Thanks Wednesday books for the gifted e-copy.

Going Bicoastal (very aptly titled, fyi) is a fun YA/NA read that I flew through in a day. Natalya Fox is a bi teen living with her dad in NY. She needs to decide what to do for her summer - stay in NY with her dad, and maybe get to know the cute redhead that she keeps bumping into, OR, fly out to LA to see her mom for the summer. Tough choice, right?

Well, we get both stories, in parallel timelines! I admit, when I first started reading, I went in blind, so I was like wth is going on here...but it ended up totally working. I did have a favorite - NY - because I thought her and Elly (the redhead) were a cute couple and I loved their story arc.

3.5 stars

I love Dahlia's work and this book was no exception. This queer Sliding Doors book filled my heart so much. I loved the dual timelines and how much effort that was given to each. Natalya's relationships with both Elly and Adam were refreshing. I liked the detail that went into both and that Dahlia didn't shy away from her descriptions. Speaking of descriptions, all the food talk in this made me so hungry! I think my favorite part was the validation that even though Natalya was dating Adam in one story line, she was still queer and her bisexuality wasn't brought into question.

I loved the idea of showing the two paths whether Natalya chooses to stay in New York or go to LA. And the Jewish and queer rep is fantastic. I just found myself getting a little bored toward the last third of the book. I don’t think there was any real conflict or tension at that point. Overall I liked, but didn’t quite love it.

Very cute fast read. I honestly could not decide which story I liked best and which choice I felt was better. Adler made both of them perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC of this hilarious book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In this laugh-out-loud YA novel, Natalya Fox has a day to decide what her summer will look like and Dahlia Adler is kind enough to write out both versions of Natalya’s story. Our main character can stay with her dad in New York City and perhaps finally meet the mysterious Red Head. Or she can head out to LA to fix her relationship with her mom. Readers get to experience both versions of Natalya’s story which I thought was a really cool choice. I like that whichever path Natalya chooses, she gets to experience a lot of love through relationships with her parents, friendships, and romances!

5 out of 5 stars!

-dual timelines is well executed
-Natalya is a great character, and her feelings about the future are extremely relatable and well written
-side characters are also well written
-neither love interest is toxic (yay!)
-the romance between Natalya and Elly isn't given a backseat
-Natalya is still very queer even when we are exploring her romance with Adam

Okay, I really enjoyed this YA romance book! I've enjoyed some of Dahlia Adler's other work and really enjoyed it, and this one sounded just as cute! While I did think Adam's storyline was more robust and felt more whole, I still really enjoyed getting to know Elly as well!

Some of my favorite things from this book? I love the Jewish representation and all the food! It was definitely a book that made me a bit hungry while reading - because I want to try all these amazing dishes.

Some readers may not feel satisfied with the ending - but I adored the idea of how we can make our own happy ending through our choices and that there is not just one right answer in life.

This was so freaking good! I think it's my favorite Dahlia Adler book so far and I loved everything about it. It's a sort of choose your own adventure style where we get two simultaneous timelines based on which choice the main character ends up making. My favorite part of this book is the ending and there was one storyline that I enjoyed more than the other and I loved that we were able to see that choose your own adventure style continued throughout the ending.

Highly recommend.

Jewish Bisexual MC

Spoilers!!!!


Spoilers!!!

I was Team Adam the entire time. I don't know what it was about him but I love him and I loved their start to finish romance versus the working often already existing crush that was Ellie's timeline. That being said I did like the MC's relationship with her mom more from the New York timeline but I appreciated it all either way.

I love Dahlia Adler so much and this book did everything I've come to expect from this author.

The whole concept was very well plotted and each story line had fun hints to the other while happening simultaneously and also only one at a time... each character felt well placed and developed and I honestly found myself enjoying chapters from both LA and NYC instead of favoring one over the other.

This feels like an important book to show teens that no matter what decisions they make, there are some things that they can discover about themselves that won't change. The main character was able to find herself in both stories just with different paths there and I think that's really great.

As with all of this authors works, I will be recommending it!

This was fantastic, Dahlia Adler never disappoints! This was such a perfect summer read. I really enjoyed both timelines, and would not want to leave the current timeline I was reading. However I think the switching back and forth made it so I was never bored reading it, which was perfect. I had so much fun with this, both romances were super cute. I did have an ending I preferred, but I was definitely happy with both!

This was a delightfully fun, queer, choose-your-own-adventure-ish romance. The alternating storylines were easy to navigate and despite getting some information twice, Adler managed to make it relevant and interesting so that it wasn't boring or repetitive. But seriously, how am I supposed to choose??

Absolutely gorgeous!!!!!

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Reading Going Bicoastal was surreal. Not surreal because it was so outrageous that I was surprised by it — no. What was surreal about this book was that it was so ordinary. It felt like a book I've always had. And in many ways, maybe that's because it's always been there, I've always known this story, I've just never read it written out on a page before.

That's because this story is mine.

Natalya has to make the decision of spending her summer before senior year with her dad at home, or her mom across the country. So should she take that risk of spending time with a mom she barely knows, taking an internship and stepping into a world full of unknowns? Or should she stay in New York, take risks in new ways, try new things and maybe-possibly-somehow-perhaps ask out that cute redhead she's been crushing on for months?

But the real question is: why not read about both?

Natalya is a bisexual Jewish teen, a true child of divorce. She has her close group of friends, she tries her best to have a Shabbat dinner every Friday night, she loves her dad and is slightly estranged from her mom. None of these elements by themselves scream my name. (Besides her mother, whose name I literally share.) But when you put them together, they create an experience that forms the foundations of me.

This review is hard for me to write because I'm struggling to pinpoint what exactly made this book outstanding. I don't have a single negative thing to say about this book. Both storylines were equally engaging and perfectly matched, the dialogue felt right, Natalya's thoughts were authentic, the romances (yes, both of them!) were fantastic and so full of chemistry (and horniness) that it made me laugh and feel warm inside. I loved watching as pieces of dialogue broke through both sides and certain actions and decisions were mutually (but separately) made.

So what made it stand out? Why does it matter? Maybe it's because deep down I know that this book means the world in the most miniscule ways. It won't matter as much to any singular person who does not identify with every single one of Natalya's identities. So as backward as it seems, there's something to that — not meaning as much to other people — that makes it feel more like my story.

This isn't a coming out story or even completely a coming of age. It's not chock-full of angst or ingenious thoughts that have Never Been Done Before. It's a romance, it's a story, and it's one that feels one decision away from being mine.

Going Bicoastal takes that moment where you wonder "what if..." and shows you exactly how you'll end up where you need to be. Not because you made the 'right' decision, but because the journey you're about to take makes any other decision incomprehensible. This book told me that I'll end up where I need to be, whether I fly across the coast or not. Whether I take that chance that's urging me on right in front or find a new leap forward, in a different direction.

Content Warnings: self-harm (past), divorce (past), parental abandonment, mentions of homophobic rhetoric

A super fun summer YA read. I like the weaving together of the two alternate storylines - the parts where conversations with friends or parents repeated in the different cities. A neat way to explore a character and her choices.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

• sweet summer-y YA romance
• Sliding Doors vibes
• representation 👏

Fun settings, swoonworthy romances, choose-your-own ending... this was a fun contemporary YA rom-com!

🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

Dahlia Adler is fast becoming one of the best authors in queer contemporary YA fiction. Going Bicoastal is unlike any book I’ve ever read. Firstly, it’s written in alternating timelines, one where the main character decides to stay in New York, and the other where she goes to LA. In both of these timelines, she has a love interest: New York is a red headed punk girl, and LA is a guy who loves to cook. Then at the end, you get to choose your ending to see who she ends up with! it reminded me of those choose your own adventure books I used to read in elementary school, and I loved it. It had the potential to get confusing, but Adler handled it perfectly. I found myself rooting for both couples, and honestly, I couldn't choose which I liked more.
Another aspect I loved about this book is the Jewish representation! Natalya takes great pride in being Jewish, and I loved how both love interests were so respectful. I also learned a lot about what foods are kosher! (spoilers: have a snack on hand while reading because this book will make you hungry, the amount of food descriptions will have you drooling.)
Overall this was such a fun and adorable book, perfect for summer time! 4/5 stars

I thought this book brought things that I hadn’t seen before. I think that the dual timeline and the way it’s done is pretty unique.

This is a great queer romance for your summer reading. It’s refreshing to see a contemporary queer romance where the MC is already out so there’s no angst concerning what to do.

Please be careful if you read because there is a TW for past self harm scars.

Dahlia Adler is one of my favorite YA writers and Going Bicoastal didn't disappoint. This fun premise involves two timelines - one in which Natalya decides to spend the summer before her senior year in LA with her mom and the other where she chooses to remain in NYC with her dad. In LA, she meets cute fellow intern Adam, while in NYC she finally gets to know The Redhead, a girl she's been crushing on. It may sound gimmicky but it totally works and I loved seeing how Natalya's summer played out in each scenario. Props to Adler for a satisfying ending (I was worried things wouldn't wrap up well) and the excellent Jewish rep!

Thanks to Wednesday books for the copy to review.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Going Bicoastal. I will definitely include this in our young adult collections list at my library.

Going Bicoastal had very well developed characters, believable romances, and great Jewish representation. The author seamlessly weaved together the two different stories.