Jennifer Dugan is one of my favorite writers out there, and Some Girls do may be her best yet. It's an impeccably written romance that explores all of the issues and choices of coming out with care and thought and plenty of swoon. You won't want to miss it. Read my full review and interview with the author for Culturess at the link below.

SAPPHIC REP OF A BEAUTY QUEEN THAT WORKS ON CARS!!! AHHH!!! I love everything that Jennifer Dugan writes. She can do no wrong. I’ve heard varying opinions on this book, but as a person raised in a similar type of town, I really felt represented in so many different ways whilst reading. Can’t wait for more gay girls written by Dugan.

There were so many cute moments throughout this book, and it really has me wanting a whole story on Ruby’s life.

The writing was fun and clear and had me absorbed in the story right from the beginning, and the characters were overall likeable. However, Morgan could be incredibly irritating which took me out of the enjoyment of the book periodically. It was great to see two teens in this story in different situations (one out and proud, another not out and not in a situation where it was safe to be so), and Morgan really wants to fight for her values and what she believes in, but also went a bit far with wanting everyone to come out without regard to their situations. The narrative at least gives us the nuance that not everyone is in a position where they can come out, but Morgan’s attitude about this was a lot.

Overall, the story was enjoyable and made for a quick summer read!

(Also if there’s ever a spin off that follows Ruby and her life after this… count me in)

Thank you to Penguin Teen & Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was so soft and now I am soft after reading it.

Morgan has just transferred schools when it turns out being queer goes against her Catholic school's code of conduct. After being forced into a closet, Morgan is ready to be out and live her truth loudly and visibly. Beauty pageant contestant Ruby didn't even think girls were an option. After almost hitting Morgan with her car, she can't help but wonder about the new girl and notice her feelings.

I really loved that queer visibility was one of the main topics in this book. Being out means different things to different people and circumstances that allow people to be out vary. Ruby is just discovering her bisexual identity and what it could mean for her. Her mother has very specific goals for Ruby, and being queer isn't one of them. Ruby's complicated relationship with her mother is only further strained by the family finances.

Whereas for Morgan, she is trying to come to terms with the fact that her last school wanted to force her back in the closet and to never allow her to come out. She's determined to fight for what's right and for all the other closeted queer people her old school has hurt. But legal battles are messy and while her parents do their best, Morgan focuses her energy at her new schools Queer club and with a local organization that aims to support queer teens.

I loved the social justice aspect of this book. The feeling of helplessness that Morgan describes is all too familiar. Are we ever doing enough when people are still being hurt and not given equal rights globally?

I really loved seeing Ruby and Morgan fall for each other. It was so stinking cute. Also there's a great queer supporting cast. All books need them, they make everything better. There were some issues that seemed like they never really got resolved, like the track teams possible homophobia. But definitely my favorite Dugan novel to date!!

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan was one of my most anticpaited contemporary novel of the whole year and it didn't let me down!
This queer contemporary novel was such an amazing book with some lighthearted moments between Morgan and Ruby, and some heavy moments too. This novel follows our two main characters morgan who is out and proud to be a lesbian, and Ruby who is also a lesbian but isn't out and proud yet until she meets morgan. These two characters made me went through a roller coaster of emotions for them. One minuet I was laughing, one minuet I was crying, one minuet I was smiling like a crazy person.
Morgan is your average teenager trying to navgate this crazy thing called life as a queer kid. She gets kicked out of her old school because her coach wouldn't let her play on their team. So, morgan has to move to the new school where she meets Ruby. Ruby is our beauty queen padgent girl. I am not a big fan of padgents but it was intresting to learn from.
I don't want to say anything else other than get some tisssues for when u start crying like I did! This is more than a contemporary story it about finding love, family issues, and standing up for yourself! This was a perfect book to read in the month of June because it's Pride month! So happy pride everyone and I hope u pick this book soon because it was amazing and I may have fallen in love with Jennifer Dugan's books now! So yay us, five out five stars!!(:

I really enjoyed this book! As a sapphic person reading books with a sapphic couple as the main characters is always amazing! Not only this was great but the story itself was also fantastic

Thank you PenguinTeen and Netgalley for the advanced copy of Some Girls Do!

I'm a 100% sucker for a slowburn romance even though it kills me and this one delivered! This YA queer contemporary follows an openly gay track star and a closeted bisexual teen beauty queen with a car hobby. This book hits home for me particularly because of the catholic school setting. While I've never gone, my children do and it's tough thinking about the struggles LGBT youth will go through in a religious school setting - I hope my kids are open and honest and understanding... being a safe space for their friends or their friends being a safe space for them.

The back and forth between Morgan and Ruby was perfect for teen romance. Though it did make me sad at how much Morgan didn't want their relationship to be a secret but at the same time it made me sad how Ruby felt so betrayed by Morgan telling people without her permission. Coming out can be such a sensitive and delicate topic depending on the circumstance and I think the author did a great job describing what queer youth can go through in this setting.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book! I seriously enjoyed it!

I did feel like the pacing was off just a little bit, but overall I think a teen would love how fast the book develops.

Some Girls Do is a great queer contemporary YA read about the relationship that forms between Morgan and Ruby. Morgan is a track star and Ruby is a frequent beauty pageant contestant with a passion for working on cars. Morgan is openly gay and starting at a new school after having to leave her Catholic private school because being gay was against their code of conduct. The connection that blooms between Morgan and Ruby tells a story about first love and not rushing anyone out of the closet before they are comfortable. I liked Morgan’s character, especially her drive to help others of the LGBTQ+ community. Ruby had great character development. I really enjoyed the relationship she has with her ex stepdad, especially as he tells her he’s always there for her and offers her a place to stay anytime she needs it. His support means a lot to Ruby and it was a bit of a teary eyed moment for me.

In the end, the book was enjoyable. I did find that some of the supporting characters had storylines mentioned that were not explored and would have loved some follow up. I am hoping that this could potentially mean another book featuring those characters? I’d definitely read it.

3.5 ⭐️

Charming and cute romance story with diverse characters. Definitely a must read! Very engaging and fun.

Can I first just mention how beautiful this cover is?? The colors, the girls, the style, I love it all! Some Girls Do is another cute book on par with "She Drives Me Crazy" so if you loved that, please give this a try. Another LGBTQ book that even helped me understand myself a little bit more, it features two girls who are on absolutely opposite sides of the spectrum. One is loud and proud, volunteering at her local center and helping other athletes and kids her age with their struggles with identity. The other is unsure, pushing back her feelings for the sake of her mother and the pageant world she's in to satisfy and be accepted. When these two worlds collide, sparks fly, fireworks boom and you'll be hooked to read the next page constantly. It's another easy, cute story about identity and becoming who you are because you want to be that person. I'm in love with books like these because they satisfy both the craving to finish a book and to read something that makes you feel a little lighter on the inside.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes included in this review are from an unfinished copy of the book.

Content Warnings: homophobia, internalized homophobia, emotional parental abuse, transphobia (minor), car accident (minor)

Overall Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Plot: 4 / 5
Writing: 3.5 / 5
Characters: 4 / 5
Setting: 5 / 5
Romance: 3.5 / 5
Themes: 5 / 5

“I’m not spending my life pretending I’m someone I’m not, or making myself smaller and quieter, just because someone else thinks I should.”

First there’s Morgan. Track Runner. Rom-com Lover. Openly Gay.

“In this universe, I love exactly two things: sleep and my car.”

And then there’s Ruby. Beauty Queen. Car Tinkerer. In the Closet.


I know I’m not supposed to judge books by their covers… but I judged Some Girls Do, and wasn’t disappointed!
Some Girls Do was my first Jennifer Dugan book, and I look forward to reading more from her. Told in alternating perspectives, this sapphic romance follows Morgan, a lesbian track star, and Ruby, a bisexual beauty queen who likes to fix up cars. After Morgan is kicked out of her Catholic School, she transfers to Ruby’s high school, where the two are undeniably drawn together.
As characters, Ruby and Morgan had distinct personalities and were well-developed with room for growth. The issues and situations they face are realistic, and above all, relatable.

… this is the story of what happens when two girls fall in love, but only one is ready to come out of the closet.

If you’ve read Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey this feels like it could be the Disney Teen version of the bisexual teenager in that book. (Though let’s be honest, Disney would never. Can’t piss off the heteros!)

Morgan wasn’t really my favorite. She was a bit if a martyr/savior-esque for my taste, a little selfish, and somewhat single-minded/ignorant (which is entirely appropriate for a teen, but still annoying). The whole wanting to save everyone thing was a bit much, especially when it seemed like it could’ve been a detriment to others safety. I wished she would get her head out of her ass more than a few times. BUT. I can also see that she’s been through somethings and I understand wanting to live your truth and not be ashamed of who you are.

Ruby broke my heart, though. She wasn’t perfect. She’s really messy. But she’s just trying to figure shit out in a really awful situation. I did a lot of keeping my head down and mouth shut when I was a teen, because sometimes your available option isn’t your best option. Sometimes you just have to make it through.

While both characters (mainly Morgan) pissed me off from time to time, I think they both grew a lot by the end of the book and that was good to see.

All in all, this book was cute and enjoyable. It’s not a must-read in my opinion, but I can see this story being really impactful for lots of teens and young adults.

Plus this cover is so fucking cute I could die. It’s what sapphic dreams are made of.

Read if you like: opposites attract, Only Mostly Devastated, Love, Victor, sapphic young adult books

⚠️TWs: homophobia, biphobia, pressure to come out, emotional abuse, toxic parent, bigotry, bullying, alcoholism, slut shaming, religious trauma

Quick Stats
Age Rating: 14+
Overall: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Plot: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4/5

TW: homophobia, bullying, rumors, slut shaming, child abuse.

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All of the opinions discussed her our my own, honest thoughts.

This book was so cute! If you’re looking for a sapphic contemporary—look no further.
Closeted bisexual pageant queen, Ruby, and out and proud lesbian, Morgan, have undeniable chemistry—but Ruby isn’t ready to come out, and Morgan doesn’t want another closet relationship.
There was a whole lot of angst, which isn’t my favorite, but if that’s something you like, you’ll love this book! I absolutely adored Ruby’s character. I was rooting for her from the start. Morgan bothered me a bit. I expected Ruby to be the self centered one (I guess I was working off of pageant queen stereotypes)but in the end, it was Morgan.
Was it my favorite? No. I found the plot lacking and a bit too angsty, but it might be right up your alley, so I definitely recommend checking it out if it seems like something you’d like.

I really enjoyed this story! Morgan and Ruby are both dynamic characters and grow individually throughout the story and make realizations as to what’s actually important to them.
I liked that they came from diverse family backgrounds- where Morgan has a supportive family who has been to hell and back with her, Ruby unfortunately only has her mother- who- I believed loves her, but she has a bad relationship with her and this isn’t really overcome in the story. However I saw a lot of growth in Ruby no longer dealing with the sh*t from her and learns how to defend herself/leaves the toxic situation at the end of the story.

I felt like the romance between the two were believable, but I wish we would’ve gotten more of a chemistry/development with them because I still felt like the romance in the story was a bit lacking.

I loved Morgan’s new Pride Club gang and how supportive of her they were- they were my favorites of the book so far.

Overall I loved this read and thought it was great for summer!

Yes. Yes. YESSSSSSSSS! This was the story my bi-heart needed! I loved Dugan's books before but now I'm going to campaign to be president of her fan club. This was outstanding on every single level - brilliant characters that tore my heart out, story line that punched me right in the feels, and pacing that had me captivated. I could not get enough of this story and now that I'm finished, I am ready to read it again. I will be screaming my love for this necessary story from the rooftops and highly recommending it to every reader I can find.

This one was cute. I really enjoyed it. The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is I feel like the middle dragged a little too long.

Some Girls Do had me from the moment I heard Jennifer Dugan was writing a new book but really hooked me with the gorgeous cover by Jeff Osterberg though really it had the heart and meat to it for me to merit the hype I’d built up for it. I’d adored Dugan’s previous books, especially Verona comics and its treatment of queer characters so I was very excited to see she was coming out with a queer girl book and this book had all the heart and wit and care of Verona but a very different flavor.
Some Girls Do centers around two main characters- Ruby and Morgan. Ruby has spent her life doing pageants to make her mom happy even though she’d rather be spending time working on cars. Her mom won’t hear of it though and definitely won’t hear of Ruby having feelings for girls which gets complicated when morgan moves to town. After facing backlash from her private school for coming out, Morgan is done being quiet about being gay. While her parents fight a lawsuit against her old school and fight to help Morgan run for the school track team, she’s determined to help other queer kids.
I think the best part of this book for me was how Dugan tackled pride and varying degrees of being out and how being out isn’t always cut and dry. There are so many books and movies about coming out but very rarely do they ever truly delve into the dangers and risks one can face by coming out. Being brave and honest is a great message but I appreciated the way Some Girls Do talked about how not everyone can and not everyone wants to do that while still in high school which is valid and deserves to be talked about.
Some Girls Do was a very quick and compulsive read for me and well-paced. Dugan caught a kind of magic when writing the scenes with Morgan and Ruby. I loved all the side characters like mOrgan’s brother Dylan and the Pride club but I especially had a soft spot for Billy and Ruby’s relationship. That was just so sweet. Though Ruby and Morgan were my favorites and their scenes were just electric. Every time they’d have a scene together was like lightning in a bottle, just vibrant and exciting and charged and I just loved it, the tension was palpable and made me root for them.
This book did my queer heart so much good. I loved how messy and real but sweet it was. Definitely another book well written by Dugan and I’d recommend it in a heartbeat. Though I will say, content warning for homophobia and also an abusive parent, so be aware!

Morgan is an athlete and the new kid, coming from a private school where she was shamed for being openly gay. Ruby is the closeted bi beauty queen who loves to work on her glorious classic car more than pageantry. And when the two meet, reluctant sparks fly.

Morgan doesn’t want to feel this way about Ruby because she is kind of mean and Ruby doesn’t want to feel the way she feels for Morgan because she is a girl and Ruby just isn’t ready to acknowledge those feelings yet.

This was a sweet and sometimes sad, but ultimately really wonderful story about overcoming, being yourself and finding love. I had such a great time reading this one and I can’t wait to read more of Jennifer Dugan’s books.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Some Girls Do as I found the plot boring at times and the side characters more interesting than the main characters. Romances where one person isn't out can be hit or miss, and I think this one was a miss for me just because of Morgan's desire to force people to do what she wants them to. I think it is realistic for some people, but it didn't make for a character I rooted or cared much for.

I loved Morgan's brother and Ruby's ex-stepdad the most as both were the perfect blend of funny and supportive. They showed the importance of LGBTQ+ teens having someone in their corner, especially when things get tough.

The ending was cute, if a little rushed, but I think the last 10% of the book redeemed it for me. Overall, this wasn't a great read for me, but I'd recommend it if you want to see opposites attract and two girls realizing their relationship will need a lot of give and take.

First off, I want to thank Penguin Teen for sending me this book through NetGalley for review!

I'm giving Some Girls Do a 4.5/5 and it's so close to being 5/5 but I'll explain why it just missed that rating a little later on.

Some Girls Do is a YA contemporary queer romance that follows the love story of a gay track star and a closeted, bisexual teen beauty queen who loves fixing up old cars. Morgan has always been a runner and with a D1 offer she's already set to continue her track career. Until she's forced to transfer from her ultra conservative private Catholic high school late in her senior year due to "queerness being against the school's code of conduct". This puts her college offer on the line as she has to decide whether it's worth it to pursue a lawsuit and lose her offer or give in to the demands and hopefully get that offer back. At her new high school she meets Ruby who is not only a local beauty pageant competitor but also an avid automotive fan. But Ruby bears the pressure of her overbearing mother who pushes her to compete in pageants to live out her missed dreams despite Ruby's dislike of them. Despite a rocky first meeting (or two or three) the two are drawn to each and as their feelings grow so do their problems. Morgan is out and proud and ready to live her life in the open without hiding her relationship with Ruby. But, Ruby isn't ready to come out yet. With each girl on a different path toward living her truth, can they go the distance together?

Let me start by saying contemporary YA isn't usually my cup of tea but I was really looking to expand my reading and explore more sapphic books and this cover was just so gorgeous I knew I had to try it. That being said this book blew away my expectations. I think this was so interesting and I really like character based stories so I was very invested in the story immediately. I loved seeing a ton of LGBTQ+ representation and I think the situations that this book dealt with were done well (at least to me) and I really felt like I learned a lot of about the community and situations they face. This was an awesome coming of age love story that drew me in and it had the right amount of angst (let's call it that) and romance that had me flipping the page for more.

Now where this book falls short for me is that I think it could have been a little longer. There were a few characters and plot lines that I feel like didn't go anywhere and left me with questions and unfinished stories. What happens with Tyler? Does Morgan ever get through to her friends? I was actually really invested them and I think they should have been addressed more because I have questions. What about Ruby's track career? What about Ruby's mom?!? I also wish there had been a bit more slow burn because Morgan and Ruby basically had feelings for each other right away and I wanted a bit more development. Anyway that's really where I felt like the book didn't meet my expectations so I'm taking .5 off of my rating.

Overall, please go read this book it was so poignant and I really loved it.