Reviewing & Going Bicoastal

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler

#Contemporary #YA #Bisexual #RomCom

CW: Pre-book Divorce, Absentee Parent, Money Problems, Classism, Child Abandonment, Discussion of Self Harm, Discussion and Anxiety Surrounding Homelessness, Capitalism, Discussion of Depression, Swearing, Sexual Content Involving Minors (Fade to Black), Underage Drinking

5/5

If you want to tag along for a Jewish/bi romance, Dahlia Adler is a great author to seek out! I discovered her work with Cool for the Summer, which I read back in 2022. Now I've finally read another book by her, Going Bicoastal. It's another summer story! While this may only be my second Adler book, I've kept my eyes on her bibliography. There are a number of enticing options, and I know from my experience, Adler's writing is addictive. 

Natalya Fox is faced with a choice for how to spend the summer before her senior year of high school. She was expecting to spend it at home in N.Y.C. with her father, but her mother has extended an invitation to stay with her in L.A.. Natalya doesn't have a close or positive relationship with her mother, so this could be their chance to patch things up. On the other hand, there's this cute redhead girl she'd miss out on flirting with if she left. Instead of making one choice, Natalya makes two, each in an alternative timeline. Both are filled with romance, adventure, and a few of the same revelations. In the end, the audience is left to decide which we like better. 

If you enjoy alternative timeline stories or choose-your-own-adventure novels, Going Bicoastal is going to be a fun novel for you. When Adler came out as bi, she wanted to take the premises of the stories she loved/wanted as a teen and make them queer. This one was inspired by Two Summers by Aimee Friedman. Although I haven't read Friedman's book, I knew I'd like this one because it was similar to the movies Sliding Doors, Mr. Nobody, and Look Both Ways. It's interesting to think about what impact just one choice can make. I don't wish to spoil, but I'll say that the L.A. timeline really benefited from that ripple effect. It was also very wholesome to see what things turned out the same or similarly in both timelines. This happened because Natalya is so fully herself, even if she struggles to see it. 

I appreciate that Adler put effort into making the two timelines easy to tell apart. The most obvious way is that each one focuses on a different nickname for Natalya. Her father calls her Tal and her mom calls her Nat. The chapter titles use the nicknames too. Another way is that the summers are not mirrors. Even when some similar things happen, each story follows its own path and goes at its own pace. I only got confused once when I hadn't realized that Tal had met a Nat character. It hadn't happened on page before that point, but it did actually make sense for her to have met this specific character. 

Going Bicoastal comes right out with it that it'll be queer and it does not disappoint. It reflects the reality that queer people flock together. Anytime I've seen a friend group on TV that has one gay person and the rest are cis-het, it doesn't make sense to me. Both timelines give Natalya full access to the queer community. Romantic, sexual, and gender identities across the board. There's even an aromantic asexual character if you squint (she's a cameo character from Cool for the Summer). Natalya is bisexual, as the pun of the title implies. Tal has a romance with a girl and Nat has a romance with a guy. Adler never gives gatekeepers or bigots a chance to see Tal's as a lesbian romance and Nat's as a straight one. Tal jokes about past hookups which include guys. Nat is dating a cis-het guy but makes sure he knows and has no issues with her being bi. Overall, anyone looking for queer rep would be very happy with this book. 

People looking for Jewish rep will also be pleased with Going Bicoastal. Shabbat is celebrated throughout both versions of the summer. It's something that's used to help bond Nat with her mom again and learn about her romantic interest. While Shabbat is not mentioned as much in Tal's summer, it's only because it isn't a novelty. She celebrates almost weekly with her father and their family friends who live across the hall. Things like how Judaism sees being bisexual, Jewish Geography, and to what level does Natalya keep kosher are discussed in the book. We like discussing who we are, it's a part of l'dor va dor (generation to generation). Essentially, keeping our people and culture alive by making sure we aren't forgotten. It's likely why there's been this push for happy Jewish representation in the last decade or so. Too many books about us being lost to the Holocaust. While knowing about genocide is important, being able to read a cute romcom about Jewish characters is equally important. 

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler will be right up your alley if you like queer and Jewish romcoms, books that do interesting things with plot structure and time, and you'd like to learn more about music and the culinary arts. You'll find yourself binge reading it and wishing for more. Maybe you'll also find that you have a favorite version of the summer! (Mine was L.A., but not by a lot.) Natalya Fox might be going bicoastal, but you should be going to wherever you get your books!