Imogen, Obviously

Plot Summary
High school senior Imogen Scott goes to visit her childhood bestie Lili at Blackwell College for spring break. Although only 30 minutes from her hometown Blackwell College is an intimidating journey for the anxious, people pleaser, and Imogen has spent six months turning down Lili's invitation to visit. One reason being that since Lili came out of the closet and went off to college Imogen feels that she might not fit in with Lili's new queer friends. Despite having a queer sister and participating in the straight gay alliance club in high school Imogen often feels like an outsider as a heterosexual ally. Adding to the stress of meeting new college kids is the fact that Lili has been calling Imogen her ex-girlfriend to not seem so romantically inexperienced to her new friends that came out long before college.
Imogen has to navigate forming friendships based on a lie, the public nature of dorm life, and confusing crushes that make her question her sexuality. Alongside the narrative, a very stressful week is detailed through text messages and internal monologues. Friendships form, strengthen, and deteriorate in joking banter, honest discussion, and hurtful judgements. Every interaction is seen through the lens of Imogen's anxiety.

Critical Evaluation

  It is difficult to critically evaluate this story without first acknowledging my own biases against the romance genre. In my opinion, romances are predictable and agonizing. Knowing how a story will probably resolve but still spending hours following a character through pointless self-sabotage is not a fun read for me. That being said, the narrator did pull me through. As an audiobook, I pushed myself to explore teen romance despite abhorring adult romances. To her credit, Caitlin Kinnunen made me forget that this was not a full cast production as she gave a distinct tone to every character in the book.
The story did cover important LGBTQ+ conversations such as coming out, imposter syndrome, judging queerness, and later in life discoveries of queerness. In Imogen's character there was also a deep exploration of friendship, anxiety, and insecurity. The urgency and obsession of young love, balanced with the societal norms of trying not to appear too eager, are very specific to dating in your teens and early twenties. Imogen's innocence and fear of disappointing her friends is written so earnestly that your heart goes out to her. At the same time, you will begin to hate one person in her inner circle that does not have her best interests in mind. I will let you find out who that is!

Creative Use for a Library Program

Blind Date with a Book: Imogen, Obviously and other teen romances should be wrapped up in brown kraft paper with only key phrases written to hint at the plotline. Consider engaging your teen advisory board for recommendations on romance books they enjoy and what key phrases they would employ. For Imogen, Obviously  I would use LGBTQ+, romance, coming-out, high school to college, anxiety, and friendship. In the teen section, I would tie in a passive display where teens can write postcards about the first time they fell in love with a book. Consider running these two activities during the first two weeks of February for a Valentine's Day tie-in. 

Book Talk

Imogen is the straight ally with a queer little sister, bi-sexual best friend, and pansexual childhood bestie that wants her for a visit at Blackwell College. But being the straight outsider at home is not as frightening as spending the weekend with a group of queer freshman that have created a tight nit family over their shared queerness. On top of that, her childhood bestie made up a story that Imogen is her bi-sexual ex-girlfriend in an attempt to seem more experienced! Can Imogen navigate her baseline anxiety on top of faking her sexuality, making new friends, and discovering parts of herself she never knew existed?

Reason for Inclusion

  Romance is a popular young adult genre, and LGBTQ+ romance is a valuable tool for self-exploration. The main character struggles with her identity despite being surrounded by the LGBTQ+ community in safe and affirming spaces. Sometimes, the pressure to be the person you were always seen as makes it difficult to embrace any unfamiliar layers of your identity. Harassment and judgement from outside and inside the LGBTQ+ community are handled with care in this narrative. 

Potential Challenges and Defense Preparation

  I have not found a large district wide or school wide attempt to censor this book but considering it contains queer characters, gender expansive characters, and curse words there are probably individual challenges occurring. The best defense is a strong reconsideration policy. 

References 

Albertalli, B. (2021). Imogen, obviously. HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Albertalli, B. (2020, August 31). I know I’m late. Medium. https://medium.com/@rebecca.albertalli/i-know-im-late-9b31de339c62 

Albertalli, B. (2023, April 27). Imogen, Obviously is an AudioFile Earphones Award winner! Becky Albertalli. https://www.beckyalbertalli.com/2023/04/27/imogen-obviously-is-an-audiofile-earphones-award-winner 

Becky Albertalli. (2024, December 27) In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becky_Albertalli 

Harper Collins Publishing. (n.d.). Imogen, obviously. https://www.harpercollins.com/products/imogen-obviously-becky-albertalli?variant=41092177592354 

Milburn, R. (2024, February 21). 2024 Amazing audiobooks for young adults. the HUB. https://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2024/02/21/2024-amazing-audiobooks-for-young-adults/ 

Waters, M. (2018, March 16). Author Becky Albertalli on ‘Love, Simon,’ the groundbreaking adaptation of her gay teen romance. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/love-simon-author-becky-albertalli-historic-gay-romance-movie-1085859/