on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 4/5
Started: June 21
Finished: June 22 (but like 12:30 am; I read the whole thing in one sitting).
Summary:
Sophie, a type-A aroace Wellesley student, is the face behind Dear Wendy, an anonymous dating advice instagram account. When she finds out someone has created a parody account, Dear Wanda, giving snarky advice in response to similar dating asks, she feels livid--who is this other account to infringe on her sphere of influence? But the more the two accounts verbally spar in comments sections and instagram stories, the more she realizes she enjoys the challenge of facing off against Dear Wanda.
Jo started the account as a joke. But although she is still not fully comfortable with her aroace identity--she really, really does not want to end up alone--she finds she loves both her snarky comments and the real advice she sometimes slips into her responses as Dear Wanda. She also finds herself more and more invested in her new friendship with Sophie, who she met in a gender studies class. Having a real-life a-spec friend is game-changing. But even so, it's up to her to decide how to balance her online presence and her real-life blossoming friendship.
Thoughts:
This was a super cute revamp of the classic digital-age rom-com story. The simultaneous online and real-time budding friendships were cute, even if the dramatic irony was a lot to take sometimes. I did find the basic YA rom-com format was very adhered to (with the exception of platonic relationship rather than romance being the goal). The story did not deviate from the basic setup & discovery & make-up format at all. It was a great execution of the format, though. The text-messages and instagram posts were well integrated into the story; the use of details and proper nouns made the story and setting feel very real; the friendship was written in a very cute way.
On top of that, the a-spec representation was very interesting. Both protagonists were very firmly aroace; Jo struggled with the idea of ending up alone but never seemed to question her attraction, and Sophie certainly didn't. I found this black-and-white ace-ness to be less relatable than a more complex look at a-spec sexuality, but it was still a very fun read. I love the centering of intersectional identities, both in terms of gender & sexuality, and in terms of race and family history. This was a healthy, fresh, and progressive look at queer community, and it was a lovely read, not so unrealistic to feel unattainable, but utopian enough to feel satisfyingly escapist. I would not feel comfortable recommending this book as ace representation to someone curious to learn about my identity, but I do think it's a great spin on the classic rom-com, and a lovely immersion in queer culture to anyone looking for an immersive and breezy read focused on that.