Published: 13 June 2023 (print)/13 June 2023 (audio) 
Publisher: Wednesday Books / Spotify Audiobooks
Pages: 336/8 hrs and 57 mins
Narrator: Mara Wilson
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult Romance
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4.5 Stars
A queer Sliding Doors YA rom-com in which a girl must choose between summer in NYC with her dad (and the girl she’s always wanted) or LA with her estranged mum (and the guy she never saw coming). In Dahlia Adler’s Going Bicoastal, there’s more than one path to happily ever after. Natalya Fox has twenty-four hours to make the biggest choice of her stay home in NYC for the summer with her dad (and finally screw up the courage to talk to the girl she’s been crushing on), or spend it with her basically estranged mum in LA (knowing this is the best chance she has to fix their relationship, if she even wants to.) (Does she want to?)
How’s a girl supposed to choose? She can’t, and so both summers play out in alternating timelines – one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mum, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the girl she’s always wanted. And one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mum, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the guy she never saw coming.
I have wanted to read this since mid 2023 when it came out and now I finally have access to it and I loved it. I love Sliding Doors and I love seeing two different versions play out based on one single decision. The issue here is both options were good. I loved the natural way each relationship developed and how both had potential and benefits for Natalya.
With her east coast choice, the connection and relationship with Elly felt organic and real. You believed that they may have seen one another visiting the same places over and over again without their meeting and connection be a perfect stars aligning situation. Even though it was classed as a safe choice, it still gave Nat a chance to take chances.
For the west coast, Adam was a great new discovery and a good lesson on her taking risks and changing up her routine. His family and his story was unique and engaging and I loved the ease in which they suited one another.
All characters in both versions were really well developed. I kept forgetting most of them were teenagers, seventeen or eighteen, they felt and sometimes acted a lot older, I often found myself thinking they were in their twenties. But that isn’t a disservice to Adler, I think it’s great to show that people that age can be mature and confident, and can have engaging lives that don’t constantly remind you of being at school. And when the younger kids were hanging out with people older, they never felt like they were missing out, or immature. It was an easy mix and great to read.
I was glad there were more conversations happening that weren’t entirely school related. I enjoyed seeing characters have their attention and plot on something other than school, or having their deep and meaningful summer of change (not that those don’t have a place). This story balances the big decisions of leaving school and having a summer themed book all without making it “the summer that changes their life” profoundness. The casualness was what made it so enjoyable to read.
I loved Nat’s parents and the different relationships and seeing the two storylines overlap was creative and a great way to show off how some things would always have happened, even if you made a different choice. There is also great representation of the Jewish faith and seeing it play a large part in Nat’s life was something I hadn’t seen before in a book. I’ve read stories where being Jewish is mentioned, but not shown to be as intertwines in day to day life as this.
As I said, I loved the Sliding Doors element, I thought there was going to be a way to have it merge together, but Adler makes it a choose your own adventure which puts great power in the readers hands and lets you pick your own ending. I must say I had trouble picking, but based on my enjoyment of each side of the story I did enjoy one a lot more, or I felt was more rewarding I should say. One would have happened anyway, while the other one felt like she was missing out if that hadn’t happened. Cryptic enough? No spoilers? Good-o.
You can purchase Going BiCoastal via the following
