this was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 i was so happy when i got approved for the arc and it surely did not disappoint! i ended up loving the idea of the dual timeline where both the situations she had to choose from, end up happening :) especially as a bisexual myself, it was nice to see natalya have a romance with more than one gender, as well as seeing how both cities played out! i mean, who REALLY expected a bisexual to choose huh?? ahahaha i definitely found myself loving one couple more than the other but it allowed for me to speed through the book because i kept wanting to get through the chapter with the other couple so i could get back to my favs hehehe this book also had lots of diversity/representation which was really nice to read about! i loved that natalya was also a reader like myself, and that elly was a huge music fan, once again like myself! i loved the kind of found family-ness of adam, his brother and all the food truck friends who have dinner parties all the time! i wish i had something like they did! ALSO THE WAY MY DRAW *DROPPED* WHEN I READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AND SAW ELLY WAS INSPIRED BY ELLIE FROM DEGRASSI! BECAUSE IN THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK I LITERALLY WAS LIKE “wow a redhead named elly who is also a bit punk/goth??? did you mean: ellie nash??” I HAD NO IDEA SHE WOULD ACTUALLY BE BASED OFF HER???? dahlia adler is now for sure a must read author in my books!

It's the summer before senior year, and Natalya has a decision to make: stay in New York with her father throughout the break, or fly out to LA to reconnect with her mother? Follow up on a longstanding crush on a mysterious redhead, or hurdle toward the unknown?

Natalya has to choose—but the reader doesn't.

I would have read this for the cover alone (I'm shallow like that), or the "Sliding Doors" scenario (weirdly, this is one of my pet tropes), but also, while I haven't made it through Adler's entire backlist (either because I'm lazy or because my TBR list just never ends as it is), I've loved every one of her books that I've read. (Observant readers will find calls back to previous books, too.) In this case, I'm here for the non-issue bisexuality, Natalya's ability to be both low-key awkward and willing to put herself out there, and the way there are some similarities in the ways things pan out...but also some key differences. Also, it's really nice to see a Jewish main character who...I'm not sure how to say this. She adheres to something of a middle ground of Judaism: keeps kosher, but not to the extent that every kitchen has to be kashered; chooses to make Shabbat dinners a priority; has ties within both her Jewish and non-Jewish communities. I note this because I've read a few books where the main character is Hasidic or similar and keeps to very strict religious laws, not always by choice, and plenty of books where the main character is culturally Jewish (had a bat or bar mitzvah, eats Chinese food on Christmas, the end), but very few where Judaism is an active but relatively casual part of the character's life. It's nice to see.

Now, back to things working out differently in each storyline: I *love* this aspect. I've read too many books where the "different paths" scenario still comes back to "but she ends up with the same guy at the end because it's Meant to Be!!!" and it always drives me up the wall and around the corner. I keep reading books with this trope precisely because I want something more along the lines of "Going Bicoastal"—where the character is fundamentally the same person regardless of where things go, but where her choices genuinely take her down different paths and with different people. (If anything, I wanted a tiny bit more difference from Natalya's post-summer choices, but you know...quibbles are my character flaw.) I won't spoil the details of Natalya's summer romance(s), but I think...I think she'll be just fine. And now I'm off to figure out how to make the weirdest thing I learned about in the book, which is a limonana—which somehow, despite the name, does not have banana in it.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free review copy through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book! The alternate timeline was so fun and unique, I've never read a book like this before. Dahlia Adler writes both queer and Jewish representation so well, it makes my heart happy.

Thank you so much, Dahlia Alder, Wednesday Books, ST. Martin's Press, & NetGalley for sending me an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review! 💖💜💙
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This book is set in two timelines! Natalya, a Jewish bisexual 17-year-old, must choose where to spend her summer. Stay in New York with her dad and friends? Or spend the summer with her distant mom in Los Angles? These two stories are told simultaneously and switch about every other chapter. At first, I was a bit confused and was like ‘Hey didn’t you just choose to stay in NY? Why are you getting on a plane?’. But I figured it out very soon 😅 (it probably helps to read the synopsis of the book, Marybeth!) It was pretty easy to go back and forth between the two as the settings and characters are very different. This being said I did confuse a few of the background characters as there are just so many in both NY and LA, but I don't think it mattered that much. Natalya ends up dating her crush, a girl named Elly, who she previously referred to as the Redhead while in NY. And she interns with a boy named Adam who she ends up dating while in LA. I loved both relationships and honestly can't decide which I love more! It is so interesting to see how different her summers and futures are just based on this one choice made at the beginning of summer! I also really enjoyed how there wasn't too much conflict in this book and was just an easy summer read! I really wish it was summer! Both stories have a happy ending and I just loved it! Another fun thing to mention is that all the chapters have titles! I really enjoy chapter titles! ☺️
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I also really love how I learned a lot about different Jewish cultures, especially Shabbat dinners. As mentioned in the book, there aren’t a lot of Jewish people in North Carolina (where I live), so it was really awesome that I got to learn about it!
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Also, I caught a Home Field Advantage reference at the end of the book, even though I haven’t read it yet 😭. (I hope to read it soon!)
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☀️ Going Bicoastal, by Dahlia Alder comes out on June 13th! It's the perfect summer read!

I LOVED this one so much. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the concept of two timelines from the same characters like alternate universes, but let me tell you, I felt like it was made for me. I want all of the books with multiple possibilities!!! And the bi rep, the Jewish rep!! Ugh it was just so lovely and there was even a fun little hint at our faves from home field advantage if you read and loved that one and some other characters of dahlia’s from previous books. Definitely get this one asap

Thank you NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Dahlia Adler for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a fun and unique YA book that shows two different ways our main character, Natalya’s, summer could go.

I’ve never read a book that does this, but this book splits up every other chapter into a different story. At the beginning of the book, Natalya is asked whether she wants to stay with her dad in NYC or her mom in Los Angeles for the summer. From there, it shows what would happen with both choices, and you can see how she grows and prospers no matter where she is.

I loved this premise and it was a super fun reading experience. I will say, I thought that the LA chapters were more exciting, but that makes sense because she’s in a new place. I enjoyed both love interests and how it showed her complication relationship with her parents, religion, and location.

Overall, this is a strong YA book and I recommend it!

Going Bicoastal is fun and unique romcom full of heart and laughs. Natalya has to choose which parent she wants to spend her summer with. Does she stay in NYC with her dad? Or does she go to LA with her mother she hardly talks too? She can't choose both but the readers get to experience what would happen if she chooses both. Going Bicoastal is told from dual timelines where she lives out her summers in NYC and LA. I really enjoyed this dual timeline story. It was fun to read about how different Natalya's summers would be in each city.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up.

This was such a fun YA read! In a "sliding doors" format, each chapter alternates to play out what happens based on the two choices Natalya has for spending her summer before senior year. Choice 1 is to stay with her dad in NYC and hopefully get to know the mystery girl she's been crushing on for a year. Choice 2 is to visit her estranged mother in LA and do an internship where she'll work with a guy who could make her summer very interesting.

The author did an incredible job bringing each chapter and scenario to life; I was surprised by how invested I was in each storyline! I was especially impressed by how easy it was to alternate timelines without getting confused or spending a few pages trying to adjust to the change in scenery and characters. The character development was great and I really enjoyed getting to know all of them.

As we explore both options for Natalya, she discovers how to move past childhood divorce trauma, how to mend the relationship with her estranged mother, be more adventurous and figure out how to use her talents and passions to create a post high school future. Watching her growth and seeing how each scenario influences her life was especially entertaining and thought provoking.

Great LGBTQIA+ POV, body positive, sex positive (but not steamy-just some suggestive parts, but I would say ages 13+ is fine)

TW: divorce, slight mention of cutting/self harm

I loved this book! So much fun going back and forth between the two stories and I loved all the characters. This is a great queer rom com.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This was such a cute and fun read told on two coasts with two potential options and outcomes. It’s a queer (Jew Female Main Character) summer rom-com set in California and New York. Ignore the fact that you get told the same chapter twice. It becomes important later in the story. I had a preference as each tale was told and progressed. Her choice with her mom in California and Adam was inevitably lesser for me then her time in New York with her dad and Elly (aka “The Redhead”). Both her love interests are interesting, but I preferred Elly to Adam (and I’m a bisexual woman in a heteronormative relationship). Adam was a jerk to her at first, but as she learned about him, he grew on her. Elly and Nat’s relationship was the shy meet cute kind of relationship. I’m usually a huge fan of relationships like Adam and Nat’s, but hugely adored Elly SO much that it was unbeatable in my eyes. Highly recommend

so cutee, i like both stories but i’m team adam! it's interesting to get to see both timelines played out

I loved this book! Adler did such a great job of capturing the essence of each cities and their cultures. I was never confused or bored with the switches and I loved the way that each aspect of Tal's sexuality was explored. This was such a great read that I enjoyed every minute of.

Another fun romcom from Dahlia Adler! This book was exactly what I hoped--swoony and light, with the perfect balance of the main character trying to find a plan for the future. It was like two romcoms rolled into one! I highly recommend it for anyone looking to curl up with a romance!

Setting: LA and NYC
Rep: bisexual Jewish MC; multiple queer and POC side characters

This was cute! I enjoyed the two timelines (this is kind of a Sliding Doors situation) and I liked both love interests, Adam and Elly. I also enjoyed Natalya as a protagonist and I loved the sapphic Jewish rep!

This story is about Rubi and her way to complete the « Recipe» aka the plan her parents made when she was a kid. This « Recipe » is her way to success (according to her parents) and starts with getting accepted to university. Somehow she gets waitlisted and her perfect « Recipe » is missing its most important ingredient. Trying to manage her failure, Rubi tries out for a baking contest. The thing is, she can’t bake anything that is not a part of her parents’ bakery so she has to hide the fact that she got rejected plus that she got into a baking contest. From there, she navigates between what she really wants and what could make her achieve the American dream.

I did not particularly like this book because of how predictable it was. For me, and it’s a bit harsh, it was just another book about how teens feel controlled by their parents and have a difficult time choosing what they want to do. The author did not twist the story to make it more unique.

When taking the time to analyze the characters, they fell flat for me. There was the main character, living all of the normal and basic emotions any teen lives, the best friend who encourages her to follow her heart and even a mean girl that is mean for no real reason.

Since it was not the most memorable read, I personally would not recommend it, but if this is the kind of story that gets you going, why not read it? I do feel like the cover matches the vibes of reading on the beach…

Another cute and enjoyable book by Dahlia Adler, which is not surprising to me since I love all her books! I liked both timelines and am very torn on which I want to have actually happened more. I liked that we could really choose for ourselves what actually happened!

The cutest sapphic romance I have read in a while. I was expecting that ofcourse but I got so much more also because this story was not only swoony, it was also emotional and wholesome.

I try to stay away from books with multiple narratives for a single character like this before, so I was a little nervous going into it. But I was surprised by the story and really enjoyed Natalya’s summer perspective in both New York and Los Angeles. I found it really easy to follow along with both narratives

I loved this book. The representation, the sliding doors feel made it so special. I can’t wait for the next book by this author.

This book was on my radar right away after the stunning release of Home Field Advantage last year, so imagine my surprise when I opened up my inbox to find an ARC waiting for me! I had to set everything else I was reading aside to dive right into this, and I'm so glad I did.

Going Bicoastal is the story of of teenager Natalya Fox, who has less than 24 hours to decide on a path that could determine her entire future: will she stay in New York City with her father, finding random summer gigs in the relative safety of a place she's known her entire life, or will she fly to Los Angeles to spend the break with a mother she barely knows, working in her office as an intern and braving the mysteries that come along with a new city across the country? One option has the beautiful redhead she's been quietly crushing on for months, the other has a random boy she'll have to share a desk with at the office. Since she can't choose, both of these options play out in alternating timelines, showing what happens based off of that one initial decision...

This absolutely lived up to its promise as a sweet, cozy summer rom-com! Natalya is a delightful lead character that provides amazing Jewish representation; she keeps Kosher, follows Shabbat dinners with family and friends, and her beliefs are treated with respect by those around her. The handling of the different beliefs existent in Judaism was lovely! Natalya, in general, is absolutely the disaster bisexual that we all love and adore in queer YA and I adored her. This book does a great job of handling that struggle that so many teens go through in trying to find themselves separate from their parents - what to do with their futures, balancing their interests with their career choices, how far to go from home... All handled wonderfully. Both love interests are delightful, Elly in New York and Adam in Los Angeles. I found myself vaguely more pro-Adam, but by the end of the story, you genuinely love both of these characters. (It was also GREAT to see references to some characters from Home Field Advantage!)

This was another wonderful Dahlia Adler read and I'm so happy to have gotten to preview it early!

What a delight!

I’ve never read a book with multiple narratives for a single character like this before, so I was a tad nervous going into it. But I was pleasantly surprised by this story and really enjoyed Natalya’s summers in both New York and Los Angeles. I found it really easy to follow along with both narratives (the chapter titles helped a lot) and root for both romances to succeed (I’m bisexual, don’t ask me to choose a favorite!).

As an incredibly indecisive libra, I immediately felt a kinship with Natalya and her struggle with making a decision on where to spend her summer. She’s fearful of making the wrong choice and letting down each of her parents for different reasons, which resonated with me and likely will with a lot of readers. It’s my constant dream to not have to make a choice and have all the options, so this book really played out that fantasy for me!

I’m not Jewish, so I can’t speak to the representation but I really enjoyed how heavily Natalya’s Jewish identity was present in this book. And likewise, the queer rep was very present and well done, in my opinion. I love that Natalya found a tight-knit group of queer friends on both coasts. Plus, it’s nice to read a story not centered on the angsty side of being queer.

I don’t feel like the point of this story is to choose which romantic partner, Adam or Elly, is better for Natalya so I won’t pick one. I do like how both partners brought joy into her life and helped her discover what she wants to do with her future after her senior year of high school. I found her experience of not being sure which career path is right for her relatable, and I’m sure a lot of other young adult readers will as well.

All in all, I loved this book and can’t wait to buy a copy on pub day. I flew through it in a couple of days and predict it’ll be on my top reads for 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.