AMELIA, IF ONLY

A devoted teen leads her friends on a queer pilgrimage to a celebrity event (OK—more like a post-prom road trip to a YouTuber meet and greet).

Snarky, “chaotically bisexual” Amelia Applebaum has harbored a longtime parasocial obsession with recently-gone-viral YouTuber Walter Holland. Sure, he’s a total stranger, but he’s personally responded to her social media comments not once, but twice! As senior year comes to an end, Amelia drags her three best friends—Zora and twins Natalie and Mark—to a college campus in upstate New York, several hours’ drive away from their home in Westchester, for an in-person event with Walter. Anxious about change, Amelia feels that this is an important swan song for her and her close-knit friend group before they leave for college in the fall. Amelia never expected that by showing up and meeting Walter in person, they’d end up roping him into their adventure, transforming him from unattainable crush to genuine friend. Meanwhile, her feelings for Natalie seem to be developing into something more. Albertalli creates a realistic microcosm of queer and Jewish teen culture with no shortage of her signature humor and clever snark (Amelia and Walter are white and Jewish, the Jewish twins have a Chinese dad and are implied biracial, and Zora, “the group’s token gentile,” is cued Black). The friends’ banter is warm, endearing, and relatable.

Fresh and witty on the surface, tender and heartfelt at its core.