Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley for the arc!

This was such a cute and fun read and so happy to see Imogen make an appearance!

I absolutely loved Imogen and absolutely loved Amelia! I hope Becky keeps writing books in this universe because they are SO good and weasel their way into my heart!

I’m going to preface this by saying that I LOVED Imogen, Obviously. To the point where I don’t even think I read the synopsis of this one? I just heard “set in the same world as IO” and I was sold. That’s my bad. I probably wouldn’t have requested the book based on this synopsis, honestly.

I also really like Albertalli as a human - her activism and how she carries herself in the semi public online space with important information and advocacy.

However, Amelia was just too much for me. She’s talking constantly, poking at her friends (not mean spirited but definitely sharper than she should), and is just all over the place. She exhausted me (as an adult) almost immediately. I couldn’t even make it to the main plot because I was desperate to escape Amelia and her Too Much-ness.

Becky Albertalli makes me feel old, but in the best way. Her latest work is perfect for today's teen.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I would like to thank
HarperCollins Children's Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This book was difficult to classify. Because there were some things that were very well done and developed and others that were not so well done.

Let's start by saying that once again Becky Albertalli has written a set of well-developed and realistic queer characters. From the language used to their hyper-fixations.

I found the arc around Walter super interesting, it was probably my favorite part of the book. The question of why we don't really know a celebrity, or how problematic it is to compulsively theorize about the kind of relationship between two people, especially teenagers, even when those two people deny it. The Hayters reminded me a lot of the Gaylors.

I wasn't expecting the appearance of characters from "Imogen, Obviously", or for these two books to be connected.

Now, on to what I think was most poorly constructed. The romance. Although I could see the romance coming from both parties, due to some reactions that were clearly jealousy, I felt that the romance was an addition to the book and wasn't really taken seriously. Yes, it was there and they resolved the romantic arc, but it was all sudden. I couldn't root for the romance between the characters because there was no build-up to it.

In conclusion, I still recommend this book, it has some very strong parts. I'm definitely going to continue reading more books by Becky Albertalli and I'm curious to see if she's going to extend Imogen's universe.

Queer representation: sapphic main relationship, background sapphic relationship, even more background achillean relationship. Bisexual main character, lesbian love interest.

Summary:
Amelia Applebaum is almost done with her senior year of high school and everything is going swimmingly - sure, her best friend, Natalie is still with her on-again, off-again girlfriend, and sure she invited her favorite YouTube personality, Walter Holland, to be her prom date, but all of her friends are going to be in the same town for college and nothing really has to change! When Natalie's girlfriend breaks up with her at prom, and Walter announces a fan meet-and-greet in a town a few hours away, suggesting a friend road trip is a no-brainer to Amelia! Along the way, Amelia learns about the realities of being a public figure, using humor as a coping mechanism, being afraid of change, and above all, being honest with yourself.

Review:
Wow I would love to pick Becky Albertalli's brain someday because between Imogen and Amelia, I feel as though she maybe scanned my brain and put words to the brainwaves she found in there. While Amelia, If Only, wasn't quite the overwhelming self-read that Imogen was, she still read me for filth at times - the on-going theme of remembering impressions of feelings rather than the feelings themselves was something I related to deeply, in particular. I also found the discussion of fandom culture and real person shipping to be scarily accurate - as someone who still regularly uses Tumblr and sees discourse on other platforms, Albertalli really nailed the way people feel entitled to own and project onto real people, and how they will believe anything they want even if it's direct opposition to what is actually being said. I wish we'd gotten a little more traction/movement on the part of Amelia's personality that cannot sit with uncomfortable feelings, because I thought it was a very accurate read on Amelia's personality and I would have enjoyed seeing her struggle with it more, but overall, really really enjoyed this book! If Becky Albertalli ever wants a suggestion, I'd love to see a third Imogen-verse book focused on Walter, as I think she would probably have some REALLY poignant stuff to say about anxiety, and celebrity culture from his point-of-view, I am curious to see where the Walter&Hayden drama goes as more time progresses, and I'd love to read her write an established relationship!

becky albertalli has done it again! i loved this book so much. albertalli has this way of writing characters and making them so relatable and makes you want to know more about the story it’s impossible to put down!

I went into this one with really high expectations as Imogen, Obviously is one of my all-time favorites! While this wasn’t quite as perfect as Imogen, I still really enjoyed it.

Amelia has all the charm of Imogen while being so outgoing and chaotic. She’s such a bisexual disaster, and I love her for that!

I did feel the story started to lag a little bit in the middle, but once the Imogen gang and Amelia gang met up at Blackwell University, I was 100% invested! I loved getting a glimpse at Imogen and Tessa a year later, but I also was glad that they didn’t overshadow the plot. The story still felt like Amelia’s.

While I did initially feel that the romance was a little forced, by the end, I was sold. Nothing better than best friends to lovers!

This is a great follow-up for fans of Becky Albertalli and Imogen Scott!

This wasn't my favorite Becky Albertalli book, but I still really liked it. The first 60% dragged a little, but after that point, I zoomed through it. I adore Becky Albertalli's voice and humor (there were a few too many MILF jokes for my taste, LOL, three or fewer would have been sufficient). I loved the epistolary content. It was so different and refreshing. FYI, I wouldn't consider this a romance book. Not really even a contemporary book with a romantic subplot. We didn't get to see much of a relationship until the very end.

Ugh. Becky just has the best universes. She makes me want to live in them. I always love her main characters and side characters (though I didn't always love Leah in Leah on the Offbeat, but that's a rant for another day, haha). I love that we see some of the same characters from the first book, which makes me want to reread Imogen, Obviously (which I will probably end up doing shortly, haha). I adored Walter's character. I especially appreciated the discussion of queerbaiting and how accusing real people of queerbaiting can force them out of the closet before they're ready (just look at Kit Connor from Heartstopper). I feel like this discourse was handled exceptionally well.

Read this book for:

🌼💨 bi representation
🌼💨 Jewish representation
🌼💨 childhood best friends to lovers
🌼💨 a friend group you will want to be a part of!
🌼💨 commentary on fandoms and the harm of shipping real people
🌼💨 commentary on parasocial relationships, particularly with YouTubers
🌼💨 all the times you've wished you could be friends with your fav YouTuber (we've all been there)

(also those two emojis were the closest i could get to symbolizing a dandelion, LOL. i tried)

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC of this book!

Becky Albertalli can *do no wrong*. I will read anything she writes, and *Amelia, If Only* totally delivered. I’m not a fandom girlie myself, but the way she wrote that world? It felt so real—I could *see* the K-pop-stan energy.

Amelia’s friend group had my whole heart, and while I *might* have aged out of YA a bit, Becky’s way of describing feelings always hits so hard. Honest, funny, and quietly emotional in all the right places.

Also… if you’ve read *Imogen, Obviously*… the scissors!!! IYKYK.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

A very sweet read. I loved seeing Imogen, Lily, Edith, and Tessa pop up again and the issues with Amelia and Natalie being jealous of each other's crushes without realizing was very cute :) Also yay for the ITGO reference!

I'm a big fan of Becky Albertalli's books, and this one did not disappoint. It's like she has a window into teens' minds and is able to so authentically capture their way of being. This book even introduced me to a new word: parasocial. Have you ever fan-girled (or fan-guyed) so hard for someone you've only seen on screens? That's a parasocial relationship. And in this story, Amelia has a huge fan-girl, parasocial relationship with Walter, a YouTube celebrity, and one half of a YouTube show that she loved. While it's fun watching Amelia and her friends traverse the trials and tribulations of this parasocial world, some of the plot developments felt a bit too predictable for me. That said, the teens reading the story should like it anyway!

Amelia, If Only is about a girl named Amelia and her friends --Natalie, Mark, and Zora--who go on a road trip to visit Amelia's online crush, Walter. Amelia has followed Walter online for many years and became a lifelong fan when Walter made a coming-out video that resonated with her. Things I really enjoyed about the book included the tie-ins to Imogen, Obviously, continued conversations about coming out, coming of age, finding yourself, sexuality, and life online. I struggled with the first half of the book because it's a lot about Walter and the concept of parasocial relationships. Amelia feels like she knows Walter at times even while she's aware that it's a one-way relationship through a screen and that Walter, while a person is also an online personality. I appreciated that the story was told not only through narrative but also through DMs, online discourse, text messages, and more. However, as the main characters are on their road trip very real happens -- most of it is build up to the actual events when they arrive at the college and meet Walter in real life. I feel like this was a missed opportunity to build the characters and the connections between them. The second half of the book was great and a lot of what I loved about Imogen, Obviously--the college setting, the conversations about finding yourself and navigating life, the twists and turns, and the internal monologue and figuring yourself out. Ultimately that's why it's three stars for me -- I loved parts of it but the first half felt a bit slow and underdeveloped outside of the Walter developments. The first half felt more like a point -- we can't ever really know people online --than an actual story and it left me wanting more in terms of characters and plot but I also really love Albertalli and her work and the story did redeem itself in the second half. I definitely still enjoyed it and would choose to read it again. I recommend it to anyone who likes Albertali's other books, coming of age stories, or books with and about queer characters. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

4.25-4.5 Stars out of 5

Imogen, Obviously was one of my top reads the year it came out, so I was stoked to be able to return to that world with Becky Albertalli's latest book Amelia, If Only.

Becky has the balance between serious and funny down to a science. I loved this one. We meet Amelia and Friends shortly before they go to prom, when her Bestie's girlfriend breaks up with her, and her favorite Youtuber is putting on a show in their state Amelia decides her best friends must go on a road trip, 1) to meet Walter from youtube, and 2) to keep Natalie from getting back together with her ex.

Albertalli does such a good job in this book exploring parasocial relationships and how we as individuals can become infatuated with those who will follow on social media. Additionally, I loved the exploration of bi-sexuality and how it can often be an exploration to understand your own sexualtiy. I thought it was so well done and will make so many people feel seen.

There was so much to like about this book. It was fun and quirky and had a lot of fun banter moments. I loved our characters and the exploration of different themes. If you've liked any of Becky Albertalli's books, pick this up!!! Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another great one by Becky Albertalli. I had such a good time from beginning to end. i loved these characters. All of them. The whole road-trip thing was great. I loved how Becky twisted it with Imogen and even mentioned characters from another book (not by her). This was all so good. I was truly enthralled from beginning to end. I cannot wait to read this again and again.

becky albertalli never misses. imogen, obviously is one of my all time favorite books and i was so nervous amelia wouldn't live up to it. but it certainly did. becky has quickly become an auto buy author for me.

Amelia is an 18 year old bisexual who is parasocially infatuated with YouTube content creator Walter Holland. When he hosts a meet and greet that is a 5-6 hour drive from Amelia's home, she organizes a road trip to see him with her 3 best friends.

The most interesting aspect of the story is the representation of parasocial adoration. What adolescent hasn't had a crush on a celebrity and thought, "if we could only meet in person, I know we'd be soulmates/best friends". We get not only Amelia's thoughts on Walter Holland; but transcripts of all the social media she absorbs about Walter. It really shows how fans think they "know" an internet personality to the point of a level of ownership over that person's life.

Overall, I struggled with the pace of the novel. The story develops slowly over the course of 5 days. I'd say the first 70% of the novel was a bit of a slog, just listening to Amelia explain how she's not in love with Walter over and over again; or how his coming out video was so important to her.

When they finally arrive at the meet & greet destination, the college attended by Imogen and Tessa from "Imogen, Obviously", the pace finally starts to pick up and get more interesting. It's fun when the friend group is enlarged and to get a glimpse of Imogen and Tessa.

All of a sudden, the final few chapters speed forward with bombshell announcements from her friends and Amelia's own awakening about who she is really crushing on. Amelia accepts these announcements, one of which directly affects her future plans, with uncharacteristic ease. It was too much, all at once . Maybe it's supposed to be a metaphor, but the literal race to the finish felt rushed and forced.

I have loved some of Albertalli's other books, but this one just falls short for me.

This was a cute book! It follows a girl named Amelia, who embarks on a road trip with her best friends to go to a meet-and-greet for her favorite content creator.

Amelia was bold, goofy and enjoyable to read about, and I liked her friends as well. None of them are the most fleshed out characters, but they were distinct from each other and they were fun to follow.

The queer representation was great, as I've found to be the case in most, if not all, of Becky Albertalli's books. I loved that almost all of the characters were casually queer and that Albertalli touched on some important topics within the LGBTQ+ community, as she usually does. She has a way of weaving significant issues such as queerbaiting/accusations of queerbaiting into her books in a way that is thought-provoking and meaningful without being too in your face or pulling readers out of the story.

Another super fun element of this book, particularly for fans of Albertalli's previous works, was the cameos. Characters from her two most recent books popped up briefly in this one and it was so nice to see them again.

The plot was interesting as well. It dealt a lot with fame and the parasocial relationships so many people form with their favorite celebrities. For anyone who has read and enjoyed I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman, I'd definitely recommend checking this book out, or vice versa, as they both contain fascinating discussions about fame, fandom, and the intersection between the two.

My only issue when reading this was the romance, or lack thereof. Don't get me wrong, I think Amelia and Natalie were super cute together and I enjoyed the sweet little moments they shared throughout the book. However, in my opinion, we didn't get nearly enough of them. Albertalli's books usually put character development and growth at the forefront while romance takes the backseat but in this book, particularly, there was hardly any romance. It was obvious that the characters liked each other but it was only acknowledged in the most subtle of ways until nearly the end of the book. I would've liked to see more interaction between the two of them rather than so much of the relationship development existing only in Amelia's inner thoughts.

That said, this was a fast-paced, enjoyable book and for those who love Albertalli's writing, or those who love a feel-good young adult contemporary with a small subplot of romance, I'd recommend giving it a try.

*review to be posted on saysmesaysmom.com on 6/10.*

Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Freakin hilarious! It’s Prom and Amelia has just asked her favorite YouTube content creator, Walter, to prom. It’s a long shot that he’ll see it. She doesn’t know what it is, she just feels like they would get along. When he came out, his words were the first she’d heard that summed up her own journey with her bisexuality. He seems genuinely sweet. Then her best friend, Nat’s, relationship falls apart at Prom and all thoughts of Walter vanish. That is until she finds out he’s having a meet and greet in a few days not to far from where they live. Her friend Zora is already going there to see her girlfriend. They can roadtrip and there’s not a better way to keep Nat’s mind off her ex-girlfriend, who Amelia does not like. So the three of them, along with Nat’s twin brother Mark, set out so Amelia can meet her favorite creator/social media crush. What will Walter be like? Them connecting is a long shot but not impossible. Also has she never notice how pretty Nat’s hair is? Or how sweet her laugh and dimples are? I think Amelia is probably my favorite Becky Albertalli character yet and that is saying something as I love so many of them! She’s witty, smart, and incredibly lovable! I also love that we get some cameos in this one! Also some references to characters from books by other authors that absolutely had me smiling! Amelia, her friends, and the various supporting characters, especially her little sister Audrey, are all charming! Hilarious, touching, full of the warm and fuzzies, and super lovely! Absolutely recommend Amelia, if Only!

Becky Albertalli is one of my favorite authors and yet I am always surprised by how much I enjoy her books. If you’ve read any of her other books then you know that the characters were hilarious and sweet, the friendships were strong, and the main character was relatable and slightly oblivious. I loved it. But what really stood out to me was how relevant the message of this book was. This is a necessary read for anyone who has ever been a part of any fandom, or even worshipped any celebrity. She does an amazing job of reminding the reader that famous people are really just people, and that personal relationships are far more real and valuable than parasocial ones. This was one of my favorite reads in a long time and I feel that it touched on topics that aren’t necessarily explored all the time.

Aside from the important message of this book, the relationships between Amelia and her friends were so wonderful. The friends-to-romance arc was masterfully done and did not feel rushed or drawn out, which I feel is hard to do with these types of plots. Albertalli did not rely too much on events that happened before the book to drive the romance, and there was crucial character development actually done on the page. I love love loved this book and can see myself rereading it as soon as it comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the published for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.