Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl

I laughed; I cried; I felt so wholly and entirely seen by this story. Margo reminded me of myself as a queer and autistic teenager, and I adored her for it. Margot's focus on masking and trying to gauge the right way to act and be queer were so deeply relatable to me. As a bisexual, I also related to Abby and the biphobia that's so present within both heterosexual and queer spaces. I would also commit so many crimes to spend time with Mendel, because he's possibly the greatest character I've read this year. If a book is ever published with him as the main character, I'll read it in a heart beat.

This book is slightly less than 5 stars for me because the ending felt a little lackluster. Margot and Abby never really get the romantic moment they deserve. Margot's resolution of her confusion around masking feels rushed and has a lack of closure. Abby's parents and Charlie have a similar lack of closure to their arcs. There is one small dialogue of conflict, and it's never visited again. It seemed like the authors didn't know how to wrap the story up after all of the world building, so they rushed to something of a conclusion.

With this said, it's an incredible read and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see Jewish, autistic, sapphic characters finding their joy and authentic voices.

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dododenise's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Simple, sweet and heartfelt. The two MCs are adorable together. Just wish the extended cast of characters was given more depth, but the focus was on Abbie and Margo’s relationship.
Really enjoyed it.

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gabbyjc's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I LOVE LOVE LOVEDDDDD the representation in this book. Between having a lesbian autistic main character, and so much different representation of different sexualities and gender identities, I think everyone can find a piece of themself in this book. I loved the talk of the autistic experience in this book so much and how Margo’s autistic traits were shown. Talking about her stims and masking and just everything was perfection.

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alexfromistemor's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you so much Inkyard Press & Netgalley for this eARC

I loved this book! Loved it, loved it, loved it!

I found myself reading two books dealing with neurodiversity essentially at the same time, but in different ways (the other being the arc for Cleat Cute). And obviously, the settings and scenarios are different, as well, but still I found it interesting that these two books both dealt with neurodiversity (I think of the Tiktok sound 'Oh, you're a queer couple? Which one of you has ADHD and which one is autistic?').

This book was also just so, so refreshing about just how plainly the characters talk about everything, ever. It's both no-holds-barred, and yes also thoroughly accurate when it comes talking about queer identities, biphobia, autism, sex, all of it. The authors have a note at the start about how they they wanted to be able to write a book about messy people and they nailed it! No one is a stereotype (apart from a few perfect moments of disaster queer mentality). The popular kids aren't necessarily the bad guys, the queer outcasts not necessarily the good guys, they're all just people, with flaws and virtues enough to feel real.

I love how much Margo knows herself. Not necessarily about being gay, per se, but knowing that she needs to know things to be able to be comfortable with them. Abbie as the expert about something that says right off the bat no one can be an expert about. The two of them together, with their start as fairly antagonistic, then friendly, and steadily building to love felt earned, and honest! The care they have for one another, not just when it comes to other people but also when one of them is being a dumbass, is great! They communicate!

I don't really have any negatives about the book, really. The closest I can come deals with the ending, thus spoilers:

This book doesn't have the traditional forced 3rd act break-up, which is FINE (it's well established how much I hate the trope). But because there isn't that drama, and the ensuing resolution to it, the story just kinda goes until it stops. There's nothing bad about any of it, really, but we see them out as a public couple, and we see Abbie stand up for her needs with her parents, and Margo getting on a horse, and graduation, and they're all fine, there's nothing there that objectively shouldn't be there, it just kind of seems like those last chapters following them becoming an official couple loses a bit of steam, y'know?

My qualms are so, incredible miniscule, I can't even see them as worthy of losing anything from the rating, so I'm happily giving this 5 stars.

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lesbiyinzer's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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quasinaut's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Cute and funny! I loved seeing Margo and Abbie navigate social and school dynamics. Absolutely adored Margo's family; it was especially nice seeing how Margo could turn to her sibling for advice, and that he gave such clear older-brother vibes - supportive, but also an adult doing adult things.

There were some continuity issues that bugged me - often little things that felt like they could've been fixed with another editing pass. Like, one character would refer to something that we hadn't seen them learn on-page. I wouldn't be surprised if these things happen with two authors co-writing, but it was enough to take me out of the story a few times.

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