dnf at 55% the plot didn't feel like it was going anywhere
i tired so hard to stick around and finish reading this but just couldn't push myself to suffer through this

It took me a while to get into this book but I liked the last little bit. I think the issue for me is that I wanted them to actually show more of their friendship. It felt like Natalie was annoyed at Amelia for most of the book. Now, Amelia was so obviously in love with Natalie and had no idea, it was very charming.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I've previously loved a few books by this author and was really excited to get the chance to be an ARC reader for this one. I am so bummed that it ended up not being for me! This was the first book by this author where I thought to myself "dang I am too old to be reading this." Things that were being said kept taking me out of the story and I was finding myself not really caring about what was going on. Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

Going into this I was nervous my expectations were too high because of how much I loved Imogen, Obviously.

Not too high.

I loved this.

Amelia has a huge crush on a YouTuber and convinces her besties on a roadtrip to meet him at a fan event.

I think the best part is Amelia, she’s hilarious, smart and super nerdy and also a little aloof but extremely relatable. All of the characters were lovely and I liked that it had some characters from the previous book make appearances.

Super cute.
Recommend to YA lovers.

Thanks to netgalley and harpercolllins for an eARC.

Becky Albertalli shines with the bisexual representation in her books. What it's like to be bi and the mental gymnastics of queerness are always on point with her stories. I love when books include things like social media feeds and comments and such. This book also had a really interesting take on parasocial relationships and what the culture is like both for the celebrity and for the person partaking.

Amelia is intense. She's often funny and silly, but it's in a way where she doesn't seem to take anything seriously, and it keeps her friends at kind of a distance. I really wish this had been a split POV book with Natalie's perspective too which would have cut down on Amelia's intensity somewhat.

Walter was such a chill person (weirdly trusting, but ok?), and I loved Amelia's reactions to that. Also loved seeing Imogen and Tessa on page again. This was generally a quick read with short chapters and plenty of queer rep.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was incredibly cute and I really enjoyed it. I love that this is a ya queer romance and it includes so much representation for the community but also mainly bisexuals like myself in general. The bisexual are winning in this . The main character was very relatable and I feel that I could really connect with her like when I was that age and even now. Like understanding your sexuality and feelings is so important and profound I love how Becky handled it with many characters in this book. I like that everyone felt connected somehow but that it was very open and lighthearted of a story and had some really cute and funny moments. I think this read is an important one especially this month while we are in the month of June and pride month but I think it’s also special in the sense that it’s just fun and full of friendship and finding love and being honest with yourself. So I highly recommend this book and this author and I just wanted to say thank you to the author and Netgalley for this advance arc copy.

This is very cute, but there’s no actual plot. I’m not the target audience. DNF ~47%

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (7/5 stars—because five simply isn't enough)

As an Imogen, Obviously addict, I knew Becky Albertalli would deliver something special—but Amelia, If Only absolutely stole my heart, scribbled its name in my notebook, and played me the perfect acoustic love song I didn’t know I needed.

This is peak Albertalli: laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreakingly honest, and full of those messy, soul-stretching moments that make coming-of-age stories unforgettable. Amelia is sweetly obsessive, hilariously awkward, and so real it aches. Her parasocial crush on a chaotic bisexual YouTuber might be the hook, but the emotional heartbeat of this book is so much bigger.

🎸 Why this book sings:
Crushes, confusion, and the queer awakening you didn’t see coming. Amelia’s longing is relatable, but it’s her slow shift in who she’s longing for that completely wrecked me—in the best way.

Natalie. Guitar-playing, emotionally guarded, suddenly single Natalie is a scene-stealing icon. The friendship-to-something-more energy? Off. The. Charts.

Road trip vibes. This book captures the magic of late-night diners, too-loud playlists, and that feeling of something changing in the air as graduation looms.

Becky’s signature brand of truth-telling. The parasocial dynamic is handled with nuance, humor, and zero judgment, while the queer rep (and the realization process) is warm, gentle, and validating.

💬 Final thoughts:
If Imogen made you feel seen, Amelia will make you feel held. This is a story about chasing something you think you want, only to discover the real magic was beside you all along. Tender, awkward, hilarious, and quietly revolutionary—Amelia, If Only is queer YA at its absolute finest.

Someone please invent a rating scale that goes higher. 7/5 stars, no notes, only feelings.

The romance definitely took a backseat to the plot in this one, which I’m not mad about! This book was in conversation with so many parasocial commentaries, and a lot of the blog posts were incredibly uncomfortable reminders of real life speculation. I feel like by making it about characters in a story it is a more gentle way to have that conversation with readers who are likely seeing those invasive parasocial comments in communities they’re part of. For that alone I would make this mandatory reading for every teen with an internet connection.
Beyond that, it was a fun story about being a fan, meeting your idols, and what happens when you have to confront why you’re so mad at your best friend’s ex. There were some kick my feet giddy moments and moments of extreme second hand embarrassment, like, book opens with a promposal video? Couldn’t be me!
Thank you to HarperCollins for the review copy, I had a great time!

4 stars

Wow, there is so much in this book about the complications with fandoms, shipping/fanfic of REAL PEOPLE, parasocial relationships, and forcing people out before they are ready. And saying real people are queer baiting because of how they just are as people! I hope the people who need to read this do because there were so many parts in this story that I really cringed at how people acted online or even in person to a celebrity. It brought in a lot of themes from the issues with shipping 2 members of a boyband, forcing an actor playing a queer character to come out before they were ready, forcing authors to justify their ability to write queer romances, all of it is SUCH a problem. I understand that people want representation but I think that can be done by people outside of the culture (or within the culture without being forced to talk about their own private matters) as long as it is done with care and research.

All of that above was really well done and at times made me incredibly uncomfortable because of how well done it was. The reason I give it 4 stars though is the romance and the FMC. The romance was such a tiny portion of this story, it almost felt shoved in at the end. I don't know how necessary it was at that point. And the FMC was...a lot. You can tell she cares and is a great friend but personally I was exhausted by her constant jokes and nicknames. I felt like she was nearly incapable of being serious or quiet at all. It is YA so I get that she's young which adds to that part of her personality but it was at times really hard for me to handle.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Thank you to Becky Albertalli, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review (unpaid).

Love, love, love this book! Seriously I love road trip stories and found family family road trip stories even more especially when everyone involved is queer. Also really love the important discussion of how real life people queer baiting simply is not real.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

3.5 stars

Amelia is infatuated with her favorite bisexual YouTuber, Walter Holland. She knows sparks would fly if she met him. When Walter ends up hosting a meet and greet, it happens to be a short road trip from Amelia’s town. If only she can convince her friends to take an end of high school road trip to meet him.

Ever since the amazing book that is Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli is an author that I always try to read her newest releases. I was very happy to be approved for a digital ARC and just managed to finish it before its release date.

To start, this book has really short chapters, which I love. Short chapters are so great for me and it helped me fly through the book. I also love that this book is set across four days and I was reading this book just a few days after what those dates would have been.

In all honesty, I like the premise of this book and I was interested in the Walter/Hayden plotline throughout the story, but other than that this book was just fine for me. The road trip was nice, but I wasn’t super invested in anything else in the plot. Not to say this is a bad book, but I think I remained mostly neutral while reading this. There were some moments where I found Amelia to be a little annoying, but I’m mostly chalking that up to the roughly ten year age gap between myself and the main character.

I do think this book has a lot of good coming of age messages for those who have a hard time with change. I can definitely see this book being a good read for a high schooler or someone who is about to graduate high school.

Overall, I am glad that I read this. Because of my mostly neutral enjoyment, but enjoying the road trip and the Walter/Hayden plot line, I am giving this one 3.5 stars. This is my lowest rated Becky Albertalli book, however I will continue to read whatever she releases in the future.

This book has so incredibly much to offer in such a tiny little bite size package!!! Flipping between Twitter and Reddit threads, text message conversations, and present day antics, Amelia, If Only, is the story of a group of teens making huge transitions from fans to friends, and friends to more.

Main character, Amelia, has such a wildly quirky and larger than life personality that had me absolutely hollering throughout. Albertalli is HILARIOUS. On top of being funny, this book really touches on the more serious idea of parasocial relationships. As a millennial, this book certainly served as a time capsule, perfectly emulating situations so many of us hate to relate to. The early era of Vidcon, Tumblr, YouTube, and the surrounding fandoms were really their own separate world like no other. These spaces got incredibly toxic, dehumanizing, and boundary pushing. Albertalli perfectly encapsulates some of the weirdness that ensued, and then further lifts the curtain by sharing the perspective of somebody on the other side.

This is an incredibly fun coming of age, gay, Jewish romp through New York. So many different people will be able to see themselves in this, and learn from and laugh with Amelia and her friends.

I can’t WAIT to recommend this read to the teenagers at my public library! What a beautiful story for pride.

Another great title from Albertalli! I loved the friend group and their relationship with each other. The inclusion of online posts about Walter/Drama Clash was fun and added insight to the fandom. Loved the character cameos from Imogen, Obviously! I wouldn't hate a third book set in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I can’t believe it’s been two years since Imogen, Obviously came out!! I absolutely loved that book and Becky’s writing. There’s a bit of a call back to that book if you read it also!

Amelia is someone I really connected with. I’ve always felt like I was the one in the friend group who needed to joke and make everyone smile and laugh if they were sad. Who can’t sit in the quiet because of my anxiety. She resonated with me a lot. This also had an amazing look at parasocial relationships and how obsessed people get with celebrities. As someone who had always den in the shipping world, it is so weird to do it with real people. Real people fanfiction gives me such an ick. The fact there’s really people out there that act like this with celebs makes me itchy. I also read books like these and get so jealous of the friend group. Like I always dreamed about being this connected to people when I was this age and even now.

This book is full of humor and self realization and it was a delight to read. Becky knows how to tap into what people may be dealing with in their sexualities and with their identities and I really appreciate everything she puts out. This is another adorable cover and 5 star read for me for sure!

Oh my Young Adult heart. Amelia, If Only, is the perfect YA romance novel that reels you in from the first chapter. This book is exactly what the readers need because it is so captivating and unpredictable.

Amelia, a Jewish teenager from NY is head over heels obsessed with a YouTuber (Walter), who just so happens to be doing a show at a university where her friend's girlfriend goes to. When Amelia convinces her group of friends to go on a road trip to see said YouTuber, her best friend starts acting strange. Amelia, throughout the entire story line, feels little butterflies or abnormal feelings for her best friend but chalks them up to be feelings for Walter.

Natalie, Amelia's best friend for years, is dumped by her on-again, off-again girlfriend, or so Amelia thinks. Until one day Natalie confesses that she is the one that dumped her girlfriend at prom; because she has feelings for Amelia that she hasn't sorted out yet.

When their road trip abruptly comes to an end when Natalie leaves in the middle of the night to go back home, Amelia does everything in her power to find Natalie before her ex-girlfriend can swoop back in and get back together with Nat.

The only downfall of this book is that you couldn't really tell that there was a connection between Amelia and Natalie throughout the first 3/4 of the book. I wish that the author put more emphasis on that instead of leaving it to the reader to make their own interpretation of Natalie's and Amelia's connection. AND, I wish that there was more to the story line of their relationship. I feel like the ending was rushed and the readers' didn't get much of anything between Nat and Amelia. But, that was the only downfall. Other than that, this book was amazing and it felt like you were right with Amelia through all her obsession of Walter and his YouTube channel.

This coming to age, humorous and enlightening story of Amelia and Natalie will want you leaving more. Especially since Imogen and Tessa make an appearance and we know we all love them from Becky Albertalli's book Imogen, Obviously.

Becky Becky Becky! Another absolute knockout! After Imogen became an absolute staple in my recommendations, I was so so thrilled for the next installment in the Imogenverse and Amelia did not disappoint! Albertalli created such a realistic fandom dynamic that I had to pause and remember that they weren’t real people, nevertheless things like this are still happening to celebrities, influencers and creators all over the world. As a person who has been in the trenches of many fandoms and their incessant ship wars (sorry Gaylors Taylor is as straight as a line) I am always drawn in by the dissection of fandom shipping culture especially in the queer community. Amelia, If Only created such a believable fandom that I genuinely kept getting upset. The reiteration of Albertalli’s point from Imogen Obviously that real people aren’t capable of queerbaiting was also incredibly important in our time and so needed.

I absolutely adored seeing Imogen in this, but Amelia is a bit exhausting and too childish. The prose and riddles didn't seem like the right fit for the story, either.

First, I love Becky Albertalli's books. My students love her books. Her writing is fresh and fun. Her characters are quirky and interesting and flawed in the best ways. She captures teen angst and confusion well. And I always end up smiling while reading her books.
This one didn't make me smile nearly as much as Imogen, Obviously, but it was still a fun read. I will definitely add it to the collection.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC! I’m not sure I loved Amelia’s overly quippy, somewhat manic voice, but as someone who has maybe had parasocial relationships with celebrities my whole life, I definitely enjoyed the Walter plot. For most of the book I was thinking Mark’s story would be the next in the Imogene-universe and I was HERE FOR IT, but that ended up being explored (albeit briefly) by the end of Amelia, so I’m not sure which direction Albertalli will go next but I’m here for that too.