If You Still Recognise Me
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- Create Date：2022-06-21 07:51:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Cynthia So
- ISBN：1788953444
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Summary
Elsie has a crush on Ada， the only person in the world who truly understands her。 Unfortunately， they've never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away。 But Elsie has decided it's now or never to tell Ada how she feels。 That is， until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life。
In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones， Elsie realises that she isn't nearly as alone as she thought。 But now she has a choice to make。。。
In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones， Elsie realises that she isn't nearly as alone as she thought。 But now she has a choice to make。。。
Reviews
Jesika
，
Remember those summers you had I your late teens？ The endless ones filled with crushes and heartbreak and adventures？ This book will make you relive that as Elsie and her friends travel around the UK figuring our what it means to really be friends， to like someone and 。。。。trying to track down Elsie's friend's grandma's ex crush。Yeah， that last bit is a bit of a hard sell， I didn't buy into Elsie's *teenage logic* about needing to do it and the saving grace of the plot line is that none of her fr Remember those summers you had I your late teens？ The endless ones filled with crushes and heartbreak and adventures？ This book will make you relive that as Elsie and her friends travel around the UK figuring our what it means to really be friends， to like someone and 。。。。trying to track down Elsie's friend's grandma's ex crush。Yeah， that last bit is a bit of a hard sell， I didn't buy into Elsie's *teenage logic* about needing to do it and the saving grace of the plot line is that none of her friends do either。Elsie has a lot to figure out。 Her storyline does a great job of showing how emotional harm in relationships can show itself very young， when teenagers aren't necessarily equipped with all the tools to manage it。 She's also got a lot going on at home - her family are being secretive about why they aren't closer and she can't figure out why。As Lily finds some independence over the summer， with her part time job and spending time with friends new and old， she starts to explore who she wants to choose to be。This is firmly YA， a great pick for young queer readers， particularly those interested in fanfiction。 。。。more
Gabriela Pop
，
rtc
Rhys Dore
，
Beautifully written， wonderfully Sapphic， and brimming with queer & PoC representation。 A true joy to read。
anna
，
i love this book！！ this was such a good book to read for the beginning of summer and the beginning of pride month。 definitely one of my favourite books i have read this year， if not my number 1 favourite so far！！ things i loved:the way the main characters love and connection to her fandom was written！！ i am a girl who has spent much of her life watching edits， reading fanfic and talking to others on the internet about my favourite movies and tv， and it was so nice to read a book where the main c i love this book！！ this was such a good book to read for the beginning of summer and the beginning of pride month。 definitely one of my favourite books i have read this year， if not my number 1 favourite so far！！ things i loved:the way the main characters love and connection to her fandom was written！！ i am a girl who has spent much of her life watching edits， reading fanfic and talking to others on the internet about my favourite movies and tv， and it was so nice to read a book where the main character got the same happiness out of that as me！ the love for the queer aspects of it was also amazing to see， there were a few quotes that made me so deeply happy to see – “it’s just… really wonderful to have this space where being queer feels like the norm， and different queer characters get to have different love stories and find themselves and each other and be happy in a million different ways， over and over again。 You know？” AHHHHH and another much longer one that ends with ‘i remember so many different endings， so many ways i’ve experienced the same joy。’ THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY！！the way the main characters crush on her internet best friend was written， i remembered when i deeply related to lots of it and it was so nice to see the feelings written so similar to how i felt them！ even as the book went out， and feelings evolved and changed， i was surprised by how much i related to the way the main character feels about that friendthe writing， but mainly all the uses of metaphors！ sometimes i find lots of metaphors and similes annoying and silly because they don’t make sense， but in this book they were used so well and really made me feel everything the characters were feelingthe early summer vibes！！had great characters and great plot！ have read many ya books where either the plot falls short so it is slightly boring， or the characters are not paid great attention to so you as a reader don’t end up really caring about them， but this book had both an interesting plot and characters that i enjoyed！thing i didn’t love so much:the relationship that actually ends up happening at the very end， BUT i do not think it was written badly or that it was a bad choice i just think that for me personally it did not hit the way other parts of the book did but i think that’s just a my opinion thing not really an actual flawbonus: very pretty cover！！！！overall i would say this is between 4。5 and 5 stars， leaning towards 5！！ would 100% recommend to anyone but especially if you are looking for a great queer book or if you also have a connection to fandom！！ 。。。more
Lola Hodgson
，
Oh， I really really loved this。This is truly one of the most diverse books I've ever read， and it was so beautiful to see！ I also just adored how rooted it was in fandom， and just how well So clearly understands this culture。 It's something that resonated with me so completely， and it was such a lovely story。4。5 Oh， I really really loved this。This is truly one of the most diverse books I've ever read， and it was so beautiful to see！ I also just adored how rooted it was in fandom， and just how well So clearly understands this culture。 It's something that resonated with me so completely， and it was such a lovely story。4。5 。。。more
theresa
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this was stunning :'）rtc this was stunning :'）rtc 。。。more
cassia
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plot was a little slow but such good rep and cute
Georgia Zevs
，
A charming book that follows Elsie as she navigates recovering from a toxic relationship， a long distance crush， leaving school and being bi against the backdrop of a relatively traditional Chinese family。 I loved the representation of different generations and types of queer experience， as well as the depiction of online friendships and the community of fandom。 It was nice to see the joyous and supportive side of it， rather than it being a negative plot device。 If I'd had this book when I was a A charming book that follows Elsie as she navigates recovering from a toxic relationship， a long distance crush， leaving school and being bi against the backdrop of a relatively traditional Chinese family。 I loved the representation of different generations and types of queer experience， as well as the depiction of online friendships and the community of fandom。 It was nice to see the joyous and supportive side of it， rather than it being a negative plot device。 If I'd had this book when I was a teen， I would have loved it - and it would have been very important to me。 Rating this is difficult- by my normal standards it's a 3， but for YA and in terms of as a book I'd recommend to students it's 4？ Split the difference to 3。5？ A definite recommendation， Yr9+。 。。。more
Karen Rós
，
Loved it！！ Read it in a day because I didn’t want to wait for next day’s commute to pick it up again。 It was just all around really good - the various ways queer communities can manifest （fandom， comic book shops， etc。） including the difference between ‘western’ and Hong Kong queer culture。 The romance was lovely too， and it was so great to see Elsie navigate her feelings towards her friend in the states， her best friend， her other best friend， and herself。 Perfect read for the summer - this tak Loved it！！ Read it in a day because I didn’t want to wait for next day’s commute to pick it up again。 It was just all around really good - the various ways queer communities can manifest （fandom， comic book shops， etc。） including the difference between ‘western’ and Hong Kong queer culture。 The romance was lovely too， and it was so great to see Elsie navigate her feelings towards her friend in the states， her best friend， her other best friend， and herself。 Perfect read for the summer - this takes place between Elsie’s final exams and her first semester at Cambridge。 The ending was perfect， it didn’t promise too much and I particularly appreciated that Elsie didn’t come out to her parents - too often I feel like queer YA books try to tick all the boxes and the story isn’t complete until the protagonist has come out to everyone， but a） that doesn’t have to be the case and b） very often isn’t how real life works。All the stars， please read， it’s so good。 。。。more
phee ！
，
“I can’t stop laughing。 Joan’s gaze meets mine， and she cracks up too， eyes crinkling， her hand still on my back and her forehead falling on to my shoulder as her whole body shakes with laughter。 I feel it reverberate in my bones， the soymilk’s sweetness still lingering in my mouth。” I have lived most of my life online， flitting from fandom to fandom， and through that I have found some of the most wonderful people， and have curated the most beautiful friendships and relationships with so many pe “I can’t stop laughing。 Joan’s gaze meets mine， and she cracks up too， eyes crinkling， her hand still on my back and her forehead falling on to my shoulder as her whole body shakes with laughter。 I feel it reverberate in my bones， the soymilk’s sweetness still lingering in my mouth。” I have lived most of my life online， flitting from fandom to fandom， and through that I have found some of the most wonderful people， and have curated the most beautiful friendships and relationships with so many people - people that have changed my life， people that I otherwise would have never got to know。 People that live near me， people in other continents， even people that live on the other side of the world。 If You Still Recognise Me is a stunning novel， in the same vein as Letter’s To Juliet but with more heart and culture， that pays homage to the wild wonders and specialty of online fandoms， and the relationships you can form through your screen， with just words typed on a keyboard， using only your fingers so very perfectly。 Portrayals of fan culture can often be hit and miss， sometimes seeming like the author is trying far too hard to be relatable that it comes off corny， unnatural， stale and so very forced…Cynthia So made sure that that tired narrative was eradicated from this book。 Instead of stale， their own take on fan culture felt revitalised， with fresh perspectives and realistic portrayals of teenage fangirls in close knit fandom spaces。 My romantic relationships have only ever been online。 It’s a hard line to walk， there are infinite difficulties that factor into whether a long distance relationship is suitable; or， in the case of you being close friends before you start an relationship with them， whether you can salvage the relationship that you had with them before it became one that was borne of a type of love that， while at it’s core is eerily similar yet， is so painfully different to that of the platonic love you once shared for one another。 Oftentimes， when a book has so many narratives churned into one， the impact of certain points easily get lost， and again - Cynthia So somehow managed to avoid that happening。Every single part of what made Elsie a truly remarkable main character was beautifully curated， so well thought and fleshed out。 The relationships developed between Elsie and every single side-character felt so beautifully， and at times painfully， real。 It didn’t feel so much like a book， like a character that isn’t really real， but like I was combing through the pages of a real person， a close friend。 Elsie and her relationships （though， specifically those with her mum， Po Po， Joan and her uncle Kevin） were full of heart， so much genuine feeling pumping through the veins of all of the relationships she has， formed throughout the book or pre-existing。 There was a perfect balance between sexuality， crushes， love， fear， culture， fandom and intergenerational trauma throughout the entirety of the book， a balance that didn’t once falter or hiccup。 It was steadfast and strong， and exactly what you want to see in a book like this， with so much needed representation and just as much promise。 If You Still Recognise Me is a love letter to a myriad of communities and pieces that are vital to what so many of us have grown up with， and to who so many of us have grown up to be。 Packed with a punch and sealed with a searing heartwarming feeling that will last for a long， long time， Cynthia So’s YA debut should， and I predict will， be the book that is on everybody’s lips， and everyone’s TBR lists。 5/5 stars！ Thank you to Cynthia So， Little Tiger & NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review。 This was such a delightful reading experience， perfect for the summer and I couldn’t recommend If You Still Recognise Me enough。 It’s pretty safe to say that Cynthia So will be going onto my ‘author’s to watch and buy everything they ever write’ list， and what a worthy addition they are。 。。。more
sophia
，
4。75！！
erina sinani♡
，
Love love loved this book omg
Libby
，
3。75 StarsThis book is very soft and sweet！ I don't quite get the reference to Heartstopper that a lot of people mention， apart from the fact it's set in the UK， it's still a wholesome read but I didn't get the same vibes。As a former Tumblr-teen-recluse， I loved the internet culture aspect to this book。 It felt like a love letter to my former nerdy self， and was a very healing read。 I loved the characters， the writing and the range of different topics dealt with in this book - it made me blast t 3。75 StarsThis book is very soft and sweet！ I don't quite get the reference to Heartstopper that a lot of people mention， apart from the fact it's set in the UK， it's still a wholesome read but I didn't get the same vibes。As a former Tumblr-teen-recluse， I loved the internet culture aspect to this book。 It felt like a love letter to my former nerdy self， and was a very healing read。 I loved the characters， the writing and the range of different topics dealt with in this book - it made me blast through it in just a few days。 。。。more
olivia
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Elsie has just finished her A-Level exams and is ready for summer。 Her crush， Ada （who happens to live overseas）， has just told her about her grandmother's past love story and shown her all of the letters her best friend Theresa had sent her。 In an attempt to woo Ada， Elsie takes it upon herself to find Theresa and reconnect her with the love of her life。 But now， things get complicated when Elsie's childhood best friend has just come back from Hong Kong- after not speaking to her for seven year Elsie has just finished her A-Level exams and is ready for summer。 Her crush， Ada （who happens to live overseas）， has just told her about her grandmother's past love story and shown her all of the letters her best friend Theresa had sent her。 In an attempt to woo Ada， Elsie takes it upon herself to find Theresa and reconnect her with the love of her life。 But now， things get complicated when Elsie's childhood best friend has just come back from Hong Kong- after not speaking to her for seven years。This book is what I needed when I was figuring out my sexuality。 Elsie is bi， and her story is almost exact to mine。 I think if this book were to come out back then， I might have liked it a tiny bit more than I did now。 That's not to say I didn't like it！ It was a beautiful story with so many important conversations weaved into it and I think it is even one of the best queer books I have read。That being said， there were a lot of slow bits throughout the book where I felt like nothing was ever going to happen。 The beginning is slow， so slow even that I thought about DNF-ing at first。 I am very glad I didn't in the long run， but it has affected my overall rating of the book。I also didn't really feel any buildup with the relationship。。。 It just seemed like all of a sudden it was there。 There wasn't a lot of chemistry beforehand。 All that being said， once it was there it was SO adorable and I really loved it。 I just wish I could've been more convinced that they actually had feelings for one another beforehand。Overall， this was a truly amazing book。 I would definitely recommend this to anybody who is questioning their sexuality or anyone who is struggling with coming out to their family。 I will definitely look for more works from this author in the future！Thank you to NetGalley and to Little Tiger for providing an e-ARC in exchange of an honest review。 。。。more
Amber
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WHEN。 WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN？！？！？ *jumps off cliff*too cute， pure， precious， funny and adorable for me to compute。 the end。
Rebecca Love
，
If you still recognise me by Cynthia So I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。 Thank you to netgalley and Cynthia So for the opportunity to read this book。 Firstly this cover is stunning， it really draws you in。 I cried about 3/4 of the way into the book which I wasn't really expecting。 I dont really have much to say other than I loved it and would highly recommend it to others。 It covers some real world issues around race and sexuality in way that If you still recognise me by Cynthia So I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。 Thank you to netgalley and Cynthia So for the opportunity to read this book。 Firstly this cover is stunning， it really draws you in。 I cried about 3/4 of the way into the book which I wasn't really expecting。 I dont really have much to say other than I loved it and would highly recommend it to others。 It covers some real world issues around race and sexuality in way that makes it accessible to anyone。 The romances， friendships and familial relationships are all wonderfully written and it has you rooting for everything to work out in the end。 。。。more
elena
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THE BEST BOOK TO READ FOR SUMMER ESPECIALLY NOW FOR PRIDE MONTH！！ Y’ALL RUN TO GET IT
sara ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
，
the girl on the cover resembles nayeon
Manon the Malicious
，
I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。Elsie has had a crush on Ada for quite a while now but Ada lives in New-York， on the other side of the Atlantic and Elsie cannot bring herself to tell her how she feels。But when Ada mentioned that her grandmother used to have a friend in Cornwall before they lost touch， Elsie， who was planning on going there with her best friend， Rikita， thinks she could find this possible long lost love of Ada's grandmother's to show Ada how s I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。Elsie has had a crush on Ada for quite a while now but Ada lives in New-York， on the other side of the Atlantic and Elsie cannot bring herself to tell her how she feels。But when Ada mentioned that her grandmother used to have a friend in Cornwall before they lost touch， Elsie， who was planning on going there with her best friend， Rikita， thinks she could find this possible long lost love of Ada's grandmother's to show Ada how she feels。What a weird plan， you think？ Well yes， Elsie's friends would agree on that but Elsie is sure that is THE thing to do。 Speaking of Elsie's friends， a long-lost one has reappeared into her life after 8 years and she really has changed。。。OMG OMG！！ I LOVED THIS SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH！！！！Everything about this was great。 I read it in a day， I just could not stop。 I loved all the characters， the storylines， I loooved the kind of treasure hunt for the Rebecca person， I loved the friendships， the romances， THE REPRESENTATION！！！ Literally almost everyone is queer and I think there's only like 4 white people in the entire book， most of the characters are east asian， Elsie and her family are from Hong-Kong， Rikita is Indian， Ada is half-Black， Joan is also from Hong-Kong。Anyway， I laughed， I cried， I teared up， I felt frustrated。。。 I simply felt everything and loved every single second of it。 I loved how this was also about fandom and online friendships。So so so so good， so gay， so perfect。 I had an amazing time from beginning to end。 Truly just an incredible debut， I CANNOT wait to meet Cynthia So at YALC and to read everything and anything else they write！！！ 。。。more
Jadeybelle
，
What a cute， honest little read this book was。 It's definitely something my younger self would have loved to have read when I was around that age。 Espeically the fanfics。 I used to read so much when I was a teenager and reading that the main character reads them and her best friend writes them would have made me not feel so alone or like a 'werdio'。 This book also dealt with topics of race， ethnicity and LGBTQ+。 It shows you how some people just won't accept someone for who they are which to me What a cute， honest little read this book was。 It's definitely something my younger self would have loved to have read when I was around that age。 Espeically the fanfics。 I used to read so much when I was a teenager and reading that the main character reads them and her best friend writes them would have made me not feel so alone or like a 'werdio'。 This book also dealt with topics of race， ethnicity and LGBTQ+。 It shows you how some people just won't accept someone for who they are which to me is heartbreaking。 But I think it's so important that we read about it so we can support our loved ones and those we really care about and hopefully have a bit of understanding。 I loved the fact that they were older teenagers/newly adults because you're still figuring out who you are， what you want to do etc and this book shows that。 It's also perfect to read during June as it's pride month and this book has so much of the LGBTQ+ community in it which is always so lovely to read。 I'm so happy were getting more books on it。 This book comes out tomorrow （9th June） so definitely go show it some love and give it a read！ 。。。more
Siobhan Mackie
，
First of all， thank you to Little Tiger for sending me a copy of this book to review！ I’m rating it a 5/10 because although it was good， it isn’t one I’ll read again。There were parts of this book that really made me think: about race， and how Elsie （the main character） had almost been brainwashed into thinking that she- as an Asian woman- was less attractive than her white peers; about sexuality and how it can not only divide people but also bring them together; about friendship and the importan First of all， thank you to Little Tiger for sending me a copy of this book to review！ I’m rating it a 5/10 because although it was good， it isn’t one I’ll read again。There were parts of this book that really made me think: about race， and how Elsie （the main character） had almost been brainwashed into thinking that she- as an Asian woman- was less attractive than her white peers; about sexuality and how it can not only divide people but also bring them together; about friendship and the importance of friends that truly love you as much as you love them。That being said， I did find that a lot of the decisions Elsie made were selfish and made without consideration of the people surrounding her。 Especially as their reactions were accepted as ‘unsurprising’- how can you do something if you understand the reaction will be negative？For reasons I won’t go into due to wanting to avoid spoilers， I was low-level annoyed with certain parts of the book。 Not even for substantial reasons; it just sometimes felt that for all the set-up around the fandom Elsie is part of， her main personality trait was just having a crush on someone。I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading this book; like I said， there are some important messages in there。 It’s just not the book for me！ 。。。more
ash | आश ♥
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sapphicsss。 >>>（also it’s releasing soon ！！）
Emily
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I received an eARC from Little Tiger Books in exchange for an honest review！We aren’t even a week into June and I already know I’ve found one of the best books of the summer。Elsie has just finished her A-Level exams， and the long summer ahead of her promises to be one filled with excitement。 There’s travelling with her best friend， finding a job she loves， meeting new people， keeping up with her favourite comic， chatting to her internet friend-turned-crush。 But then there’s also her grandmother I received an eARC from Little Tiger Books in exchange for an honest review！We aren’t even a week into June and I already know I’ve found one of the best books of the summer。Elsie has just finished her A-Level exams， and the long summer ahead of her promises to be one filled with excitement。 There’s travelling with her best friend， finding a job she loves， meeting new people， keeping up with her favourite comic， chatting to her internet friend-turned-crush。 But then there’s also her grandmother from Hong Kong - a woman she hasn’t seen since childhood - staying in her house， the loss of a grandfather she barely knew， her childhood best friend returning after years of radio silence， and family secrets no one will share。All of this and more is happening， and I never thought it was too much。This is a coming of age story following a bisexual， Chinese-British girl in a summer of discovery。 I am not the biggest fan of first person narration usually， but I found it worked perfectly here。 Elsie is a self-proclaimed romantic and the prose is so in-keeping with that。 This is a big time and her feelings are bigger and we hear how they physically fill her， expanding in her chest and filling gaps between her ribs。 And there are such quiet， introspective and tender moments amongst these Big Feelings and formative experiences。 The morning routine of breakfast in the garden with the grandmother you’re trying to understand， looking at a wardrobe filled with clothes bought less for your tastes than to appease others， the gravity of calling someone ‘Uncle’ for the first time。I loved the exploration of and relationship with identity throughout。 Though personally confident in her sexuality， it is all too familiar a feeling to mostly have that confidence internally， and to withdraw from those less accepting。 The scene with the family’s quiet reaction to the gay kiss on TV really struck me。 I felt the air leave the room， the tension palpable， and knew from early on just how much this author understands these moments。 There is also such an interesting balance of having a strong attachment to culture and heritage as well as feeling something of a disconnect from it sometimes。 We get to see this explored through memories， food， language， clothes， the ways we may seek approval and who we seek it from。 Elsie hasn’t been back to Hong Kong in years， whereas Joan， her childhood best friend， has been there that whole time。 She knows things Elsie has forgotten or never knew to begin with， and I was very grateful to learn things along with her， particularly about the kinds of labels used by queer people there。 This book tackles eurocentric beauty standards， the fetishisation of Asian women， and wondering if you are ‘enough’ of something。 There are so many identities wonderfully represented in this book， and it handles those questions: Am I feminine enough？ Am I queer enough？ Am I enough？ And this book is as much about identity as it is about loss - the loss of contact， loss of time， and sometimes feeling the loss of a person less so than the loss of what they could have been to you。If You Still Recognise Me is unapologetically and delightfully queer， with the most affirming queer elders and a found family of wonderful side characters that I just want to be friends with。 It celebrates LGBT+ identities and queer art， particularly the comic Elsie and her internet friends love （that I would honestly like to read myself！）。With a mystery to solve， a trail to follow， comics to read， family secrets to uncover， holidays by the sea and a heartwarming sapphic romance， this book is a celebration of friendship， fandom and identity。 It’s a perfect summer read and now one of my new favourites ever！ 。。。more
Sarah Bell
，
A beautiful coming-of-age story that really captures the complexities of friendship， sexuality， love， relationships， family and fandom。 Elsie is a Chinese-British girl who's family come from Hong Kong but lives in Oxford。 She's bi but not out to her family， and crushing on Ada， a girl from America she met online because they both ship the same f/f couple in their fav comic。 Her Po Po （Grandma） is coming to stay with them after the death of her Gung Gung （Grandad） in Hong Kong， even though the fa A beautiful coming-of-age story that really captures the complexities of friendship， sexuality， love， relationships， family and fandom。 Elsie is a Chinese-British girl who's family come from Hong Kong but lives in Oxford。 She's bi but not out to her family， and crushing on Ada， a girl from America she met online because they both ship the same f/f couple in their fav comic。 Her Po Po （Grandma） is coming to stay with them after the death of her Gung Gung （Grandad） in Hong Kong， even though the family have not been to visit for 8 years for reasons Elsie doesn't understand。 Then she surprises runs into Joan， her childhood best friend who left for Hong Kong when they were kids， and fell completely out of touch。 Elsie's life really come alive on the page， as does that of her friends and family。 So's writing is engaging and well crafted， full of lines that really hit home。 Elsie's struggle to navigate her feelings - romantic and platonic - for both Ada and Joan and also recover from a previous toxic relationship is excellently captured and explored。 We also get a wide array of LGBTQ+ characters from different backgrounds and generations which help to explore some of the different experiences LGBTQ+ people can have。 I loved all the little references to fandom and fandom spaces， and also how it shows the impact can have on people's lives （Elsie， Joan and Elsie's mum later bonding over manga， for example。） I also loved the letters from Theresa （Ada's grandma's 'friend' who Elsie determines to find） which beautifully captured her longing and grief after Ada's grandma， Becca， leaves to get married in America。 Overall， this was a wonderful queer YA story that I highly recommend！ 。。。more
Molly K
，
Release day - run to shops xo（also， features review！！） read this in one sitting and was absolutely enthralled， this has got to be the standout YA debut of the year。‘If you still recognise me’ is a joyous， queer coming-of-age story with predominantly Asian MCs。 Elsie is bisexual， a comic book nerd and grappling with growing feelings for her online best friend - an issue made only more complex when said best friend lives thousands of miles away。This book honestly felt like what I’ve been waiting f Release day - run to shops xo（also， features review！！） read this in one sitting and was absolutely enthralled， this has got to be the standout YA debut of the year。‘If you still recognise me’ is a joyous， queer coming-of-age story with predominantly Asian MCs。 Elsie is bisexual， a comic book nerd and grappling with growing feelings for her online best friend - an issue made only more complex when said best friend lives thousands of miles away。This book honestly felt like what I’ve been waiting for my whole life。 Though YA， a genre I often hesitate to dip into， this was a masterfully constructed story and I cannot wait to see what else the author writes。 Each relationship - familial， platonic or romantic is written with such attention to detail and precision that you get a real insight into the dynamics of each。 As an own voices reviewer; the family dynamics of an East Asian family were so unashamedly raw， this - not tokenism and harmful stereotypes - is the type of representation we need。 It was a book about relationships - romance is what is highlighted on the synopsis but you soon discover it is about far more; about generational trauma， uncovering family history， coming to terms with abuse and so many other key themes。I cant not touch on what else really stood out to me - the portrayal of fandom culture。 Often authors get this *so* wrong， having their teenage MCs speak in a way that sounds like they’ve logged onto urbandictionary， typed in youth slang and not bothered to look at the definitions - but Cynthia was spot on。 It felt like a love letter to all of us readers who grew up immersed in those spaces， it almost me nostalgic for a time where waiting for the newest update was my primary issue。Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC。 Release date is June 8th （！！）， and this should be the next ‘big’ book of the year。 。。。more
anna☽
，
incredible。 just incredible。
KC
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This is probably a 3。5* book for me。 At points， I was so sure it was going to be 4*'s and then others。。。 I was so excited for this one， and I feel it was a little bit of a let-down overall。 I struggled to connect with Elsie。 For a lot of the book， she seemed a little self-absorbed and just didn't seem to realize that people around her also had lives （although she got a lot better so yay character development） but her narrative remained a little stilted to me。 There are a lot of different types o This is probably a 3。5* book for me。 At points， I was so sure it was going to be 4*'s and then others。。。 I was so excited for this one， and I feel it was a little bit of a let-down overall。 I struggled to connect with Elsie。 For a lot of the book， she seemed a little self-absorbed and just didn't seem to realize that people around her also had lives （although she got a lot better so yay character development） but her narrative remained a little stilted to me。 There are a lot of different types of sapphic representation in this novel which is great to see。 It showed a spectrum of girls who like girls and how it can change and adapt over time as people grow and mature and tastes might change。 Also， the interaction between them all was pretty refreshing to read （most of the time）。 I'm not completely sold on the romance elements of this but I think that's just mostly on me， I couldn't overly connect to the main pairings and it felt a little wishy-washy at times。 'If You Still Recognise Me' also covers a range of issues like the stigma of coming out （particularly in traditional families） and how hard it can be to start conversations and confront things even in an otherwise happy environment。 It also covers familial relationships on several levels and some of the conversations between Elsie and her mum were uncomfortable to read but also very important。 It was both weird and cool to see the descriptions of places around Cornwall that I know pretty well （it's not very often I see Truro in a book lol） which was pretty nice。 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Sam
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4。5 stars
elizabeth
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This is easily one of the best YA books I have read in a long time and one of my favourite reads of the year so far！ It is a beautiful exploration of queerness that is simultaneously realistic and optimistic。 I wish I could have read it when I was younger as the representation of fandom culture and relationships and how queerness interacts with that was something I would have love to have seen explored so honestly。I have seen this book compared to a sapphic Heartstopper and I definitely agree wi This is easily one of the best YA books I have read in a long time and one of my favourite reads of the year so far！ It is a beautiful exploration of queerness that is simultaneously realistic and optimistic。 I wish I could have read it when I was younger as the representation of fandom culture and relationships and how queerness interacts with that was something I would have love to have seen explored so honestly。I have seen this book compared to a sapphic Heartstopper and I definitely agree with the comparison。 They are both heartwarming queer joy with nuanced and realistic relationships that explore the intersection between queerness and relationships， school and self image in a way that is honest and realistic。 However， as much as the the warmth and joy these books both bring are similar， this book should be seen as its own thing and although I definitely recommend it to fans of Heartstopper， I would not call it the sapphic version。More than just being a sapphic YA romance， it is a story of family， heritage， friendship and connection which was done beautifully。 It may have been a sweet story but that doesn't take away from the permeating depth that brings nuance to each relationship and interaction。 It was a very real look into the difficulties that can come in family and friendships， particularly from a queer perspective。 I loved the interplay of culture and race and how that affected the love shown in this book。 The role of fandom was also done fantastically。 Fandom and the internet has always acted as a safe space， particularly for young queer teens as they get to see and understand themselves and make friends who know and fully accept them through this。 I loved how realistically this was portrayed and the importance put on it throughout。Also， the representation in this book is fantastic。 I really enjoyed reading about Elsie and her family and their culture， and particularly how love and queerness plays into this。 On top of this， it was lovely to see so many queer identities represented and integrated so well and， more than this， in so many age groups。 We always see stories about teenagers， but it was so lovely to see these identities and stories being represented in adults too。 I can't wait to read everything that Cynthia So comes out with because this book was wonderful。Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with an arc in return for an honest review！ 。。。more
Jess
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