(2) YA High school senior Imogen has always thought of herself as a straight ally to the queer people close to her. But a visit to her best friend, first-year college student Lili, complicates matters. For one thing, Lili, in the process of trying to feel more secure in her pansexual identity, has told her college friends that Imogen is her ex-girlfriend. For another, the feelings Imogen develops for Tessa, one of those friends, tend toward romantic attraction. These experiences raise uncomfortable questions for the protagonist: why is she just beginning to realize she might be bisexual? Is she "appropriating queerness"? Sexual orientation is constantly front-of-mind for these characters, who are all trying to find where they fit in. Plenty of witty banter--and an endearing romance--lighten a novel that's full of introspection and that validates not only a variety of identities but also individuals' paces for figuring them out.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) YA Kate and her best guy friend Anderson are obsessed with musical theater--and also, frequently, with the same boys. At summer theater camp, they both crush on gorgeous "Coke-Ad Matt," who is also, they discover on the first day of junior year, a new student at their Georgia high school. Their "communal crush" gets complicated when Matt is cast as Kate’s love interest in the school's production of Once upon a Mattress. Though neither friend knows Matt's orientation, Kate believes Matt likes her and worries that dating him would affect her friendship with Anderson. Meanwhile, she's developing feelings for her cute, goofy neighbor, Noah, who's also in the show. As the central character, Kate is funny and sensitive, with a sharp eye for observation (her colorful descriptions of the habits of the school's jocks, a.k.a. "f-boys," are spot-on), a supportive and genuine relationship with Anderson, and palpable chemistry with Noah. The supporting cast, too, is well developed and naturally diverse--the fact that Kate and Anderson's good friend is transgender, and a castmate uses a wheelchair, is NBD. While theater fans will especially identify with the story, recognizing their passion in Kate's own, the solid friendship and romance at its core will appeal to a broader audience.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) YA In alternating chapters, teens Maya (a Muslim girl) and Jamie (a Jewish boy) narrate a story set amidst a longshot Georgia state senate campaign. Pushed by their politically progressive moms into canvassing together, they continue the work longer than expected--mostly because they believe in the cause (their candidate's opponent supports a bill that would restrict head and facial coverings, and though Maya doesn't wear hijab, her mother does)--but also because they enjoy each other's company. Jamie's cousin, who's the candidate's assistant campaign manager, complicates matters with his eagerness to exploit anything that might make the campaign go viral, including the pair's awkwardly burgeoning romance and the vandalism of Jamie's car with a white-supremacy sticker. Albertalli and Saeed work the above concerns naturally into a mostly light rom-com, along with elements of both characters' religions: Jamie's family is in prep mode for his sister's bat mitzvah, while Maya fasts for Ramadan for much of the book and struggles with her parents' reservations about her dating, either outside the faith or at all until she's older. Though the ending is hopeful, the novel leaves much unresolved, allowing its characters and their emotions to stay complicated.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(3) YA Leah, Simon's friend from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, stars in a story of their friend group's last few months of high school. Leah, who hasn't told others she's bisexual, slowly falls for her once-estranged friend Abby but worries about a variety of repercussions. Frequently funny, this novel is also socially aware, addressing issues of race, class, and body image in addition to sexuality.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) YA Ben and Arthur meet-cute without exchanging contact information. When they finally relocate each other, a series of creative attempts at first and "do-over" dates ensues before the relationship turns more serious. Underlying issues propel their conflicts, but mostly, the novel is a happy and laugh-out-loud-funny rom-com, full of pop-culture references and banter. Alternating point-of-view chapters make each protagonist's concerns believable and sympathetic, even as the plot hinges on unbelievable luck.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(2) YA When introverted Molly's self-confident twin Cassie starts dating the "fucking adorable" girl of her dreams, Molly worries she's losing her sister. Enter a crush: Molly's sweet, unapologetically uncool coworker Reid. With a matter-of-factly multiracial family (Molly, Cassie, and one of their mothers are white; their other mother, younger brother, and beloved cousin are not), this perceptive dramedy tackles substantial themes with warmth and subtlety.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(3) YA Sixteen-year-old Simon loves emailing Blue, an anonymous boy from school. But when another student sees the correspondence, the blossoming romance is threatened. Set in Georgia, this realistic coming-out story features a cast of unique, believable characters. Simon's humorous narrative alternates with his emails with Blue as Simon wonders, "Don't you think everyone should have to come out? Why is straight the default?"

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester