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

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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. 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. i loved the small confidence imogen started growing as she started hanging out with tessa more. her awakening felt so real. i thought the author pulled off writing the relationship development through a span of a week, and imogens feelings for tessa felt so realistic. the relationship itself is so soft and wholesome. it’s of many firsts for imogen, but it’s also slow. imogen starts off thinking of tessa only as a friend, but the more she hangs out with her and texts her (the text messages were so cute!), she starts questioning why suddenly her heart is beating faster, why she’s feeling butterflies in her stomach, why she’s accepting her invitation to a party, why she’s feeling shy and blushing when in front of her. the romance is a pretty big part of the story, and it’s not something i would consider a side plot. i think the awakening itself and imogen coming to terms with sexuality goes hang in hand with the romance itself. neither felt like it was overpowering the other, and because i’m a romance reader first and everything else second, i loved this approach by the author. it made the story easier to get into and relationship easier to root for. Senior year has arrived for Effie Galanos, but her mind has been firmly on college for a long time. After all, she has to not only consider what school might fit — her major, where she wants to be located, campus culture — but also make sure the campus is accessible enough for her to maneuver in her wheelchair. And when it seems like her longtime crush is also applying to her dream school, she begins to imagine a whole new world of possibilities. Where You See Yourself is an absolutely necessary and affirming addition to YA shelves. I wish this book had been even longer! I didn't want it to end. It was so cosy and comforting and important, it has claimed such a special place in my heart.

So are you.” I pause, furrowing my brow. “Oh, God—do they think—I don’t want anyone to feel unsafe, or—” 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?” Nothing bad! I mean, not, like, catastrophic? I don’t know.” I nod slowly, and she looks at me. “So. My friends—” it was lili handing imogen the label. saying: try this on for size. let me know how it fits. look how you don’t have to change, even if the way others see you “changes.” 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’s a raging hetero—not even Lili’s good friend Tessa.It’s not that I didn’t want a boyfriend. I did. I do. I fall in and out of crushes all the time. It’s just not something I talk about much—I don’t even get into the specifics with Gretchen and Lili. Crushes have always felt viscerally private to me. I know that’s weird. It’s definitely sort of lonely. But I don’t think being single ever made me feel inadequate. 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?”

i spent most of college being quietly out. entering a new environment away from home gave me the space to explore my identity, to figure out & be who i needed to be. i did it slowly, casually slipped into conversations & texts, chewing on my nails wondering if people Got It. Okay, Declan says he’s now a—direct quote—‘gaping wound of hunger.’” Lili looks up from her phone. “Bro, you are literally in a dining hall surrounded by food. Does he think he’s not allowed to eat until we get there?” 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. This one’s for the girls with anxiety, for the chronic people pleasers, for anyone who worries if they’re trying too hard or not hard enough, for the ones still figuring it out. A lot of people will recognize themselves in Imogen. A big-hearted, deeply vulnerable, love-bubbly tumble through self-discovery.”— Casey McQuiston, author of #1 New York Times bestselling I Kissed Shara Wheeler it's about growing into yourself, the one that’s ever-evolving. about love and doubt and fear, about fluidity and uncertainty and allowing yourself the space to simply exist. that there’s no right way to be.

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there’s something beautiful there—a hand holding yours as you figure it out. knowing that when you’re ready to say the words, someone is there.