I wish this had been available when I was a teenager. It's not my jam, but it was still relatable and well written. Also, I'd love to read more books that take place in the Rio Grande Vallley. ( )

One of the books that I’ve been reading this month (now recently completed) is Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster by Andrea Mosqueda. Maggie Gonzalez has to choose an escort for her younger sister’s quinceañera.

Maggie’s up against a deadline as part of fittings and preparations for her sister’s quinceañera, but choosing an escort is compounded by romantic feelings that pull her in three directions: toward her best friend Amanda, toward her former boyfriend Matthew, and toward Dani, a new girl at school.

To help navigate her feelings while fulfilling a class assignment, Maggie creates a private Instagram account, where she expresses her feelings about Amanda, Matthew, and Dani through her words and her photography. (The “Bisexual Disaster” of the title refers to the user name that Maggie gives to her private Instagram account.)

Along the way, Maggie begins to question a future she thought she’d had all mapped out, which is studying at New York University to be a music photographer.

I enjoyed this book, and thought Maggie’s feelings were fully realized toward each of her potential escorts. I anticipate that readers will be able to relate to her experiences.

One of the things I appreciate about this book is its non-explicit storyline. There’s some kissing, and there’s emotional closeness between Maggie and the people she cares about, but the absence of further intimate contact opens this book to a wider range among Young Adult readership.

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster will be published on May 24 by Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. I read a digital ARC of this book through Publishers Weekly’s Grab-a-Galley sweepstakes for Spring 2022, fulfilled through the NetGalley platform.

This book was featured in a #BookTube “What I’m reading” video at https://youtu.be/ai6HKeab9ZQ ( )