ARC Review: Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
10:00
Series: None
Author: Becky Albertalli
Published May 2nd 2023 by Balzer + Bray/May 11th 2023 by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
Goodreads Synopsis
With humor and insight, #1 New York Times bestseller Becky Albertalli explores the nuances of sexuality, identity, and friendship.
Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.
She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.
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.
Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.
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.
Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
After her best friend heads off to college, Imogen Scott has been in limbo until her own graduation, and she can join Lili on campus. Finally accepting an invitation to spend the weekend with Lili and her new friends, Imogen is nervous to meet those she has followed online. And when Lili drops the bombshell that her new friends think that Imogen and Lili used to be a thing, but are now best friends, Imogen doesn't know how she can pretend to be queer, when she the straightest girl going. Though the longer she spends with Tessa, the more Imogen starts to question everything she's ever thought about herself.
I simply loved this book! It was everything I was expecting from Becky, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way though. Imogen was the sweetest, and there were so many times I wanted to give her a hug, particularly as she started to reminisce and question her own sexuality. She had two best friends, Lili and Gretchen, and Lili was a doll, and Gretchen was awful. We all hate her, right? She completely steamrolled Imogen, and invalidated her thoughts and feelings all of the time. I still feel like she deserved worse than she got, but the ending of the book was good enough for me - at least Imogen was happy. Imogen and Tessa were so sweet together, and I loved their message threads so much. It all felt so real, and the way they went from new friends, to tentative flirting, and then the culmination of it all, was perfect! Such a great book, which I will definitely be recommending to my students!
Dates Read:
August 1-3, 2023
Rating
4 Stars
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