I have so many questions I could ask her. When did she figure it out? Does she also talk with a lot of people who say ignorant things like ‘You’re so lucky you don’t have to worry about love?’ But at the moment, I can’t voice any of these thoughts. I’m just happy to find someone who identifies the same way as me.

Dear Wendy, p. 68

Synopsis

Sophie Chi is a first year aroace student at Wellesley College. She spends a lot of time on her passion project, the Instagram relationship advice account Dear Wendy. So when a totally unserious copy account, Dear Wanda, emerges, Sophie is pissed.

Amidst a crisis about gender and whether their aroace identity means they’ll never be truly loved, Jo Ephron creates Dear Wanda to have a little fun. When Wendy starts antagonizing them on Instagram, Jo accidentally enters into a rivalry with the anonymous Wendy.

When Sophie and Jo become friends, neither have any idea that the other is behind the rival accounts. They bond over their shared aroace identity, starting a club for fellow a-spec students and confiding in one another about things that their other friends could never truly understand. But is their friendship strong enough to last even if they find out who’s behind Wendy and Wanda?

Review

I’ve never read a book in which a platonic relationship is centered in the way romantic relationships normally are, but I now need more of this type of story! I loved the friendship that develops between the two protagonists, especially because this book is told in dual POV so both characters are very well-developed and complex. Overall, this book felt very realistic to young adult life and emotions.

Content warnings: aphobia, mild anxiety, discussion of sex