I was excited for this book, however it got rather repetitive especially in the beginning and wasn’t keeping my attention as well as I hoped it would. I would still try a different book by this author but this one just wasn’t for me.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me at about 25%. I did not realize the format would be exploring 2 alternate timelines. instead of a singular timeline where the person travels between 2 places. Additionally, I found the MC extremely unlikable and entitled. This book just didn't work for me.

A queer YA romance novel? Yes. One that represents bisexuality, rotating between romantic partners chapter by chapter? Heck yes.

Going Bicostal by Dahlia Adler is a great novel about bisexuality and how your life may differ depending on which options you take in life, especially between southern California and the Carolinas.

This sliding door romance was so much fun for a trope that I usually hate! Seriously, I had never been able to get through a sliding door romance before—I have always had to DNF partway through because I hate one of the plotlines.

Here, though, the two plotlines are each unique and so well done! In one, our protagonist goes to intern with her mother in LA for the summer and falls for a boy who's a fellow intern, while in the other she stays with her father in New York and ends up getting together a girl in her neighborhood who she's had a crush on for ages. The parallels between the two timelines are done quite skillfully; it was so interesting to see how different events and decisions occurred between the two.

Both of the romances feel a little truncated because of the book being split between two timelines (giving each pairing half the page time they would have in a usual YA romance), but they're still quite cute—I just wish I could have seen more of them! The sliding door format also meant there were SO many side characters to keep track of, since there was a full cast in each timeline, and it was a lot to keep track of sometimes.

Going Bicoastal is still a super fun summer read and I recommend it, especially to anybody looking for a book with good, casual bi rep. 4 stars.

As a bisexual young adult that did not come out until the very last week of high school to her family, this book is SO important. I know that some reviews might say this read too young, but then they are not realizing the impact this could have on young readers who need something like this in their life.

Dahlia Adler is a joy to read. Her books are delicious and wonderful. This was a fun romp that any YA reader will love.

I will give my full review of Going Bicoastal once a solution has been found for the St. martin's Press Boycott.

I first encountered Dahlia Adler as the editor of anthologies riffing on classic works, which I loved. I also knew her from her work on LGBTQ Reads and other community and bookish work. So I was excited to get this opportunity to read one of her books. We’re close-ish in age, so her humor and writing really work for me, and perfectly capture the queer conundrums of my generation (and others, I’m sure). This one was just super cute and cozy. I still haven’t read Cool for the Summer or Home Advantage, but I’m pretty sure there’s an easter egg/cameo from characters in those books, which I always love. Sliding Doors but make it bisexual teens. For fans of Sophie Gonzales.

I saw that Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler was dubbed a "queer Sliding Doors YA rom-com," and I thought to myself, "say less," Natalya Fox has two potential cities and two potential romantic prospects. It's a book about realizing that there are two roads and there are costs and benefits to each, no matter what Frost thinks.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I thought this was a cute read! I have really liked all of her books thus far this is the lowest on my Adler list though. I think I had wanted to find out if one POV was going to end up being real vs the ending of both timelines. All in all another smash from Dahlia Adler.

Note to self, after this book I will always be reading the synopsis of every book before I start it. Boy was I confused when I first started reading this one. But, all was well and I loved this book. Dahlia Adler's books always leave me feeling like I'm getting a giant hug when I finish them. I loved the main character Natalya and both of her romances, they were absolutely adorable. I loved her relationships with her parents and all her friends, new and old. I loved the dilemma of what to do with her life after high school and feeling like what she wanted wasn't good enough. Dahlia's books are so wholesome and light=hearted while also touching on so many important aspects. I know I'm not the target audience for her genre anymore but even as a 33 year old woman I enjoyed reading this book so much. The religion rep, the LGBTQIA+ rep, everything was just perfect!

Many thanks to Wednesday Books for the review copy!

The draw for this book was the sliding doors element where we get to see how the character's life plays out depending on the character's decision. The setting and character development really made this one enjoyable.

I had high hopes for *Going Bicoastal*, but unfortunately, it wasn't for me. While I loved that there was queer representation, I had a hard time connecting with the characters due to their being so many and the pacing of the story.

In this delightful parallel-timelines rom-com reminiscent of the movie "Sliding Doors," seventeen-year-old Natalya Fox faces a summer of choices: stay in New York City with her father or join her mother in Los Angeles. Each option presents its own set of opportunities, from potential romance with a longtime crush in Manhattan to new connections and internships on the West Coast. Split between two timelines, Natalya navigates love, post-graduation plans, and family dynamics in both cities, with the Los Angeles storyline offering deeper complexity and conflict. Bisexual and Jewish, Natalya's identity is sensitively portrayed, with themes of queerness and religious observance skillfully woven into the narrative. Overall, this sweet and joyful Young Adult romance offers readers double the charm and heartwarming moments.

🌆⛱️Book Review:
Title: Going Bicoastal
Author: Dahlia Adler
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4 stars

I really enjoyed this book! It kinda reminded me those Choose Your Adventures books from my younger years. If you had the opportunity to play out your life in two different ways to see which one you like better, would you?
Natalya Fox has 24 hours to choose between spending the summer with her father in New York City or to fly off to LA to reconnect with her estranged mother. Throughout this book, we join her on two parallel timelines as she experiences both. At times, it was just a little confusing to switch back and forth, but it was really, really good! So what does she end up choosing? You gotta read it to find out! No spoilers here!

Published: June 13th, 2023
Thank you, @netgalley and @stmartinspress, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a really fun LGBTQIA+/rom-com take on the choose your own adventure stories. It was a lot of fun!

3.5 stars

Going Bicoastal is written in a very clever way. Natalya Fox is a “rising senior” in high school living in Manhattan with her dad. Her parents are divorced and her mother lives in Los Angeles. Natalya has to decide how she’s going to spend her summer - at home in NYC with her dad, working part-time jobs like babysitting, or with her mostly-estranged mother in LA, working as an intern at her mother’s marketing firm. Adler gives us both scenarios! Every other chapter takes place in either NYC or LA. In the NYC chapters, we see Natalya finally get the courage to talk to the girl she’s had a crush on. In the LA chapters, she meets the other intern, a young man who really just wants to be a chef.

I found the bouncing back and forth a bit disconcerting at first, but I got used to it. I loved all the Jewish rep in the story, particularly the lovely and loving Friday night Shabbat dinners Natalya shared with her dad and their neighbors in NYC or the ones in LA, where her new friend/boyfriend Adam learned how to cook the traditional menu items for her and her mother/his boss.

So what does Natalya choose? Adler gives us a version of the “choose your own adventure” with this book.

Aimed at the young adult audience, I am definitely not the intended reader for this book, but I enjoyed it anyway. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

going bicoastal is a story that shows what would happen with both choices our Main character has to make at the beginning of the story. We see her get closer to family fall in love and find herself in both situations. The main problem I had with this story I could tell the difference to much between the choices other then that I enjoy the story so with that said I would give it 4 stars

Natalya has to decide where to spend the summer before her senior year. Will she play it safe with her dad in NYC and meet the cute redhead she's been running into? Or will she go off to LA with her mom and take an internship at her company and share a desk with the other intern?

I really loved the format of this book. It was fun to see both choices for Natalya. Very choose your own adventure for the modern day.

Adler never fails to write an engaging protagonist that you can't help but root for. I also found the unique concept of the book interesting, and felt Adler executed it very well.