Book Review: Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

‘Imogen, Obviously’ is Becky Albertalli’s sixth solo release, and ninth, including collaborations. It came out in May 2023, and follows a one-week window where Imogen Scott realises she’s bisexual.

Albertalli has been one of the staple figures in YA LGBT+ fiction since her debut, ‘Simon Vs The Homo Sapien Agenda’, which was released back in 2015, with a film adaptation, ‘Love Simon’ coming out in 2018, and a subsequent TV spin-off ‘Love Victor’.

As a fan of Albertalli’s work, I found it clear that throughout the ‘Imogen, Obviously’, the readers are given glimpses into the circumstances and pressure that forced Albertalli herself to come out as bisexual in 2020. After all, as one of the figureheads of Young Adult LGBTQ+ fiction, readers argued she was stealing the spotlight from Own Voices authors. Gretchen makes a similar argument when Imogen’s sister, Edith informs them that a celebrity from a queer TV show comes out due to pressure from fans.

In the book, Imogen is eighteen years old and lives in rural New York, half an hour away from her local college campus, where her best friend Lili attends school. Although Lili isn’t far from her, she feels worlds away. Having recently come out as pansexual, and been embraced by a small group of fellow queer students, Lili is living her best life, she’s found her tribe, and although she doesn’t feel left behind, she and her friend Gretchen aren’t necessarily on the same page.

Gretchen is bisexual, and came out at a young age. She acknowledges that she’s experienced homophobia and is protective of her safe space, and the version of the world she sees around her. In doing so, she struggles with her views being challenged. Like when celebrities in queer media come out because the audience believe they’re taking opportunities away from queer actors or performers. Gretchen provides ample social commentary about the state of the world, and although sometimes she’s correct, at points her opinions may be extreme.

What I found very interesting was how Albertalli flipped the fake dating trope on its head. When Lili feels like her sexuality may be invalidated among her more confident and experienced queer peers, she lies to her college friends that she had a relationship with a girl. That girl being Imogen. So when Imogen gets into Lili’s university, and visits for a weekend, they have to pretend to be exes. Which only gets more complicated when Imogen develops a crush on one of the girls in Lili’s gaggle of gays: Tessa, a proud lesbian. What started as Imogen making friends becomes something more as she and Tessa begin texting, sharing old photos, and stories. So when Tessa invites Imogen to the local gay frat house’s dark academia party, she can’t think of a reason why she shouldn’t!

‘Imogen, Obviously’ explores commentary and discourse of realising your identity, coming out, and embracing who you are. What I loved, however, is how Albertalli framed the infamous ‘oh’ moment, when the realisation strikes Imogen. Throughout the story, she catches herself comparing her experiences to other queer people in her life, such as her younger sister Edith, and of course, Gretchen.

One of my other favourite things about this book is how it reads as a love letter to queer media, in the years since ‘Simon Vs The Homo Sapien Agenda’ came out in 2015. It was lovely to read how queer teenagers relate to pop culture references and queer media beyond shows like Glee, or TV that is blatantly queerbaiting. It was so positive, empowering and heart-warming.

I loved this book. I read it in a handful of hours, just devouring every last word. It was a lovely story and I would wholeheartedly recommend it!