Reviews

Incredibly relatable, almost like Cynthia So used my life as inspiration for Elsie. Queer YA fiction always tears me apart. I wish these stories had been around when I was growing up.

romanovaaa's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

4.75

goddddd it was so so good, i loved it!!!!

vief_lucas's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

2,5 Stars*
I feel like I'm the only one that didn't love this book

bethany6788's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional 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

4.5

What a gorgeous YA novel 😍. This book is about Elsie, who lives in England with her parents. She has a best friend from childhood, Joan, who she hasn’t seen in 8 years. She’s in a fandom and reads a lot of fan fiction, oh and she has a crush on her fandom friend. Her grandfather has recently passed away and her grandmother comes to live with them in England for the summer, and this novel is what happens during that time…

Things I loved about this book:
I LOVED Elsie coming to terms with herself and her sexuality, along with what she actually wants in a relationship. She learns from the people around her and her past experiences. She’s not perfect and she makes mistakes. She’s flawed and a little messy and I love her more for it.
Rikita and Felix were awesome friends. I loved their friendships and how they both were there for Elsie in different ways.
Joan. My heart!!!!! I loved Joan. She abandoned Elsie (or did she!?) when they were younger and moved to Oxford early specifically to find her?? I can’t. It’s too much (I loved it).
The underlying story with Ada’s grandmother! Loved that ending.
Uncle Kevin and David.
Learning about what happened 8 years ago.
That super lovely ending!

A couple of quotes I loved:

“There’s nothing like meeting someone and feeling comfortable with them instantly. That to me is the closest thing we have to magic in the world.”

“The way he says the name, I feel the nervous dream of it, of tending to a patch of coil where you want love to grow, and I recognize it so well.”

“Maybe there’s something wrong with me! Maybe nobody is ever going to look at me and see somebody worthy of love.”

“If I don’t tell people I like them, I don’t give them the power to hurt me. If the glass dome is cracked even a fraction, who knows what could get in?”

“Part of me felt safe liking Ada because I didn’t truly believe that things were ever going to work out with her. Of course my feelings for her were genuine, but they were also a sanctuary. It was beautiful to imagine us getting together because it didn’t seem like something that would happen.”

fynndodo's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

kasvihuone's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

naisdayz's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

3.5

If You Still Recognize Me is often compared to the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman, though I don’t really understand why — besides the queer representation and ya/contemporary genre there aren’t any paralells, in my opinion.

I somewhat expected for the fandom-aspect to make me cringe a bit (as in that I’d feel like I’m reading an actual fan fiction), but I think it was executed really well (and realistically).

I was never really able to warm up to the subplot of Elsie trying to find Ada’s grandma’s friend, Theresa. Ada actually put it into words pretty well — it felt pretty invasive, and I didn’t really get why. That part of the book dragged it a bit for me, especially when Elsie used her and Ritika’s holiday to find more clues to where Theresa is. Like, really?
But I’m glad her and Ada talked about it, and Elsie seemed to have learned her lesson.

I really liked the side characters here as well, though I wish some of the relationships would have been a bit more fleshed out, like Elsie’s relationship to her dad.

When the real reason for the lack of contact between her family and Uncle Kevin was revealed, I gasped. I need an Uncle Kevin in my life.

Also, during that second to last Interstitial I didn’t realize the letter was from the past, and thought Joan was going back to Hong Kong?? omg

If You Still Recognize Me was a pretty smooth read, even if it had some downs every once and awhile. I loved that, despite this being a romance novel, the platonic and familiar relationships weren’t pushed to the side for the sake of giving the entire spotlight to the romantic relationship. I loved the bond between the different characters, especially Ritika and Elsie.

The book also talks a lot about self-discovery and making mistakes, which I think is very important in a book with characters and an audience this young. It’s normal to not know who you are fully, and to make mistakes, but you have to own up to it.

Content Warnings

More...