4.5

Blessed again with another queer coming of age story by our queen Becky Albertalli!!
“Small town” queerness, change friendships and found family, and of course the dousing in humor we find in all Becky Albertalli books!

Amelia is slightly obsessed with a chaotic bisexual YouTuber but besides being distracted and freaked out every time he did anything on social media, I felt like she was definitely cool about it.

Amelia is chaotic, very bi, supportive of her best friends and definitely not at all afraid of change. I did have to get used to Amelia at first if I’m going to be very honest, but that resolved quickly. Anxiety is afraid of her, she’s determined and just fun to read about. She’s loud, crazy and all over the place in all the best ways.

I absolutely loved the surprise mentions of the characters from my favorite Albertalli book “Imogen, obviously” and this book definitely replicated the same inner turmoil about queerness in the most perfect way. How can you be so so sure about yourself, how can you have all the evidence, all the signs, all the sparkles…and still doubt yourself? Both characters in this book put it into words and felt seen by each other. It just felt very real to me.


Overal it was a fun time again, definitely didn’t best Imogen from her spot as favorite Becky Albertalli book but also somewhere high up there ❤️

I enjoyed this one but it took me a while to get into. I found Amelia a bit irritating and immature, but I quite liked the plot and so I stuck with it and did end up liking the read by the end. Not my favourite read but glad I gave it a read! A lovely queer read that I think a lot of teens would enjoy.

3.5⭐️

This was a cute book about a road trip.

The story explores fan culture and how parasocial relationships play a role in a (young) person's life. Amelia has a huge crush on Walter, a popular vlogger, and convinces her friends to join her.
Amelia is funny, and her inner dialogue is that of a typical teen. She obviously cares a lot about her friends, but at times, it's a bit pushy when it comes to Walter. But her friends entertain it and tease her about it, so it's all good. It's a queer story, not just because of a romance storyline. Amelia wonders about her bisexuality and how it's possible that her friends have always been so sure about their romantic preferences. But it's all good vibes and never angsty. I looked at the notes I'd written down while reading, and one of them was:"Reads how an easy summer vacation feels."

The one thing I could've gone without were the segments of YT and Reddit threads and podcast transcription. I personally like it derailed the flow of the story. Although I do understand that for people who aren't familiar with fan culture, these segments do paint a broader picture of how these parasocial relationships are formed and can be harmless fun, and sometimes can turn toxic.

I loved the premise and the cover, unfortunately that was all.
I do think that 14 year old me would have loved this book but 22 year old me that’s read it unfortunately didn’t.
I found the writing to feel very young (again fine for the audience it’s intended for) and a few sentences describing things made me cringe a bit.
I found it unfortunate that I didn’t like this as I have read and loved other books from this author

2,75⭐️

Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli is a quick YA sapphic novel.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly taken with this book.
It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t especially memorable either.

The romance wasn’t the focus of the story as I thought it would be, and in general, I didn’t feel much chemistry between the characters.

Personally, I found the parts focusing on Walter and his YouTube journey to be the most interesting.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved reading this and seeing the realisation and development of Amelia's feelings. Overall a cute queer read.

I LOVE Becky's writing. Especially the way she writes relatable characters. Many of us don't have the black or white sexuality realisation haha. The "thinking I am straight until years after my friends came out" scenario is so comforting to read and I loved seeing them fall in love. We need more beautiful, soft and joyful queer stories like this <3

Amelia felt very real, very chaotic and messy and honestly sometimes exhausting but ain't that the truth of being a teenager?! As a reader I spent the whole book rooting for her to finally realise what we could tell from the first few pages.

I wasn't as emotionally invested in this narrative as other Albertallis I have read, but not every character is THE ONE for everyone, and I know a number of young people who will love Amelia. Really loved the timely discussions around online fandom, parasocial infatuation and the occasional toxic nature of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In Amelia, If Only, we follow sixteen-year-old Amelia as she sets off on a road trip with her best friends, driven by a hope that she’ll finally meet, and maybe even connect with, her long-time celebrity crush, Walter. Along the way, she might discover new truths about herself, and begins to realise that real love might be closer than she ever expected.

Becky Albertalli’s writing is, as always, beautifully tuned to her characters. She has such a gift for capturing the voice of a new teen POV and making it feel completely authentic. While I found Amelia a bit less relatable than Imogen (from the previous book in the same universe), as she was very chipper, with constant chatting and nicknaming... I still enjoyed getting to know her. Her energy and enthusiasm were undeniably fun.

The friendship group was an absolute highlight - radiating queer joy and deep, supportive bonds throughout the story. I also loved the cameos and connections to characters from Imogen, Obviously during the road trip, and getting to see what's been happening to them in the year since the previous story ended!

Amelia’s parasocial infatuation with Walter was well written, evolving in a way that felt emotionally honest and respectful.

And the romantic twist at the end? Just… aww. So cuuute.

Overall, this is a heartfelt, joyful read that celebrates friendship, growing up, and figuring things out one messy feeling at a time.

Five stars, no critiques from me.

This was such a sweet YA pride month read but also went much deeper than that, as someone who recently had similar realisations to Amelia - it made me laugh and cry, and I felt so, so seen in the way she described her sexuality and her feelings towards Natalie. The commentary on fandom and parasocial relationships was spot on, and for once actually felt like the author knew exactly what they were talking about (and exactly what 2010s reddit was like).

I was worried that Amelia's narrative might feel cringe or the pop culture references might feel out of place, but they were perfectly used in this book and fit right in with the tone of the story. I particularly loved her nicknames for all of her friends, as well as the lovely bonds between them and how they knew her better than she knew herself at times. Overall a heart-warming and emotional read.

A truly wholesome story full of great friendships, cute couples, lots of queer characters, humour, and the reality of social media and parasocial relationships.

Talking about social media, fandoms and the like, I appreciated how the author didn't just show the good but also the bad. I can honestly say I've never been part of a fandom so it was interesting to see how obsessed people can actually get. Id definitely never want to be famous / well known.

Amelia was an absolutely crazy character. [ in a good way obviously] Oh to have that much energy lol. I could literally feel her buzzing off the pages. The slow burn build up to her first meeting with Walter was intense and the transcripts from social media only added to the hype.

Ive not ever read anything from the author before but I'll definitely be seeking out more of her books.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC.

I absolutely loved this book, I loved the collection of queer characters and their friendships and seeing those develop. Imogen obviously is one of my favourite books so it was lovely to see the crossover with those characters also. I felt that there were too many of the internet posts scattered in the book as while they helped give more context some of them felt like they couldn’t been skipped and I wanted to just get back to the story. But other than that I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was so well written portraying how Amelia’s ADHD brain worked

Amelia, If Only is a story about Amelia and her friends embarking on a road trip to attend an event featuring a popular YouTube star. It took a bit to really get into it, maybe it's just my age, or perhaps the book wasn't meant for me. The social media posts and comments scattered throughout the chapters felt a bit odd, they didn't seem to really tie into the main storyline. I wasn't particularly fond of them, and I couldn't relate to the parasocial aspects. However, the book does provide an insightful look into parasocial relationships and how people behave towards celebrities and influencers both online and off. Amelia, with her ever-changing nicknames for people, could be a bit much at times, but maybe that's just her teenage self shining through. I didn't feel the tension or potential romance between Amelia and her love interest. The romance was practically nonexistent, and I couldn't pick up any hints that they had romantic feelings for each other throughout the book. All in all, it was a decent read. The short chapters made it easy to get through.

okay, personally, i've never been a fan of books loaded with pop culture and/or fandom references (unless its music references, those are cute). a few are fine - like how rick riordan picks his references tastefully so PJO remains suspended in time (for the most part) - but when a book is overloaded with references you just know it'll be impossible to read in like, five years tops. the internet has a short attention span and i think authors overlook that when they write books like this - however i think for a book intending to be read in the next ten years, its a very fun time :3

aside from a few cringes here n there (sorry, i'm not immune), once i got into the story and attached to the characters, i absolutely loved this. i was so excited for amelia you would've thought i was meeting walter holland myself :p

i had a few minor gripes (the book being too short to go over everything it should've covered was my main one) but overall its a silly quick read (i finished it in one sitting!!) & i will def be reading more albertalli books this pride month!! <3

Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc! I was absolutely giddy to read this book!

I was a big Fan of Imogen Obviously and how bisexuality and the struggle of never feeling enough were portrayed there.

In Amelia, if only bisexuality is again the main Topic bit this time it's more about escapism, parasocial relationships and queerbaiting. Especially in the last two I was very interested and I was not disappointed!

First of all I have to say that sometimes I cannot connect fully with Ya Stories anymore, but Becky Albertalli catches me with other aspects of the story that for example the teenage struggles that I can't relate to anymore never feel like a negative point. I focus on other parts and that's fine! I really loved Amelia's scattered thoughts and her rapid fire thinking. I would assume she is on the neurodiverse spectrum (it's never said!) and her hyperfixations really shine through. Which makes me come to the point of the story I really liked: parasocial relationships! Through Amelia, Walter and diverse multimedia aspects like tweets or reddit discussions this topic gets really explored! It's kind of a different approach than I thought it would because Amelia really feeds into the parasocial relationship and always justifies herself. So I was pleasantly surprised with the end, wished for a bit more ultimately but it's fine.

Other than that the friend group dynamic was chef's kiss but I feel like Becky Albetralli is a pro with that in every book. I enjoyed that we had so many different bisexual people who all depicted and talked about the struggles but also the good sides. I felt like Amelia, really seen by Walters coming out story and could relate on every level. While knowing my whole life that I liked more than one gender (hello Laura Dern) finding a word and a community is something entirely different.

Sooo all in all a great and quick read, which I can like Imogen Obviously only recommend!

This book is a true smorgasbord of things I absolutely love - road trip, friends to lovers, unapologetic nerdiness, AND exploration and discussion of parasocial relationships in fandom space?? Pinch me, I must be dreaming! Amelia, as a protagonist, is loud and funny and just the right amount of annoying that she feels like a real person. I loved every single character in this book, to be honest, and I would very much like them to all be my friends. The journey (both physical and metaphorical) that Amelia goes on to finally understand her feelings for her best friend was so sweet, and frustrating, and relatable - exactly as it should be!

I'm such a fan of the epistolary form in novels, and interspersing social media exchanges and transcripts of YouTube videos is such a perfect modernisation of this. I think it had the potential to slow the pace of the story, but, for me, it just helped to build the tension between chapters while giving me sneaky little peaks into the wider world that these characters inhabit.

If I had but one criticism, it would be that we didn't get to spend enough time with Amelia and Natalie post-discovery of their feelings for one another. I loved seeing the two of them finally come together, but I'm not going to pretend it didn't leave me ever-so-slightly wanting to see a bit more of their romance blossoming.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I looooove these books in the Imogenverse so much, they have a special place in my heart!

This book was fantastic, and I loved Amelia so much. I loved how she was so full of energy, and so full of love and sass. Sometimes I did get tired of how she was so much always on the go and that seemed to be her own personality trait, but I felt the book began to dig deeper in to this as it went on.

I really love how in both of the Imogenverse books so far, Albertalli explores online culture in the queer communities and how so much of it can be so good. It can forge real connections, and people can feel seen and heard and validated in ways they haven’t before. But then there’s also the toxic side, that oversteps boundaries and bullies rather than supports. I loved how in this one she explored fan and shipping culture, particularly parasocial relationships, because this is so timely. A lot of the discussions had in this, or the online forum comment sections, looked SO real it was startling. I’ve been in fandoms for so many years and have seen so many instances like what is depicted in the book.

I loved all the characters in this, and I’m hoping we get more books!! Walter and Mitch, anyone??

I loved Amelia and Natalie’s relationship, and I loved how nearly this entire book was them both being oblivious to each others feelings. Well, a big part of this book was just Amelia being oblivious herself…
It was a slow burn, but it was a good one!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Actual rating 3.75 ⭐️

This was really good!!! I loved Imogen, Obviously so I was so extremely curious about this this one... and even though this wasn't (for me) as good as the first book, it was still really good!!!

I love Albertalli's writing, her characters, her found family!!! I'm really hoping she will write more about this group of fringe because I love them!

It was a very cute summery romance book that I read in under a day. The characters, their friendships and the banter were well done and very sweet. I especially liked the nicknames that made me laugh at times. I did find that in some parts Amelia, the main character could become a little annoying. However, that was definitely not the whole time. Besides that, the romances throughout the novel were adorable. I liked that the love stories were gradual and that they built up.

The plotline was good: A group of friends goes on a road trip to an event that a youtuber they like is hosting. On the way there, they find out more about themselves and each other.

The book analyses parasocial relationships. I didn’t know what that was before I read this book. The book tried to show that in little exerpts from media appearances and fan messages. I found that they took you out of the story a bit too much, seeing as only a few of them were really necessary or added to the plot, but the idea behind them was good

So overall I thought it was a very sweet and fast-paced book that’s fun to read during summertime, with an added bonus of interesting social commentary.

“I’d just wonder if love ever gets lost in translation.”

Amelia, if Only was a super cute read, but also an important one.
The way B.A. describes feelings and memories triggers a soft nostalgia, the one you can only feel during/about teenage years. She has a perfect expression to describe that in the book: the “Kodachrome feelings” –and I’m pretty sure I’ll “steal” it from her starting now because that’s exactly that (if you’ve ever seen Sophia Coppola’s Virgin Suicides, you know). It’s how it appears, how it feels. This book talks a lot about memories, about the “sensation of time” during that road-trip between friends who run to conquer their future, their first loves, but also their past. None of them will come back the same from this trip. In a matter of a few days, they think, change, evolve, realize –...things– and their discussions about (in)temporality make even more sense.
I loved how it was even more noticeable by the use of “fandom pieces” that are sprinkled all around the pages. Because this book is also about fandom, about how it can help you grow and feel seen (and help you when you are questioning), but also how destructive it can be, especially for the person who is in the spotlight (I don’t want to spoil here, but everything that is said about Walter is SO important). I adored that vision, between vitriol and marshmallow, because all of that felt also super real –and familiar.
I wish I could come back in time and hand this book to “teenager me”. I can’t, obviously. That’s a pity because they would feel less alone, less lost, and would understand himself so much quicker. Instead I’ve read this book with nostalgia and delight, and –should it be translated in French– that’s one I’ll gift to my friend’s teens.

Thank you to the author and HarperCollins UK, Children's | Harper Fire for the eARC on NetGalley. My opinions are my own.