I really enjoyed reading this! I think Hayley was perfectly able to capture the feeling of the Girls Like Girls music video throughout the novel. The writing isn't perfect but I still thought it was super fun to read and it was easy to get through. I would be interested to see Hayley writing more books if she felt inclined to! 3.5 stars from me :)

Y’all, Hayley Kiyoko wrote an absolute masterpiece. I know I’m late posting this review, but once I started reading this, I completely devoured it. At the moments when I had to pause reading, this was the only thing I could think about. The sheer exhaustion I felt last night, was the only reason I was unable to finish it last night. Obsessed is an understatement. I need this book physically so that I can just admire it.

The story was so so so good, validating and comforting. Coley, the amazing strength this girl has is amazing. She starts with an understanding of who she is, which turns into silent acceptance, and then that turns into pride. Sonya, babygirl is perfectly okay to be scared. The world has NOT been kind to our community, but with love you can do anything. I’m honestly so fucking proud of these two.

I’m also, so so happy that Coley was able to take a step back from Sonya and really get the chance to connect with her Dad, and some other really amazing people. She made a lot of great, long-lasting friendships at work, and I love that for my girl. Sonya also needed that break, she need that chance to realize what was important to her and what isn’t worth losing. I’m so happy she eventually got the strength to act on her own happiness.

The two things I really wanted to see were: Coley coming out to her dad; I just know he would’ve been the absolute sweetest and supportive dad. And Sonya standing up to her mom; man, I wanted to fight the mom and she barely appeared on the pages. Other than that, ugh I loved this book so much! READ THIS BOOK.

I was 20, about to turn 21, when Hayley released the song “Girls Like Girls” and while I was always silent in accepting who I was, this song made me feel the most seen. I obsessed over this song and replayed it constantly. Catch me telling, nah PUSHING, all my besties to read this book. New mission unlocked: See Hayley sing this song live one day.

I’m not going to deny that I requested this arc because I’m a huge fan of the song. Sadly this book just isn’t for me.

I couldn’t get past the writing style which feels juvenile even for a YA novel. I got a lot of secondhand embarrassment from the cringy dialogue.

As a millennial I did enjoy the nostalgia of LJ and AIM but I’m also wondering if the target audience for this book will?

Do they know what LiveJournal is? Or AIM for that matter. Both are dinosaurs in internet years!

*Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC!

Very well written book! I was not sure what to expect but I enjoyed the story the author told . It is a quick read and I think a great read for any young girl struggling with following one’s heart and not feeling pressure from society. The story covers one’s sexuality, drugs , mental health, suicide and bullying. It’s a book about self discovery. It is a quick read .

I voluntarily received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

I would recommend this book

the music video set the bar so high, that this book didn’t even stand a chance

i feel like this book could’ve been SO MUCH MORE, i had such hopes for this, like, a cute, summer, sapphic romance, who wouldn’t be excited for that?? but long story short, this is what we got instead

-an annoying back and forth between the characters
-one of the fmc’s exes, who is quite literally the definition of an SA waiting to happen
-unlikeable side characters
-a lack of any kind of emotionally depth
-not a single speck of the relationship, that wasn’t even really a relationship??
-incohesive plotlines

truthfully, i just want everyone in this book to leave each other alone, heal, and find some peace

the only small detail i liked was coley building her relationship with her dad, but it took to long to get there sadly

thank you to netgalley and st. martin's press for the arc

I loved this book! At first when it started I wasn’t too sure if it was going to be too heavy but it handled the pain of loss well and after a few chapters I was completely hooked. The romance was sweet and undeniable from the beginning. The confusion between the two girls made the story easy to relate to. I loved the journal entries and that Coley goes through quite a bit to figure out who she is and what she wants. I honestly can’t believe this is a debut. This was a great read that I would definitely recommend as a sweet romance.

CW: death of a parent


Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

Mini synopsis: after the death of her mother, Coley moves in with her estranged father in a new town where she makes new friends, falls for a girl & repairs her relationship with her dad.

This was more than I was expecting! I don’t mean that in a bad way but when you see a celebrity writing a book, I never know exactly what to expect. But I will say I really enjoyed reading this book!

What I liked was the slow build of the relationship, the will they won’t they. At most points in the book I was thinking no way they aren’t gonna end up together. TBH Sonia was awffuuullll I know we are supposed to root for them but she was just the worst! Even when she tried to make it up, I felt like Coley shouldn’t have forgiven her for all the shit she put her thru.

Another thing I loved was the repairing of a relationship between Coley and her dad. The tenseness of the beginning and the sweet ending. Him coming to her rescue after that crazy scene with girl from the gas station 😳 I did not see that coming! But I liked how it brought them closer together and helped rebuild a relationship.

While I wasn’t the exact same age as the main character in 2006, I really related to all the instant messenger chats and live journals. Such a fun touch!!

Overall, a solid read with all the summer vibes! I would def recommend & am gonna keep my eye out for more novels from her!

I fell in love with Hayley's music video for her song Girls Like Girls years ago when it was released, so when I saw that she'd decided to expand that story into a novel, I was so excited. I went into this expecting a similar tone to the video, and that the characters would feel recognizable to anyone familiar with the video, but that wasn't what I got. I might not be as disappointed by this book if it had been released as an individual story, with a different title and character names, instead of a tie-in with an existing song and video. Completely not for me as someone who loved the video and was expecting an expansion of that storyline, but maybe someone completely unfamiliar with the material that inspired this book would enjoy it more.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this eARC in exchange for a review!

As someone who was heavily impacted by the Girls Like Girls music video growing up and it being a part of my queer awakening (even before i realized it was), I loved having a continuation of Coley's story. I also really enjoyed having the intermittent livejournal chapters so we can see how Sonya's brain is working through all of the feelings as well.

I think that Coley's self healing journey was really emotional and raw as well. As someone who has experienced loss in the same way, I felt like I was really able to relate to her in a number of ways. The writing style is very simple, and I can see how some people may be turned away from that, but I personally felt like it made me get into Coley's head even more deeply, and process her grief and confusion the exact same way she was.

As mentioned before the writing is really simple, and while I had a deep connection with the music video and song so i connected to this book a lot, I will say you may not have the same reading experience if the song/video was not as important to your growing up. I cannot say for sure, but I could see that being the case for some readers! Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend!

I wish I could do half stars here, cause I would really give this book a 3.5 because the concept and inspiration is amazing, it was just missing something extra.

I really wanted to love it, but if sort of fell flat to me, especially towards the end. There was so much build up and then it was all kind of resolved in a couple chapters right at the end. Maybe it's cause slow-burns aren't my favourite, but I wanted to see them actually be together more than just the last few pages. Or maybe its cause I wanted more than a story with so much of the plot being based on internal homophobia. Either way, I just wish there was more!

Coley is the new kid in town after having to move in with her dad, who she hasn't seen since she was a baby. On one her of first days out exploring her new surroundings she meets Sonya, who she immedietly falls in love with. While Coley is coming to terms with being queer, Sonya is only just starting to question, which is a difficult thing being from a small conservative town.

I did really enjoy the beginning and seeing Coley and Sonya's friendship grow into something more, but Sonya seemed to recover from her struggles with her sexuality very suddenly and I wanted so much more of the aftermath of Sonya deciding she wants to be with Coley, no matter the cost.

I know this book is based of our Lesbians Jesus' (also known as Hayley Kiyoko) music video by the same name, I just wish that inspiration wasn't the full climax at the end and we got to see more of them together.

I absolutely loved this, it’s such a cute story of chaotic yet beautiful people. I loved the mc Coley and her ability to look inward and decide what love she wanted. Such a good book.

This music video is amazing so of course I was extremely excited to get a ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

Once I started this I could not put it down. Let me start by saying this book is messy. I know that sounds bad, but I mean that in the best way. The story, much like our heroine, is all over the place. All the conflicting feelings, trauma, and overall messiness of life when you are 16 really shines here. Coley has been through a lot in her short life and you feel all of it right along with her.

Once you accept this and roll with it the story just flows. The emotions and situations are all intense and I loved every second of the drama. There are of course things I would love to see more or less of, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to whatever Hayley Kiyoko does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Hayley Kiyoko for letting me read this arc. I have been a huge fan of Hayley's for a while now, and I'm beyond thrilled that I got to read this! I got really attached to the main character Coley very quickly. I lost my mom when I was in my early 20's. Not the same age as her, but I can still relate to her over that. I really hated Trenton. He was the worst. I think this story was so important as well. The Sapphic representation is amazing. I loved seeing Coley and Sonya's relationship change throughout the book.. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends this year. Thank you again so much for letting me read this arc.

how is it possible for something to change my life so
deeply twice?? when hayley kiyoko put out the girls
like girls video in 2015 i remember thinking wow finally
a video that encapsulates so much of what i was
experiencing in that time of my life. a video where girls
can fall in love with each other. obviously, i jumped at
the chance to read the book based on that music
video!!!

i started this book during a break at work and finished
it before i fell asleep that night, i was so hooked!! it
followed the music video while adding in pertinent
background so you could really empathize with the
characters as you read. this was so so so amazing,
truly i don't think my words can do this review justice.
there was pain, grief, self-loathing, mental health
struggles, and the fear of not being good enough for
our parents to love us. but there was also so much
love between the characters and they struggled
through their first sapphic relationship and what it
meant to them.

hayley kiyoko shouldn't be able to change my life twice
but she did!! i wish everyone could experience this
book like i did

Based on Hayley Kiyoko's Song Girls Like Girls music video, this book to helps expand on Coley's experience moving to a new city and with her dad who she does not have a relationship with after her *trigger* mother's suicide. Coley is trying to find herself and is just starting to understand herself and her exploration of her sexuality.

This book is enjoyable, though i feel reads very young YA.

I had a really hard time reading a book set in 2006 because of my 2023 lens. It's not a romance and it's too much of a oh well boys will do that. The love interest is a mean girl and our main character deserved a lot better. I didn't much care for this one.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Content warnings (not a complete list – just what I noticed while reading, cross-referenced with Storygraph):
Graphic: death of a parent, suicide, homophobia, lesbophobia, drug and alcohol use, grief; Moderate: violence, mental illness, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, hate crime, abandonment, sexual harassment; Minor: vomit, abortion, blood

Girls Like Girls takes place in 2006 and follows Coley, a seventeen-year-old girl grieving her mother. After her mother's suicide, she moves to a small town to live with her estranged father. There she meets Sonia, and is immediately attracted to her. She and Sonia quickly form a friendship and spend all their time together. As they get closer, Coley and Sonia start to become more than friends, However, Sonia has never thought about her sexuality and isn't ready to be in a relationship with another girl. She's scared to follow her feelings and potentially lose her family and friends, hurting Coley in the process. This book is often messy, but it seems like a fairly realistic depiction of a queer teenage relationship where one of the people is still figuring out their identity, especially back in 2006.

This book deals with heavy topics. Please check out the content warnings before reading.

I love the Girls Like Girls song and music video so I was really looking forward to this. Although I enjoyed it, I didn't like as much as I'd hoped.

I liked the character of Coley and her growth and healing throughout the book was more emotional that I expected. Kioyoko did a great job building up her relationship with Curtis, her father. I struggled a bit more with Sonia. I understand that she has a hard time accepting and understanding her identity, but I wanted her to work on herself more before getting into a relationship with Coley. She betrayed Coley's trust and hurt her and I don't feel like she really made up for that. I'm not saying she should have been "punished" by the story, but I don't think she showed enough emotional growth for her relationship with Coley to be fully healthy. The book ended really abruptly, so I think having a bit time on Sonia's growth and change would have make their relationship healthier and something I felt like I could root for. Although I found the character of Sonia not always the best, I do think Kiyoko did a great job making the character of Trenton so infuriating.

Overall, this is a pretty good novelization of Kiyoko's iconic music video, but I don't think it's nearly as good as the actual song. I'd recommend this to fans of Kiyoko's music (especially the song the book is based on), but maybe not to people who don't have an emotional attach to the song and music video.

I've been a fan of Hayley Kiyoko and was excited to read this book and support her.

Coley has moved to small town Oregon after her mother's death. She's living with her father, whom she hasn't seen since she was 3, and trying to figure herself out. Soon after moving she meets a group of people, and becomes fast friends with Sonya. Friendship turns in to more as Coley finds herself having feelings for Sonya as well.

Hayley Kiyoko really nailed the passion and extremes that teenagers encompass -- I remember feeling just like Coley and Sonya, every little thing felt so big.

I loved the LiveJournal entries, made it feel very much from 2006, and I really enjoyed all the songs that Sonya included in them -- brought back a lot of memories.

The end felt a little rushed and there were several things I would have liked more information about, or more tying up of loose ends.

I hope that this book gets in the hands of teenagers who need to read a story about someone like them!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

3 Stars Girls Like Girls by musician (and now author) Hayley Kiyoko was a fairly solid debut. Kiyoko was best at letting her sense of humor come through in her writing, but the story was overall pretty average. The attraction between the main characters was a bit of insta-love, which isn’t everyone’s favorite (or most believable) trope. The writing was a bit basic, but a good first try.

Haley Kiyoko, known for her music, makes her writing debut with Girls Like Girls. Releasing just in time for Pride Month in June I know this will resonate with many, as it did with me. The storyline itself is relatively simple and nothing earth shattering, but it's simplicity really works with Haley's lyrical writing style. While this is a romance, it has so much growth with the main characters - both individually and within a variety of both romantic and non romantic relationships.

It reads as a debut novel, but I still enjoyed the story. It ended very abruptly and that is my main complaint with the story - I wanted to see more development for the main character, Coley, and with Sonya. It handled sensitive topics relatively well, but I don't think the ending did justice to a few of them.

I do recommend this book, just go into it knowing that it originated from a music video and is written by a music artist - it's a quick, cute read, but not quite the best thing I've ever read!

I received an ARC from St. Martin's Press and the author in exchange for an honest review.