Dahlia Adler

Dahlia Adler is a 39-year-old, bisexual author who is considered "an editor by day, a freelance writer by night, and a Young Adult author at every spare moment in between, her many accomplishments including the founding of LGBTQReads, the editing of several anthologies, and writing many novels (1). 

(3)    Home and Work Balance         

Adler lives happily at home with her family. She is a dedicated observer of the Jewish Sabbath, in which she spends her weekends spending time with family and reading her tremendous amounts of books (2). As someone struggles with maintaining good relationships between college, work, and my religion. I applaud Dahlia Adler for working hard to maintain a well-formed balance between her responsibilities with her family and her work. Author of Geeks Out, Michele Kirichanskaya had an interview with Adler in 2021 where they discussed Adler's methods of balance. After Michele asked how Adler maintains the balance, she responded with," I also try to do as much as I can to be absolutely done with things by 5 p.m. I might do some social media stuff or beta read with a baby sleeping one me, but thanks to both my husband and me working from home during the pandemic, we actually get to do family dinner pretty often. This does mean a lot of pressure to back things in during my workdays and Sundays, and I'm learning lessons this year about there just not being any way to pull more than 24 hours into a day" (2).

    Sadly, there is very little information on who Adler's family is due to her being a somewhat conservative person when it comes to those details. That is something I noticed while doing my research on this author, and honestly, I am loving it. There are so many people, specifically celebrities, who put their whole lives on display for the public. I believe that being so open with the public can affect your career vastly in a negative way. It truly is a skill to be able to show the world who you are and what you stand for without giving too much, and Adler most definitely obtains this skill.

The Jewish and the LGBTQ+ Community

"Orthodox policies related to LGBTQ+ inclusion is grounded in the Torah and subsequent rabbinic teachings, which prohibit sexual relationships between individuals of same gender, and base gender roles on birth biology. Sex between men and particularly anal intercourse is deemed a violation of biblical weight. Lesbian relations are not mentioned in the Bible and are prohibited explicitly only by later rabbinic authorities"(6). 

I think Dahlia Adler is doing an amazing job advocating for the Jewish LGBTQ+ society. Especially within religions, these communities already have a hard time gaining acceptance. Adler's novels raise awareness of the struggles, specifically bisexuals, face in the world word by word, page to page, and story to story.

                                                                 

                                                    (7)
                                    Going Bicoastal and Cool for the Summer           

(4)                                        Going Bicoastal

    "Natalya Fox has twenty-four hours to make the biggest choice of her life: stay home in NYC for the summer with her dad (and finally screw up the courage to talk to the girl she's been crushing on), or spend it with her basically estranged mom in LA (knowing this is the best chance she has to fix their relationship, if she even wants to.)(Does she want to?)

How's a girl supposed to choose?

She can't, and so both summers play out in alternating timelines-- one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the girl she's always wanted. And one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the guy she never saw coming" (4).

    I think it is interesting that Adler incorporated both of the experiences of her character Natalya depending on what her final decision was. The only thing I would be worried about is if the readers only enjoyed one of the perspectives. What if the readers would only want a second part to one of the perspectives? What then? Besides that, I think it is a unique feature that you don't see in a lot of novels in the 21st century.

    From Macmillan Publishers, a New York Times bestselling author of the novels Kate in Waiting and Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli, made a very agreeable review of Adler's Going Bicoastal. She said, "This is what it looks like when a brilliant high concept is executed to perfection. It's got all the Dahlia Adler trademarks-- romance, wry humor, specificity, and genuine emotional depth" (1).                                                                                                                                        Cool for the Summer

"Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. 5He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe... flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life. Except she's haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front door of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers. Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the hot boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl" (5)?

Again, New York Times bestselling author Becky Albertalli left yet another review on one of Adler's novels, this time on Cool for the Summer. Becky claimed, "Witty, wise, and disarmingly tender. I am hopelessly devoted to this summer dream of a book" (8). It is clear to me that Albertalli is a true fan of Adler's works, and I definitely will be too once I read her amazing works. She is a true example of advocating for the LGBTQ+ communities, and I can't wait to learn more about her through her writings.

(1)- Dahlia Adler, Macmillan Publishers, us.macmillan.com/author/dahliaadler. Accessed 3 Mar. 2024.

(2)- Kirichanskaya, Michele. “Interview with Dahlia Adler.” Geeks OUT, 12 May 2021, www.geeksout.org/2021/05/12/interview-with-dahlia-adler/.

(3)- Andrew. “Guest Post: Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler.” Guest Post: BEHIND THE SCENES by Dahlia Adler, Dyadic Echoes, 11 June 2014, www.dyadicechoes.com/2014/06/guest-post-behind-scenes-by-dahlia-adler.html.

(4)- Missprint. “Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler: A Review.” Going Bicoastal, good reads, 6 Nov. 2023, missprint.wordpress.com/2023/12/18/going-bicoastal-by-dahlia-adler-a-review/.

(5)- “Book Review: Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler: Regal Reads.” Regal Reads | Reading and Writing like Royalty, Sarah, 26 May 2021, www.regalreads.com/2021/05/13/book-review-cool-for-the-summer-by-dahlia-adler/.

(6)- “Stances of Faiths on #LGBTQ Issues: #Orthodox Judaism.” Human Rights Campaign, HRC Foundation, www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-orthodox-judaism. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.

(7)- “Our Jewish Community Celebrated Pride Month: Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey.” Our Jewish Community Celebrated Pride Month | Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, jewishheartnj.org/news/our-jewish-community-celebrated-pride-month. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.

(8)- “Cool for the Summer.” Macmillan Publishers, 20 July 2021, us.macmillan.com/books/9781250765833/coolforthesummer.