Top 5 Reasons to Read Follow Your Arrow

Hello book nerds! I’m here with my first ever book tour this 2021, and I couldn’t be happier that it’s this book! Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi is a funny, romantic, and relatable YA contemporary, out this March 2nd. It stars bi social media influencer CeCe Ross as she navigates her life though a break-up with her girlfriend and meeting with the new boy in town who is very much not online. This was a wonderful read for me, and I literally could not stop reading once I started! See my full review here!

For today, I’m here to talk about the top 5 reasons why you should read Follow Your Arrow! (And I swear, you need this book on your TBR!)

It shows the good and bad sides of social media

Social media is a double-edged sword, and Follow Your Arrow shows us exactly that as it highlights both the good and bad sides of social media. We also see CeCe and Josh discuss this matter themselves; about all the great things an online presence can bring and the havoc it can also wreak. It also gets a little more up close and personal, considering that CeCe herself is an influencer and has a strong social media presence. Throughout the story, CeCe experiences the good and bad, and contemplates about its impact.

It tackles biphobia in the community

Perhaps my favorite thing in this book is how it tackled biphobia. Follow Your Arrow highlighted and discussed biphobia in such a forthright manner that almost scared me because I see it myself in reality. I see it among cishet people who never tried to understand bi, pan, and other multisexual people, and I see it even within the LGBTQ+ community which is just heartbreaking. Biphobia is real and it sucks. And this book teaches us to challenge it, to overcome it, and work towards a future where bi, pan, and other queer people don’t have to deal with unnecessary judgment anymore. And I loved it. (But also, seriously, this book contains mild to extreme biphobia/internalized biphobia, please be careful.)

It encourages political activism

CeCe is a passionate political activist, but on social media, she has stayed off positing her political stances. The thing is, being in social media and having a social media presence is already political. And we see that here in this book, where CeCe realizes that she needs to be brave and loud about the things she’s passionate about and the things she wants to fight for. She realizes that she needs to use her platform to fight for what’s right and contribute to a much larger picture. I know this will touch many teens and young adults, and encourage them to a political activist on their own.

It has romance… and heartbreak

Get ready for all the fluffy romance here in Follow Your Arrow! The chemistry between CeCe and Josh is lovely and seeing them become friends (and more!) is wonderful. However, this book also doesn’t shy away from showing the opposite side of romance—heartbreak. We see CeCe try to cope and deal with her first real breakup and try to find out who she is without her girlfriend. And along the way, we also see her experience another kind of heartbreak and by then, you’ll probably be rooting for CeCe.

It has appreciation for music

If you love music, especially classical music, you will love this book! Josh, the love interest, is a musician. And as CeCe gets to know him, she gets to know more about his passion and his love for music. At the same time, she also gets to learn and appreciate this kind of music on her own. Also, Josh has t-shirts with music-related puns in it which is just adorable!

And that’s it! This was such a wonderful read and I just know others will love it, too.

Thank you so much TBR and Beyond Tours for including me in this book tour! Click the banner to follow the tour and see other reviews, creative posts, and bookstagram photos, interviews, and more!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Follow Your Arrow
Author: Jessica Verdi
Genre/s and tags: young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGTQ+
Publication date: March 2, 2021
Content warnings: internalized biphobia, invasion of privacy (photos being taken without permission), cyberbullying (hate/biphobic comments on social media)
Goodreads synopsis:

For fans of Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, this is a riveting and irresistible take on love, life, and identity — both online and off.
CeCe Ross is kind of a big deal. She and her girlfriend, Silvie, are social media influencers with zillions of fans and followers, known for their cute outfits and being #relationshipgoals.
So when Silvie breaks up with her, CeCe is devastated. She’s lost her first love, and now she can’t help but wonder if she’ll lose her followers as well.
Things get even messier when CeCe meets Josh, a new boy in town who is very much Not Online. CeCe isn’t surprised to be falling for a guy; she’s always known she’s bi. And Josh is sweet and smart and has excellent taste in donuts… but he has no idea that CeCe is internet-famous. And CeCe sort of wants to keep it that way.
But when CeCe’s secrets catch up to her, she finds herself in the middle of an online storm, where she’ll have to confront the blurriness of public vs. private life, and figure out what it really means to speak her truth.

ABOUT THE AUITHOR

Jessica Verdi is an author of books for kids and teens about identity, family, acceptance, and love.

Though she’s always been a bookworm (her childhood was basically defined by the philosophy that working your way through giant stacks of library books is far superior to playing outside), she remained convinced throughout high school and college that theatre and music were meant to be her creative outlets. After nearly ten years in the NYC theatre world, she got an idea for a novel. While that first attempt at a “book” will never see the light of day—nope, don’t ask—it was the book that started her love affair with writing. Now she can’t imagine doing anything else.

Jess received her MFA in Writing for Children from The New School and is a freelance editor of romance and women’s fiction. She lives in New York with her family.

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