Thank you Wednesday Books for inviting me to read and review Wish You Were Her. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There may be spoilers ahead.

Allegra Brooks is an eighteen year old starlet who finally has a break from stardom and decides to stay with her dad in his small town for the summer. Jonah Thorne is a bookseller at her father's bookstore and the organizer of an annual Book Festival the town prides themselves on. Allegra emailed the bookstore to find out information about the Book Festival before she arrived, and what she found was someone who she could be friends with without the prying eyes of the fans and media. When she meets Jonah for the first time, he is rude and judgmental leaving her wondering who the mysterious "friend" is and crossing Jonah off right away. Jonah and Allegra don't realize it's the other person who is emailing them. They continue a sweet friendship through emails but banter and butt heads in person as Allegra helps with the Book Festival and her father's store.

Wish You Were Her is a sweet story with amazing autistic representation. Both Jonah and Allegra are autistic and I think the author did a great job conveying their emotions during overwhelming moments. While Jonah is upfront about his autism, Allegra is hiding it from the public eye. I think many neurodivergent readers will be able to relate to both Jonah and Allegra's stories. I found both characters to be relatable and realistic.

I did really like the inclusion this story presented and how the author wrote it but besides that the story itself is okay. The execution felt off at times and the pacing dragged a bit through the middle and the ending. I wasn't too crazy about the romance between Allegra and Jonah. It also felt off and disjointed. I think my only real miss would be the execution of how the author wanted to the story to go after Allegra and Jonah find out who they've been emailing. Well, technically only Allegra finds out and leaves Jonah still wondering but eventually he finds out at the end. So at that point is where the story began to drag and lose it's rhythm from the beginning.

Overall, it is a cute story with great representation, and an entertaining You've Got Mail plot.

3 stars

4.5

This was an absorbing YA romance about a teenager who found herself rocketed to stardom, and how that chewed up her life. Especially as she is neurodiverse, something she only admits late in the story, though the hints are all there. In escaping the fame fishbowl (and its not-so-nice dangers) for a summer with her dad, she meets a neurodivergent boy at Dad's bookstore--and sparks fly. At first, sparks of anger and hurt.

How the two untangle the crossed signals, and make friends and plans for their futures along the way, leads the reader through the rest of the book at a fast clip. A terrific read for teens on the spectrum--and teens who want to understand what that means.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. Allegra is 18 years old and suddenly very famous because of the popular television show she was in. No one knows she is autistic. No one knows she just wants a normal summer. She decides to head out to Lake Pristine, where there is an annual book festival organized by Jonah, a senior who is also not the friendliest. Eventually the two encounter one another, and do not exactly connect well. Her only escape are the emails she exchanged with a bookseller, whose identity neither person knows.

The setting of Lake Pristine and the bookshop and festival were just divine. This is great readerly escape if you are needing that in your world. I also deeply appreciated the inclusion of a neurodivergent character in this book, written in a way that was very aware and educational, yet accessible and relatable. Though this book centers on Allegra, I thought the author did a great job of showcasing how Jonah's character evolved, as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good book with a bit of romance and good disability representation as the FMC and MMC both had autism! I enjoyed the story, and felt there were enjoyable plot points.

This is a YA Coming of age romance! Mild enemies to lovers. Third person POV where both MCs are neurodivergent and find the person they feel at peace with. Such an easy ready, would be perfect for a neurodivergent person to finally see some representation in books! I think this would easily be. 5 star book for neurodivergent readers!

There were some moments in the book that made it hard for myself, someone who is not neurodivergent, to want to continue. This was when the FMC and MMC seemed to be talking down on neurotypicals. Over all a great love story about those who finally feel at peace with another person!

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were relatable, the plot was interesting, and the story was great! I would definitely recommend!

I had a lot of fun with these characters. I would love it if we dissected more in the life of the female character when she finally finds a young person she admires that also had autism. there is so much space to progress the relationship that jonah and allegra end up forming but so much of the time is cute shot because that development is never there. jonah is an interesting dude but we never get to get anymore from him rather than he loves books and might not going to university.

This was my first time reading a book where autism is the forefront in the plot and I’m pleased to see a decent representation of various aspects of autsim, namely the sensory processing of the main female character, Allegra. I loved reading about these two especially Jonah as he was a refreshing take on the normally similar versions of male love interests. I also resonated with his social ineptitude (ineptitude sounds so mean but really I’m not trying to be). I act similarly in situations and it’s not easy to break out of that shell, but seeing him try to hard was heartwarming.
The romance was great and I’m sure many will adore it but it wasn’t the most important part of the story for me surprisingly enough. And I know that’s comical since it’s a romance book. All in all I had a fun time reading this book and I’m sure many others will feel the same sentiments.

Wow! I HIGHLY enjoyed this arc! The slow burn love was perfectly timed- I didn't feel as if it was too slow or too fast. This was also the first book that I've read where the main characters are neurodivergent- there is accuracy in terms of behavior/stims. The overall story was smooth, and flowed together.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

I'll cut right to the chase - I decided to DNF this title. I really liked the autism representation, especially as a neuro divergent woman myself, I love the You've Got Mail storyline and the comforting setting! I had trouble truly connecting with the characters, and I just didn't have the urge to continue with it. However, if you love YA romance, this is a great summer read with autism representation!

This was very cute! The characters were sweet. It helps that You’ve Got Mail is my favorite movie. :) I enjoyed the sweet story, and will definitely recommend