Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

5 reviews

seventhswan's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Although I've not read a whole lot of it, this is probably the best YA fiction I've picked up! I thought Imogen was just the sweetest character, and was rooting for her from the get go. The plot felt super realistic and authentic, the representation of a range of identities and perspectives within the LGBT+ community was on point, and everything was extremely feelgood from start to finish. I'm not someone who gets annoyed by pop culture references in fiction anyway, but I especially enjoyed them in this book as little signposts to other queer media and artists. Also: the characters were not irritating, which is usually my biggest problem with YA - teenagers are irritating, being a teenager is irritating, but it's not something I look to relive! Setting this story largely at a university and having the characters be actual young adults instead of older children solved a lot of this for me. 

Where I thought this book fell down was the ending. The conflict between Imogen and
Gretchen
was never fully resolved, and I wanted more than a couple of paragraphs of Imogen and
Tessa
actually getting to be girlfriends! I'd definitely read a sequel if there was one, though, and I'd be open to reading more of Albertalli's books in future.
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twistykris's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I was so entrenched in thinking of myself as the token straight, world's best ally. Like, that was my autofill. And the idea that I might not actually be straight seemed... a little too convenient, I guess? Or unrealistic.

This book really reached into my brain and took every thought I had about my sexuality before I came out as bi 3 years ago at the ripe age of 30. Imogen's internal dialogue was incredibly relatable to me, from the "wait this girl is pretty" to "no I can't be queer, I'm just faking it and I'm taking attention away from 'real' queer folks" to "but what about those other times I saw a pretty girl? was I faking those feelings too?"
All of the characters felt very fleshed-out, even a certain side character that infuriated me. I also really liked the interspersed text messages, especially the ones between Imogen and Tessa.. SO cute!

I added this book to my TBR after seeing a TikTok recommending queer books and it wasn't until I read my friend Kelsey's spoiler-free review that I realized it (mostly) takes place in the town we went to college in, so I immediately upped this book on my list! It was very fun to hear references to familiar places (Seneca Farms ice cream is 💯, it's true).

A wonderfully relatable book for me and clearly so many others 🩷💜💙
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binevolentbookworm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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kelseyr713's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read this because my friend Brian posted a good review, plus it's set in the same city I went to college in, which is very cool. All of the characters are wonderfully realized, and Imogen's "bunny brain" is so relatable. I liked the text messages throughout too.

I want a sequel SO BADLY!! There's a lot of potential for one. In the meantime, I want to read more of Becky's books.
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imstephtacular's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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