I really enjoyed reading this book! Imogen is the quintessential bisexual questioning their feelings and sexuality after being told forever that she is straighter than a ruler. There is great character growth throughout the book and you can’t help to just root for Imogen.

I don't really know what I expected when I picked this book up, but what I got was not it. I have never seen a book pander to a Gen Z audience so hard in my entire life. To describe the dialogue as cringey is an understatement. I have never heard ANYONE describe an in person argument as discourse, or refer to someone's opinion as discourse. It's a term that is pretty universally acknowledged as being an online term.

The main character had 2 personality traits: over thinking everything, and worrying about wether or not she acted/looked too "straight" to be part of the queer community. At a certain point it does become exhausting. So, I guess the lesson there would be to just be yourself? There were some cute moments but overall this book is a borrow not a buy.

• Love the new revelations and character growth for Imogen in one weekend
• Imogen's anxiety felt real and raw as she goes through new discoveries
• I loved how personal the story got!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Balzer+Bray for this e-copy. I was approved for this book after the publication date, by which point I had already bought it, so any quotes are from the final published version**

Imogen is surrounded by queer people: her best friends are bisexual (Gretchen Patterson) and pansexual (Emilia "Lili" Cardoso - initially pansexual, but by the end possibly panromantic asexual or demisexual), and her sister is a lesbian (Edith "Edie" Scott). She also thinks she is a great ally, one who attends all the Pride Alliance meetings.

We meet Imogen as she is being dropped off to spend the weekend at her best friend Lili's dorm at Blackwell College. Lili is kind of upset that despite having inviting Imogen many times, she never came until now. Imogen admits that she was intimated by Lili's "queer friends" and that she was concerned about her right to even be there in their queer space, since she has never seen herself as anything other then straight and was concerned about their comfort. Little does Imogen know that Lili has told her friends a lie: that she and Imogen used to date, and Imogen is bisexual. This make her feel a lot of things, as you can imagine.

As the weekend goes on, Lili's friends fully accept Imogen without questioning her at all, despite her being worried they will sense her straightness. She even attracts the attention of Tessa, Lili's lesbian friend. Imogen starts to develop a crush on Tessa, and begins questioning herself, looking back at her whole life and the things that have happened. Then she realizes: she might not have been straight after all, as the pieces come together.

This book is about finding yourself, your community, and understanding that no one has the authority to decide what is considered "queer" or "queer enough," and we should all just respect each other and our journeys.

I LOVED IT! Becky Albertalli is an auto-buy author for me, and Imogen, Obviously just confirms why I love Becky's books so much. I think this is such a relevant book. I loved the LGBTQ+ rep and how Becky handled such important topics like identity, labels, and so much more. The characters were so realistic and lovable. I binged this one, and you should too.

I purchased a copy of this for my classroom library before reading it because, it's Becky Albertalli so of course I did! I finally carved out time to read this over the weekend and I absolutely loved it! Imogen is a likable, relatable, and fantastic character and I think many teens will relate to the experience of finding out more about yourself when you step into a new environment. This is the perfect story for any young person (or old!) who is still figuring out exactly who they are and for anyone just trying to be supportive of the people in their lives who are figuring things out. 10/10, no notes!

I thoroughly enjoyed this! It spoke to Becky’s traumatic experience of being forcibly outed and having her personhood questioned. Imogen was relatable and kind and trying and that’s more than anyone can ask of a person. I loved the romance, the self discovery , the friendships and more.

This was such a fantastic read! It hit so close to home for me. Today's teens are so lucky to have books like this and I couldn't be happier for them.

There’s few contemporary YA authors I’ll read anything they put out, but Becky Albertalli is one. And I’m so glad I read this. From the author’s note at the beginning, you know this story is deeply personal for Becky, and that connection to the plot is felt throughout. One thing that keeps me coming back to her books is how readable they are, and this is no exception. I devoured the entire thing in one day, unable to put it down once I got started. Imogen and her family/friends are written so well and in such a realistic way (again, a Becky Albertalli staple to me is that all characters and dialogue feel true to life). She really captured the emotions of the end of high school/beginning of college experience, and Imogen is a great lens to view the changes through. Seeing her character spend most of the book in a web of self-doubt, only to come out at the end with a stronger sense of who she is was perfect. I think this story is going to resonate with a lot of people who read it, not just teens. I would 100% recommend.

Great book for young adults. The characters are very relatable. Many young adults (especially females) will love this book and relate to it.

Oh my goodness this book! I loved it. I found the characters relatable and fun. It had a little bit of everything and I devoured it

I think I'm landing on 4-stars with Imogen, Obviously, mostly because I had a very hard time putting it down and read it in pretty much one day, which is impressive since I've been struggling with reading attention lately. However, despite that dreamy cover and a lovely romance plotline, it's not without it's flaws.

I feel a lot of big Ways about Imogen, Obviously, and it's abundantly clear that Becky Albertalli feels strongly, passionately, about this story. I'm very much aware of the author's coming out story, and I imagine that this book is a very personal one to Becky Albertalli. It feels like a big story, and the character's emotions feel extremely raw and close to the surface.

Things I enjoyed were the romance (dreamy!), Tessa (and actually the whole group of college friends), and the discovering-yourself plotline. Sexuality discovery stories will always hold a special place in my heart, and I adored that part of the story. Also, the chemistry between Imogen and Tessa was pretty electric, and I adored Tessa's flirting style and banter. A+ character development. The friends were pretty much the dream cast of accepting college friends, and it made me nostalgic for my college days. Just a cute dynamic between the friends all around. Honestly, there was a lot to love about the story, including a very well done writing style that kept me wanting more. There is a reason I keep coming back to this author.

There were a few things I struggled with in the story, however. For one, I think the big baddie gatekeeper did have a few valid points. There is no right or wrong way to be queer, and you should NEVER invalidate someone's sexuality, but there is something to be said for queer people getting to tell their stories or have their opinions heard in queer spaces. I think it's very true that you shouldn't make assumptions about people or their sexuality/gender identity, but I think that to frame the gatekeeper character (I won't say names to avoid spoilers, but it's pretty obvious) as sort of the villain isn't fully okay either.

To take a tangent into very personal territory, I had a lesbian, very out housemate in college when my best friends all went abroad, and her friends were ALL queer. For a full year, I spent every week watching new episodes of "The L Word," going to queer comedy shows and queer clubs, and being a part of that world. I was the Imogen, but straighter and with much less self awareness at the time. Reflecting back, I always debate if I was infringing on their queer spaces too much or getting too immersed in the community without being a member of it, and the fact that I am an avid consumer of LGBTQIA+ books has made my internal debate continue to this day. My conclusion is that I really don't know the right answers, but I think what I'm trying to say is that raising some concerns can be valid. Does that make sense?

I think this book veered a bit into being preachy about acceptance, mostly because the author personally feels so strongly about it, but I aside from that, I think it was a really well done story. I don't read enough sapphic romances, so when I read a story with a couple that really makes my heart sing, I latch on. I wish we got more of Tessa and Imogen's story from after they got together, or maybe this author could write more lesfic romances, because I thought she slayed that part of the story.

All in all, I love Becky Albertalli's writing style, and this book really lived up to my expectations. Though it wasn't perfect, I had the hardest time putting it down (I almost read my Kindle in the shower), so that makes it at least a 4-star read in my book.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

This was such a nuanced, thoughtful, inclusive, hopeful book. I loved Imogen and the cast of characters, and Albertalli's exploration of queer community was thought-provoking and necessary.

Bisexuals Unite!!!
I loved the LGBTQIA+ rep in this entire book. It was so fun to read about Imogen's journey to figuring out her sexuality and gaining new friends in the process. Her relationship with Tess is amazing. This entire book just goes to show the true talent that Becky Albertalli has for writing the most beautiful stories regarding LGBTQIA+ teens.

5/5 stars

Would highly recommend this to others.

Completely heartfelt and quintessentially Becky Albertalli!

I knew this was going to be incredibly moving having some sense of how personal this is to Becky's experiences, but wow. It's so well-written, has the perfect voice, is humorous and tender and important. I don't really know what to say except that this book is perfect, whole, fully realized. And I'm so grateful for it.

This was such a delight to read! I love a good queer rom-com, and Imogen, Obviously had all the wit and charm of Gen Z humor I love. But what it did so well was detail what so many of us bisexual folks go through- the self-doubt and feeling that we don't really belong in the queer community. I am truly saddened by what Albertalli had to endure online, but the perspective she offers here is valuable. Through Imogen's story, Albertalli shows us you don't have to look a certain way, compete in the oppression olympics, or be forced to disclose anything for the sake of "proof" to "deserve" your label. There should always be a place for questioning and closeted folks in queer spaces.

Albertalli's stories will always have a special place in my heart (Love, Simon being the first queer movie I'd ever seen and Leah on the Offbeat being the first bi girl I'd ever seen represented in a book), and Imogen, Obviously earned its place among them. This is bound to become a special book for many a confused teenager looking for reassurance.

TLDR a charming, witty queer rom-com that advocates for the validity of bisexual folks' place in the queer community. Loved!

I have loved Becky Albertalli's writing ever since I read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda a while back. All of her books since then have been enjoyable, especially the ones written with Adam Silvera, but Imogen, Obviously is on par with Simon as being one of my favorites.

Imogen is the same age as my oldest child, but I found her so relatable throughout the novel. It made me wish that a book like this was available when I was a teenager. Back then, it was more taboo to be LGBTQ+ and it felt so intense when friends came out to me initially (like my heart would be racing when they told me). I had even been going to Rocky Horror a lot and it still would faze me anyway. I've always been supportive and definitely an ally, but I feel like I could have responded even better than I actually did at that time.

This novel opens up a lot of interesting dialogue, as well as introspection for Imogen and anyone who is feeling the same way she is. One of the big things it centers around is people putting labels on others and either forcing them out of the closet before they are ready or trying to keep them in the closet when they are not sure that's where they actually belong. Being LGBTQ+ is personal to everyone and I feel that people need to be able to come out when it is right for them. No one else should be allowed to dictate that in order to fit their own narrative. I was frustrated on Imogen's behalf, especially when one of her friends was constantly shutting her down or telling her how to think and feel. I have so many other thoughts after reading this novel, but I would end up writing an entire novel if I kept going with them.

I loved the dialogue and banter throughout. Especially all the text exchanges. And Tessa was so wonderful. She reminded me of a young version of Greta from A Million Little Things, in terms of her personality. I even got teary-eyed while reading this novel.

My only concern (and I have this with a lot of books) is that the conflict came in too late and then it was quickly resolved. However, that didn't take away from my enjoyment one bit!

I definitely recommend this novel to all ages (from tween on up)! There's some PG-13 content but nothing too over the top.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

This was yet another fantastic read by Ms. Albertalli. The chapters were short and quick, the characters were all distinct and likeable (well, except for Gretchen....), and the dialogue was funny and relatable. I flew through this story in a few days. Even as a straight person, I can understand how difficult it is to figure out whether or not you're queer when the world is telling you that you can't be anything but straight. Sometimes it takes longer for people to realize it. Gretchen was a really interesting antagonist because there are absolutely people like that, who gatekeep being queer and refuse to let others decide their own sexual identity. You wouldn't except someone like her to be the Big Problem in this book, and yet she fits the role perfectly by refusing to let the idea of people she's made up in her head go. Imogen and Tessa were so cute together too. A perfect, relatively light WLW book!

I know it is unlikely that Becky will ever see this review. There are thousands out there. But if there is any small chance that you do see this, Becky, thank you. Thank you for writing this book.

Imogen is definitely not queer. She is a self-proclaimed hopelessly hetero ally, who is excited to visit her newly-out friend Lili for the first time at her university campus. Imogen, a senior destined to go to the same college, is nervous about her visit and about fitting in with Lili's cool queer friends. She's especially nervous when Lili tells her that she's told everyone that they used to date! Determined to be the best ally she can be, Imogen goes along with the little white lie. But when Imogen meets Tessa, she begins to question her own sexuality, and wonders just how much truth there is to it.

Abertalli conveys Imogen's confusion with such raw honesty and heart. Imogen is truly shocked to be confronting this part of herself. I only recently became aware of Abertalli's own personal experiences, and it is easy to see how much of her own journey she has poured into this book. Especially through Gretchen, Imogen's queer friend who is unintentionally boxes people in, has very strong opinions about queer discourse, and is not willing to believe that Imogen could be bi. She is a perfect encapsulation of some of the media and internet discourse that often occurs, and made me feel so angry for Imogen while I was reading, but also empathetic - Gretchen's own experiences have shaped her views. The complex dynamics and feelings were so reflective of real life. The romance is sweet and sincere, and, hello, the climate of the book occurs at a dark academia party! It is perfection.

This is a must-add to high school library collections.

This was a cute, bisexual Awakening romance from author Becky Albertalli.

Imogene is a likable character, and I liked her growth as she gets ready to go to college which is a huge time of change in someone's life.