Imogen, Obviously

Imogen's always been the straight ally of her school's Pride group, doing the work to educate herself and be respectful and a good friend. While visiting her best friend Lili for the weekend at the college she will soon be attending, Imogen catches big feelings for Tessa, one of Lili's pack of cool queer friends -- and it seems like the feelings might be mutual. What does this mean for Imogen's identity? What will it mean for her friendships, both existing and new?

One of the things Albertalli does best is creating solid friend groups with great dialogue and humor, and she really shines with this book as Imogen interacts with both her established friend group and Lili's college group. She also does a great job of looking at different show more aspects of identity and how people discover new facets of themselves. As a result, Imogen is really, really in her own head for a lot of the book, and her constant questions and anxieties might be exhausting for some readers. I wasn't bothered by it, because I could see myself in the way Imogen processes interactions and new information. If you've enjoyed Albertalli's other works, you'll probably like this one -- and if you haven't read any of her books, this is a standalone, so it's a good place to start (though I am hoping for more books from this set of characters in the future)! show less

I think I actually liked this one even more than "Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda," and that is saying a great deal. I'm sure that had to do with the subject matter hitting closer to home for the author; when Albertalli publicly came out as bi in response to criticism that she was writing queer characters without being queer, she talked about this very subject: queer people being forced out of the closet, perhaps before they were ready, if they wanted to be taken seriously.

But I adored Imogen, and I adored Tessa, and I adored Lili and Edith and pretty much everyone other than Gretchen, whom the reader wasn't meant to adore. I am so GLAD that the angst never lasted too long before the writer gave the characters a distraction and support show more (when Imogen's father saw she was uncomfortable and, without explanation, gave her an excuse to escape!). I was THRILLED that the big climactic moment featured Imogen's friends completely having her back, and Tessa barely blinking before making up her mind to dismiss Gretchen out of hand. The fluff was REAL with this book, and I am so here for it.

Now I want a book about Edith. show less

I definitely don’t believe in the concept of “guilty pleasures” when it comes to enjoying things, but being a 36 year old who admits to fully enjoying (slightly cheesy) contemporary YA romance takes a certain amount of nerve. But Becky Albertalli’s books are so charming that I can’t resist! Her characters are always sweet and their stories are always heartfelt, and this latest novel, which follows high schooler Imogen as she discovers an unknown side of her personality as she falls in love, is once again absolutely enthralling. Imogen is at the very end of her highschool experience, and the novel follows her over a spring break trip in which she visits her best friend at college - where she will also be attending for the show more Autumn semester. She is thrown helter skelter into Lili’s group of queer friends, which she is totally fine with, until the catch is revealed: that Lili told everyone that they used to date eachother, putting Imogen into the precarious place of having to pretend to be bisexual or blowing Lili’s cover. Obviously this is pretty problematic, but it turns out the conceit is closer to the truth that anyone (including Imogen) expected, and as the weekend progresses she develops a crush on one of Lili’s friends and begins questioning whether she’s only ever had “real” crushes on boys before. Sometimes things are never quite as simple as they seem, and Albertalli explores the heteronormative expectations of society with her trademark wit and depth, bringing us a novel that I’m sure draws inspiration from her own experience as a formerly closeted bisexual person. I’m sure there’s a portion of the community who will continue to give her grief about her own experience and the novels that she continues to write in this genre, but I can’t help but feel like there’s a certain truth and honesty to her stories that shouldn’t be discounted. Regardless of what the critics say, I’ll continue to support her, because her books always bring a warmth to my heart and a renewed sense of humanity. show less

Imogen is a proud ally to her queer friends and is excited to visit her gay BFF, Lily, over spring break at the college she’s attending 30 minutes away. The trip is sprinkled somewhat with anxiety, though, because Lily has found a very cool group of LBGTQ+ friends who make Imogen wonder if Lily has moved on from being her best friend, and then there’s also the story that Lily has roped Imogen into about the two of them once dating, which means that Imogen now needs to pretend to be bi. But then Tess walks into Lily’s dorm room and kicks off Imogen’s slight identity crisis: does she really need to pretend or is she, in fact, not straight at all?

At first I thought Imogen’s headspace agonizing over whether she’s a bad ally show more who’s appropriating or actually bi was going to get exhausting real quick-like, but in the end, the story is sweet and funny and the agonizing serves a good purpose, especially for members of the intended audience who may be facing similar questions of their own. Good stuff in here that make it definitely worth the read. show less

This was an ultimately very kind, obviously personal, excellent young adult coming-of-age novel about discovering yourself and recognizing that queerness, by its very nature, is different for everyone. The slightly farcical "pretend ex" setup, the descriptions of all the romantic butterflies, the family and friend group relationships, and in general all the characterization are really excellent. There were times when I thought the (for lack of a better word) "villain" of the novel was too obviously telegraphed as villainous, but other times I was impressed and in fact skeptical of how sympathetically and generously this character was treated, which I feel is overall a good balance.

High school senior Imogen Scott's best friends and younger sister Edith are all queer, but Immy has always seen herself as a straight ally. When she visits her friend Lili at Blackwell College - where she'll be going in just five months - Imogen develops a crush on Lili's friend Tessa. But how can she have a crush if she's straight? Is she straight, or is she a people-pleaser trying to be what everyone wants her to be? What if different people want her to be different things? Over the course of a week, conscientious, considerate Imogen wrestles with her own sexuality, and eventually gets support from Lili, Edith, and Tessa, even as her friend Gretchen blows up at her. A perfect on-the-brink-of-college book for this generation; set in show more New York state.

Quotes

I mean, it's just backstory, right? The past is always just backstory. (47)

I think people forget how different things can be in different places. (248)

The problem is...the harder I try not to act like I have a crush, the more it's starting to feel like one. (285)

Maybe I'm more liquid than most people are. I always seem to take the shape of my container. (302) show less

I know this is an A+ contemporary, but personally I felt like I was waiting for things to happen.
The entire plot is Imogen questioning her sexuality and hanging out with her new friend group. That’s it. And 9 days was a little short for me to fully love the romance.

It’s very clear that this book is about the grey area between explicitly stating you’re queer or straight, and the trouble that comes with not stating anything. There are a million questions that come with it and that was the most interesting part of the book.
There are far better reviews that go into depth about this, and this book will be far more meaningful to people who relate. To quote Imogen: I always feel so out of my league when it comes to queer discourse. show more It’s like I’m surrounded by people doing synchronized dances on tightropes, and I’m just trying to keep my feet planted. show less