Imogen, Obviously: New for 2023, from the bestselling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

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When her best friend Lili told her friends they’ve dated before, her pretending bisexualism turns into a real search about her own sexual choices. She even finds out she likes Lili’s friend Tessa a little more than she can admit. The premise of this book is that Imogen goes to visit her childhood friend, Lili, at Lili's college. When she gets there, Lili pulls her aside and says she lied to her friends about something: she said that Imogen and Lili dated when they were younger. Awkward, since Imogen is straight and the two of them definitely didn't date, but Imogen is totally cool with it... Which, for some reason, Lili tries to convince her that she's not? This is probably going to be all over the place, but let’s see if I can actually cobble together a decent review. Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero--not even Lili's best friend, Tessa. Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in.

I mean, admittedly, I do wonder sometimes what queer girls think of me. But it’s just the occasional fleeting thought. Definitely not a you-love-me kind of thing. Imogen’s crush on Tessa is so cute. I loved their texts, their flirty banter, and their interactions. My heart was like “YES!!!!” whenever they interacted and it was so precious and cute and I adored it. This is a YA contemporary, with a strong romance side-plot, and it's beautiful. Imogen (h) is our fmc, who feels like she can't be queer because she feels like the epitome of straight girl, but also because her friends and the people have put her in the straight girl box, to the point where Imogen isn't given space to explore or question anything. Then Tessa (h) comes along, the most wonderful woman alive, just being her adorable, glorious, soft-butch lesbian self, and butterflies start fluttering in both their stomachs.So are you.” I pause, furrowing my brow. “Oh, God—do they think—I don’t want anyone to feel unsafe, or—” In a social media graphic for the book, the author describes Imogen as having "queer discourse brainworms", which is a good way to put it. She tries to educate herself about queer issues, but just ends up thinking that there’s only one right way to be queer. She doesn’t feel the same way about girls as she does in her crushes on guys, so she concludes that means she doesn’t like girls at all. Even when faced with obvious evidence to the contrary, she convinces herself that she’s just trying to be bisexual for clout and that she’s a bad person for appropriating queerness. sometimes i put off reading a book if i feel it’ll hit too close to home. this wasn’t the case. i knew it would hurt and it did. very much so. but i dived in anyway. more than anything it eased something in my soul, the way every single albertalli book has. Immy, come on—no one thinks you’re a queerphobe.” She shakes her head at me, smiling. “And yes, I know I’m queer. I’m valid. All of that. I guess it’s just me seeing the way—I don’t know. They have their shit together, you know?” Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.

Unfortunately, the self-policing from Imogen never felt particularly natural, even though she was written to be an overthinker and deeply insecure about this journey she was on. Even after a romantic dream she had that she could've just forgotten about and never told anyone about, Imogen lays awake and accuses herself of being an entitled straight woman who was appropriating the queer experience in her sleep. bi. bisexual. lili, i’m bi. it feels bigger than i want it to be. do i really have to announce this? can’t i just feel something and live inside it while it’s happening and not analyze it to death?” I know! I know it’s ridiculous. Not even sure what was in my head at that point, but I just wanted to be more—legit, I guess? So I was like, ‘Yeah, totally, I totally had a girlfriend,’ except—Immy, I was not selling it. Like, at all.” How do you know—how do you really know if someone likes you? Especially with girls. It gets so blurry sometimes. Two girls will hug each other right in front of you, and you’ll have no idea if they’re girlfriends or besties or what. Unless they’re actively making out, you need floating heart emojis and a movie score to interpret it. Everyone in the friend’s group was a gem and I could honestly read more about them all. Imogen was precious and I just wanted her protected at all costs. And Tessa! Oh my. What a sweetheart. If only everyone could have their first crush/significant other be like Tessa.overall, imogen, obviously was obviously an incredible read, espeically for the end of pride month! it was perfect for a summer afternoon, and it is so encouraging to see such good queer/bi representation in YA nowadays! Tessa, the girl who slow danced with Imogen so tenderly, the girl who warmed up Imogen's hands when she refused to wear her blazer, and then insisted on the blazer like a sweetheart. Lili shakes her head. “How are you not freaked out? Like, you have to be wondering if I’m secretly in love with you, right?” Whoa, nice!” I say, cringing before the words have even left my lips. My voice always pitches higher when people talk about girls kissing—which makes literally no sense, seeing as I’m surrounded by queer people 24/7. I know Gretchen finds it annoying sometimes. Though other times, she says it’s adorable, and that I’m an innocent bean with Mommy’s- first-day-at-PFLAG energy. But that just makes me even more self-conscious. She was staring straight ahead when she said it, didn’t even miss a beat when the light turned green. But she was biting her lip just like she is now, and I almost wonder—

Lili presses both hands to her cheeks. “We got together on New Year’s, broke up in July, but that’s it. You’re you, we’re best friends, we grew up together, all of it. Everything else is true. Oh—but you’re queer. They think you’re bi.” She winces a little. “Sorry.” There will be spoilers below this point, but I'll mark them as I see fit. Still, read at your own risk since our definitions of spoiler may not match up.Hey, are we meeting everyone at Winterfield? I can be ready in five. I just—” She stops short. “Oh my God—Imogen, hi! I’m Tessa. Sorry—I usually wear clothes.” And god — the romance?? ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. I loved how real everything felt, from the jokes to the texts to the little details and discoveries they made about each other. Sexuality is fluid and exists on a spectrum—and can often be a difficult and complex aspect of our identity. What would you say to folks who might be grappling with their own identities or sexuality? Is there anything you know now that you wish someone had said to you?