GOING BICOASTAL

 

Going Bicoastal

By:  Dahlia Adler

Book Quote:

"The thing is, I've decided what I'm gonna do.  And I'm at least 80 percent certain about it.  But if I pick up that phone call, I'm gonna have to be 100 percent there."(p17)

Library Cat Rating:  😻 😻 😻 😻 

Review:

          Should she stay or should she go?  Natalya Fox is at a crossroads with the summer before senior year looming large and on the precipice of what feels like a life altering decision.  Does she stay in her beloved NYC, in the only home she's known with her father, pursue several part-time jobs she's not particularly passionate about, but MAYBE finally talk to the cute girl at the coffee shop?  OR does she accept the internship her mother has managed to secure her at her LA marketing firm that will look good on a college resume and give her an opportunity to fix their estranged relationship?  This feels like a moment that could make or break her future.  Read along as both summers play out in alternating timelines.

    VERDICT this is a truly unique YA romance.  I really like this novel for the unique manner in which parallel stories lines for the main character, Natalya Fox, show bisexual representation and how her beautiful queerness exists whether she is in a relationship with a male or female partner.  The sliding doors style of this romance is valuable as readers get to see both sides of what feels like a monumental, lifechanging, OMG moment play out.  While Natalya leads different lives with the different choices, (slight spoiler coming) there are challenges and fun on both ends and at the end of both summers, readers get to choose who she gets to be with in her happy for now moment.

    Adler is an author whose writing continues to get better with each novel. I love the queer worlds that she creates and the the generally kickass parents. There was also some very cool cultural Jewishness happening with both the main and side characters.

Awards:  

NYPL's Best Books for Teens 2023

Citation:

Adler, Dahlia.  (2023).  Going Bicoastal.  New York, NY:  Wednesday Books.  

Annotation:
Natalya is trying to decide how to spend the summer before her senior year of high school.  Does she stay in  NYC with her father, hop between part time jobs, and continue to crush on the girl at the coffee shop, or head to LA, try to reconnect with her estranged mother and try her hand at marketing?  Readers see what happens in both timelines and help Natalya pick who gets to stay in her happy ending.  

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Extras:

To learn more about the author and book, visit Dahlia Adler's website here.