Going Bicoastal

I read about Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler on a Jewish book website. It was a young adult romance with the main character being queer. I guess that's exactly what it is. But to me, it was a quirky little speculative fiction which two different "what ifs" played out in alternating chapters. It even had a "choose your own ending" option.

Natalya is a queer girl living in New York City with her father while maintaining a really distant relationship with her mother who lives clear across the country in Los Angeles. After not seeing her mom much since her move several years earlier, the mom wants Natalya to spend the summer with her, working as an intern at the company where she works. Her dad seems fine with it. But Natalya doesn't want to leave her dad behind. She doesn't like change. She likes playing it safe.

What if Natalya stays in New York City? Will she form a relationship with the red-headed girl she's been crushing on all year? Will she be able to improve the long-distance relationship with her mother?

But what if she goes to Los Angeles? Will her dad be okay without her? Will she be able to improve her relationship with her mother? Will she be able to deal with being out of her routine and out of her comfortable place?

I loved the Judaism of the novel and that's what kept me going. I enjoyed reading this but not sure I could recommend it to most of my reader friends.