they interact, you can't help but cheer for their success and for Imogen to realize this IS what a crush feels like.

Lili's friends at college is one of the best examples of found family. They're welcoming, extremely sweet and comforting. Seeing the community they've build is heartwarming. Also, the scenes related to the tiny German sausage are hilarious. Having comedic breaks was important.

I didn't expect to hate Gretchen as much as I did. She was exhausting. The way she disagreed with anyone who didn't conform to her definition of queerness was upsetting. Not everyone comes to the realization that their gay at a young age. Some, like me, and Imogen, learn it later in life–we're late bloomers. I'm thankful none of my friends ever invalidated my questioning period. That said, Gretchen's character is a true portrayal and based on her lived queer experience–it's just not the only queer experience out there.

It's important to note how Imogen, Obviously explores events and actions that may be triggering to some readers including biphobia (internalized and externalized), gatekeeping, gaslighting, forced outing, homophobia, underage drinking and discussions surrounding queerbaiting. But, at the same time it also shines a light on found family, acceptance and queer joy.

BUY IT. READ IT. LOVE IT.

YA LGBT contemporary romance/realistic fiction. Having read Simon vs the Homosapians, Becky Albertalli is a go-to voice for me in the YA LGBT romancelandia. In Imogen, Obviously, Albertalli destroys the queer baiting, gatekeeping discourse in the queer community to perfection. This story was a genuine and unique approach about a girl’s search for her true identity. Behind that beautiful cover is a serious tale. Heavier moments are effortlessly balanced out by so many cute, wholesome, and really funny moments This may be one of Becky Albertalli's best works yet.

I adored Imogen, Obviously. The book features fantastic representation for the LGBQIA+ community that you do not see everywhere. A fantastic book about the journey of self discovery and learning to accept and love yourself. This is a beautiful book that every library should definitely have on hand.