Publishers Weekly
★ 01/29/2024
Wellesley College freshman Sophie Chi runs the well-established Instagram romance advice column Dear Wendy. Classmate Joanna Ephron, meanwhile, has just started posting as Dear Wanda, a less serious but still sincere competitor. Each is named for a Wellesley stereotype: Wendys are considered perfect type As, while Wandas are perceived as sloppier, someone more likely to skip a class or three. Though they’re rivals online, they soon discover that they have a lot more in common than they realize after meeting IRL in a women’s studies class—most notably that they’re both aromantic and asexual. They each help the other through their individual dilemmas: Joanna hates it when her friends get romantically involved with people and often wonders if she’ll always feel alone, and Sophie wishes her Chinese immigrant parents understood her identity better. Via Sophie and Joanna’s alternating POVs, Wellesley student Zhao curates a realistic setting at a women’s college full of angsty queer students caught in the throes of romance, self-doubt, and self-discovery, culminating in a gently sweet aro-ace rom-com and a raw and emotionally resonant debut. Joanna is white; most other characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown Literary. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
An Instant Indie Bestseller!
"Zhao curates a realistic setting at a women’s college full of angsty queer students caught in the throes of romance, self-doubt, and self-discovery, culminating in a gently sweet aro-ace rom-com and a raw and emotionally resonant debut." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This book is a love letter to chosen family, platonic love, and the aromantic and asexual communities. If you have ever wished that more romances were about friends, or if you’ve ever found yourself thinking that Jo March from Little Women was probably aromantic, then you need to do yourself a favor and pick it up." —Booklist, starred review
"Jo, Sophie, their friends, and their family members all have nuanced identities and strong relationships that enrich the narrative and worldbuilding. The no romo love story aroaces have been waiting for." —Kirkus
"A fun, a-spec rom-com steeped in the Wellesley College setting, perfect for fans of Kacen Callender or Mason Deaver." —School Library Journal
"The platonic love story of my dreams! DEAR WENDY fluently speaks the language of contemporary aroace spaces and celebrates the healing power of community and understanding for those of us who can feel deeply alone in our life experience. Added to an entertaining Instagram feud and the relationship dramas of a liberal arts college, this book was so delightful, affirming, and heartwarming. " —Alice Oseman, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Heartstopper
"The sort of love that modern storytelling needs. Dear Wendy is a warm embrace in book form—for a-spec identity, for coming-of-age, and for friendship that ties the very soul." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
“Reading Dear Wendy felt like sitting down with a friend you’ve known your whole life. Ann Zhao’s voice is so witty, warm, and effortlessly charming in this pitch-perfect coming-of-age story and love letter to friendship—I’m an instant fan.” —Ann Liang, author of If You Could See the Sun
"A charming and warm coming-of-age story that deftly explores friendship, a-spec identities and relationships as a whole." —Adiba Jaigirdar, award-winning author of The Dos and Donuts of Love
"Every page feels like a warm hug. Zhao beautifully crafted a story that will resonate and represent readers while also showing the amazing—and various—ways our hearts can love." —Alechia Dow, author of The Sound of Stars
“Dear Wendy is a richly heartfelt story that celebrates the healing powers of newfound community and friendship. Zhao’s debut is a unputdownable blend of timely humor, accessible queer theory, and dimensional platonic relationships all explored through the daily minutiae and chaos of early college life.” —Racquel Marie, author of Ophelia After All
"Charming, vivid, and sweetly subversive—Dear Wendy is an ode to community, kinship, and unraveling others’ assumptions. An evergreen reminder that the best love stories aren’t always romantic." –Becky Albertalli, New York Times Bestselling Author of Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda
"Heartfelt and hilarious, DEAR WENDY shows how powerful and life-changing platonic love can be. Ann Zhao tenderly explores the importance of found family, queer platonic love, and the joy and comfort that comes with finding people who get you better than anyone else." —Aiden Thomas, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Sunbearer Trials and Cemetery Boys
School Library Journal
08/09/2024
Gr 9 Up—Few people at Wellesley College know that Sophie Chi (she/her) is the freshman behind the anonymous "Dear Wendy" relationship-advice Instagram account. Sophie is aromantic and asexual, but her lack of personal relationship experience doesn't stop her from crafting thoughtful, well-researched responses to her peers' romantic woes. Thus, she is profoundly annoyed when a rival Instagram account ("Dear Wanda") pops up, offering a more irreverent take. As a feud between the accounts heats up, Sophie befriends Jo Ephron (she/they) in her gender studies course and is thrilled to learn that Jo is also aroace. Their intense, budding friendship is threatened when "Dear Wendy/Wanda" submissions from mutual friends lead to biased advice with messy results, and Jo's hidden identity as the author of "Dear Wanda" is revealed. Zhao's debut effectively captures the intellectual exploration of self and society that takes place in college, as well as the social complexity of navigating friendships and romances between friends in a close-knit community. Wellesley College's lore and traditions are conveyed in rich detail, and discussions of aroace identity are thoughtful and nuanced. While told from both protagonists' perspectives in alternating chapters, the narrative voices of those chapters are not well-distinguished, unlike the narrative voices of their respective social media accounts, and some dialogue falls flat. Sophie is of Chinese descent, Jo is white, and supporting characters are racially and culturally diverse. VERDICT A fun, a-spec rom-com steeped in the Wellesley College setting, perfect for fans of Kacen Callender or Mason Deaver.—Elizabeth Giles
Kirkus Reviews
2024-02-03
Two aromantic asexual college students face off online while bonding IRL.
Chinese American first-year college student Sophie Chi (she/her) runs Dear Wendy, a popular anonymous Instagram account, where she provides relationship advice to her fellow Wellesley College students. She feels like she’s hitting her stride when a new anonymous Instagram account pops up, seemingly parodying her account. Fellow Wellesley student Jo Ephron (she/they), who’s white and has two moms, started Dear Wanda as a one-off joke for her friends. But as the account gains popularity, Wendy and Wanda begin to spar, creating a rivalry that wavers between playful and hostile. Meanwhile, Sophie and Jo meet as classmates and immediately strike up a friendship over their shared aroace identities, unaware of each other’s Instagram identities. As their friendship deepens and their online rivalry grows, the duo’s story hits all the beats and thrills of a will-they-won’t-they romance without compromising the deep satisfaction of an aroace love story. The first-person narration alternates between Sophie and Jo, although their voices are often difficult to distinguish. Still, their realistic concerns, excitement at their burgeoning friendship, and competitive sparring as Wendy and Wanda make them compelling protagonists. Relatable aroace concerns and conundrums provide an accessible window and mirror for anyone looking for quality representation that doesn’t tip into didacticism. Jo, Sophie, their friends, and their family members all have nuanced identities and strong relationships that enrich the narrative and worldbuilding.
The no romo love story aroaces have been waiting for. (Fiction. 14-18)