I'm gonna be so real: I was not expecting to like this, and I think that is probably the main reason why I ended up enjoying it. This book isn't groundbreaking or a fantastic piece of literature, but going into it expecting very little, just coming along for the ride, I had a very fun time. This is coming from someone who has no personal attachment to Hayley Kiyoko, so I'm approaching this solely as a review of the YA book as it stands on its own.

Girls Like Girls follows Coley right before she enters her senior year of high school in a new town. After her mother died by suicide, we see Coley struggle with making amends (and deciding if she even wants to) with her father, whom she hadn't previously seen since she was 3 years old. But then Coley meets Sonya, this sharp girl who hides parts of herself from the world, and she can't help but feel immediate attraction. But does Sonya even like her back? And is Coley even worthy of love, when those who're supposed to love her the most have left her?

The writing was very easy to get through, even if not the most complex. There were a lot of clichés; one in particular that stood out was a literal "she's not like other girls." It made me laugh because it fit so well with the general writing style and it was genuinely supposed to be a groundbreaking statement. Truly the epitome of a basic YA book.

The pacing was very fast, which for the most part worked, except for the ending. There isn't exactly a concrete resolution, and some large time jumps. The issues were still very much there and very little talking through and addressing of them was done. This meant it was a very quick read, but I was left a little unsure of if I could root for the romance in the end.

The romance was wild to read about. There was definitely a lot of internalized homophobia that both characters, but mostly the love interest (Sonya), had to deal with. And yeah, this was an exact case of insta-love. However, it still managed to feel fun and messy — very teenager-like. So while I wasn't completely sold on the two of them as a couple, I still was invested in their relationship and story. I just wish the ending wasn't as rushed so we could see how they worked together to push past the obstacles in their way.

The characters weren't the most fleshed-out, but I found it didn't bother me that much. The side characters, especially, had moments where they felt like whole human beings, but in the end were still relatively one-dimensional. I will say that I enjoyed the Live Journal entries that were used to express Sonya's point of view, and Coley's own perspective pulled me in.

Despite my critiques, I did enjoy this book a great deal. Seeing Coley work through her grief for her mother and her own self-worth made Girls Like Girls worthwhile for me, as did the relative ease of reading it. I recommend this, probably not as a fantastic book, but as a quick and nostalgic read.

Trigger Warnings: mentions of suicide, parent death, absent parent and abandonment, homophobia (including internalized), violence, gaslighting

This was disappointing. I requested the book because I loved the song, but I didn't feel any similarities. My main problems with the book are that it is painfully slow and nothing really happens while at the same time all of the characters are awful and unlikeable. Except maybe the dad, who appears every now and then. He has no clue how to parent, but he's sort of trying, only to be rebuffed.

There is also a LOT of casual underage drinking that is never examined. Like a lot. Sonya (who is a terrible person) is constantly drinking or drunk and Coley just sort of goes along with it.

I didn't feel any chemistry between Coley and Sonya, and because I intensely disliked both of them it made it hard to root for their relationship.

While I can understand Coley's pain and that maybe that's what drives her to be so terrible to everyone, I can't bring myself to enjoy reading about it or like her.

The audiobook narrator's performance just enhances the unlikeability of the characters.

This is another case of terrible people doing terrible things just not being the sort of book I enjoy.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an early copy for review.

I appreciate so much realistically unreliable (and yes, sometimes even unlikeable) characters. Girls Like Girls felt like it captured such authentic, messy, frustrating, wonderful moments pulled right from the real experience of being queer and coming of age.

I personally felt Hayley Kiyoko mastered a balancing act many authors in contemporary YA struggle with; ROMANCE VS REAL LIFE. The romance (though quick in it's development) complimented the books heavier moments really well. And further, the book dealt with it's heaviest (and potentially triggering) moments and themes (grief, heartbreak, self-acceptance--among others) tactfully and with so much heart. While not everyone may relate to Coley's story or experiences, I think many readers will see parts of themselves reflected in this story. And while the novel can certainly appeal to those of all ages, the choice to set it in 2006 definitely could rein in a crowd of 20-30 somethings who grew up in the age of myspace, livejournal, instant messaging, and a lot less honest, positive LGBTQIA2S+ representation. People who may not otherwise choose to pick up a YA book.

While not without it's flaws, Girls Like Girls was an emotional and enjoyable read. (Even Trenton, as awful as I found him, was not enough to keep me from enjoying this read.) A strong debut that has left me thoroughly looking forward to seeing Hayley Kiyoko's writing grow with whatever she does next.

3.5 Stars: I was gifted an EARC of this novel from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.


This novel was inspired by Hayley Kiyoko's 'Girls Like Girls' music video, and although this is an excellent debut for Hayley Kiyoko, I was left lackluster and felt like the novel lacked some more pivotal moments. The story does have perfect representation and will be one of those once-in-a-lifetime reads for younger readers. Not all YA novels are made to fit adult readers, and this one is the perfect example; it works with the age of readers it is made for. Ideal for those who love the music video and want to know more.

Tropes:
Friends to Lovers
Queer

Girls Like Girls was strange. The original music video was part of my gay awakening as a 12 year old, so I went into this wanting to enjoy it. It's a strange, sapphic, instalove that seems onesided. Coley is obsessed with Sonya the moment they meet and Sonya seems like a straight girl who kisses girls to impress guys. A majority of their friendship happens off page, meaning I have no idea how or why they became friends or why Coley even likes Sonya, much less like likes her. Sonya is unlikeable the entire book. She sets no boundaries with anyone, meaning that she is essentially dating a guy all summer while cheating on him and is surrounded by awful people who flip-flop between being rude and kind to Coley with no explanation as to why.
It felt like stuff was happening just to happen, with no rhyme or reason. No clue why Blake was there, why they drank all the time, why there was a party in a barn, or why Alex was a weed grower. I typically like mixed story-device books that include things like emails, texts, etc, but I ended up just having more questions from those. How is it a "private" journal entry if Coley can read it at some point?
My favorite part of the book was the relationship between Coley and her dad. I enjoyed watching them grow closer and liked the dynamic, its not something I've read before.

“ It’s summertime and 17-year-old Coley has found herself alone, again. Forced to move to rural Oregon after just losing her mother, she is in no position to risk her already fragile heart. But when she meets Sonya, the attraction is immediate.

Coley worries she isn't worthy of love. Up until now, everyone she's loved has left her. And Sonya's never been with a girl before. What if she's too afraid to show up for Coley? What if by opening her heart, Coley's risking it all?”

Love it, 5 stars happily given!

Hmm, somehow fell a little short of expectations. However, I am always up for a lesbian book, so I still did enjoy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this ebook! Hayley Kiyoko did great as a storyteller for this novel; she gave the couple an actual relatable story and relationship. Young adult novels are typically hard for me to complete, but I could not stop reading the story of Coley and Sonya - rooting for them at every turn. This touches on so many real topics of grief, internalized homophobia, the fear of coming out, etc. - such important topics for an LGBTQIA+ book. I would have liked to see an epilogue for their story, but other than that - it was a great read!

I was looking forward to reading this book because I’ve been a fan of Hayley’s music. This book is YA, and that means it has all the usual conventions of the genre, specifically the age and the intensity of the plot. So certain aspects of the book are to be expected, you will not like it if you do not already like YA,

The story starts with Coley, whose mother recently died, moving in with her absentee dad in Oregon. She meets a group of teens, including love interest Sonya. While there were some redeeming traits among the group, for the most part I would not call them Coley’s friends. The group dynamic is toxic. I also wasn’t sure that I wanted a happily ever after/happy for now ending for Coley and Sonya. The ending felt rushed.

Coley’s growth throughout the novel was a highlight. She grows more confident, working through her grief and anger at the sudden change in her life. The toxic group dynamics and homophobia seemed very realistic, both in terms of the age of the characters and the early 2000s setting. I enjoyed the throwbacks to the early 2000s - with less instant communication options than we have now.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the free ARC to review,

First off, I want to thank Wednesday Books for sending me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was very excited to receive this arc since it was Hayley Kiyoko’s debut novel. There are some very heavy topics in this book, such as grief, suicide, loss of a parent, homophobia, internalized homophobia, and violence.

This is the story of Coley, who after her mother’s death, moves to Oregon to live with her dad who she hasn’t seen in years. Still grieving, she doesn’t want to let anyone into her heart. But then she meets Sonya, who she immediately falls for. As the two grow closer, they try to push their feelings down, but they eventually realize that this is easier said than done.

What I really liked is when we got to see more development with Coley and her dad, who she has a strained relationship with since he hadn’t been in her life since she was three. When Coley started opening up to him, working at the restaurant, and trying to move on with her life, I felt like things were really looking up for her. I would’ve loved to have read more about this development. We saw how she was dealing with her grief and suddenly living with her dad, who kept trying to make up for lost time. And while they cannot change the past, they can try to move forward.

Coley fell for Sonya very quickly. I was happy we eventually got some scenes where they started to confide in each other, especially since Sonya seems to put on a facade, which Coley was aware of. But I would’ve loved to see more scenes of them growing closer to help build up their relationship. But I felt as frustrated as Coley with how Sonya would try to ignore what was going on between them. I think the entries in Sonya’s perspective gave us a better idea of what was going on with her, but even then, we could have seen her trust Coley more or realize what kind of people some of her friends were. Fortunately, Sonya did have some friends who seem like they will not only have her back, but Coley’s too. However, so much is focused on Coley and Sonya, who both felt so strongly for each other so quickly, but we didn’t get enough scenes to see why.

Overall, I give it 3/5 stars.

I had really high hopes for this novel. The concept and premise were extremely intriguing to me. The two main characters felt a little insta love for me when I wanted some more depth for them. I enjoyed it as a quick read, but I didn't feel too invested in their relationship. The side characters were unlikeable and didn't add much to the story. I wanted to love it more.

Giving this three stars because it was written by lesbian Jesus, but I didn't LOVE this one. I thought the relationship was a little confusing - they were very serious about each other without having really said much. Definitely felt like this did a lot of telling rather than showing.

I grew up on the “Girls Like Girls” music video so I was so excited to see Hayley finally continue on the story of Sonya and Coley like I’ve been begging her to. It was definitely an entertaining read that kept me captivated until the very end. Even though I’m no longer the “core demographic” for this YA story, I still really loved it. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, especially those who loved the song and video.

This book is surprisingly nostalgic--AIM, Live journal, and many early 2000s references. I thought the view into Sonya's mind through her online presence was an interesting way to do dual POV, although it was a little confusing for the first few chapters.

This is a book I wanted to read in 2010, but now feels too recent (and painful) to be historic and too sad to be enjoyed outright today. Maybe in 20 years this will be an amazing historical queer romance, but right now it makes me sad.

Two girls are in love. Nobody is out. Homophobia is rampant. And one of them is doing everything in her power to hide. It's believable and real and honestly sad without much happy to counteract. I wish there were more moments of job sprinkled throughout this book.

Pretty much none of the characters are likeable. None. Curtis *maybe*. Maybe. They are dealing with stuff but also lacking in redeeming qualities. The highschool era are toxic and that is not addressed, the adults are....absent? And there's room for depth that was not explored.

Overall, feeling kind of sad and unsatisfied by this one--but really, give it 20 years and this book will likely ve excellent realistic historical fiction.


**Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!**

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced Readers copy! I loved this story and fell hard for the main character. Would recommend

Okay so, for being Hayley’s debut novel, I was thoroughly impressed! And it wasn’t a typical memoir like celebrities typically write. No, this was a whole ass teenage queer YA novel that was genuine and you could feel the love she put into this one.

This one has mentions of a loved one and suicide, so please check trigger warnings to keep yourself safe. This book follows Coley, who moves in with her father after her mother’s death. This is a man she never really knew, she’s a 17 year old teenager who’s working with the grief of losing her mom, and is low-key questioning her sexuality. She meets a group of friends and begins exploring with them, but finds herself oddly attracted to one in particular: Sonya. Similarly enough, when it’s just the two of them, it seems like Sonya may be feeling the same way - but pulls back in fear of how friends and family would respond.

This was a great coming of age and coming out story, and I just WOW. Can’t say enough how much this surprised me.

When I first heard about this book, I was absolutely ecstatic. This song and the music video had a chokehold on me at one point in time (and still kind of does tbh). I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I think Hayley Kiyoko is a better singer/songwriter than she is an author of a ya novel. That doesn’t mean I think the book was bad. I enjoyed it at times. But, other times, I was kind of bored.

Sometimes I thought she was stretching a little bit and trying to force some of the scenes from the music video in. Frankly, some of this book felt underdeveloped and unfinished. I think the story was better told in the music video. Everything we need to know about these two characters was already in that video.

Some of the ending felt rushed to me. I would have liked to see it expanded beyond that moment to get a glimpse into where the characters end up. Some of the chaeracters felt underdeveloped. I would have loved to learn more about them and just see their individual characters fleshed out a little more.

Overall, this was a cute, queer romance story but I don’t think I’ll ever reread it. I’ll stick to listening to the song and watching the music video on repeat.

I really tried to get into this book, but I just couldn't.
I think young adult just isn't for me; I'm so removed from that generation that I just get impatient with YA books.

I hope others like it because I do think it is important to have LGBTQI+ books for young adults!

Poignant, thrilling, heartbreaking, and relatable. There was so much I empathized with in Girls like Girls and wish I had books like this when I was younger. Kudos to the author

3.5/5 Stars

After the unexpected loss of her mother, 17 year old Coley moves in with her absentee father in rural Oregon. There she meets popular girl Sonya, who she is instantly drawn to. As they spend more time together, they begin to fall for one another but try to keep their feelings hidden from those around them.

I enjoyed this for the most part, except I absolutely despised Sonya and her friends. I appreciated Sonya's internal struggle with always needing to be perfect, but I'm sorry, she was a shitty human and I couldn't get behind the romance. It was insanely toxic, and unhealthy, I just wanted to save Coley from Sonya. I did like Coley and her relationship with Curtis, her father. I liked watching them learn to trust one another again. I wish the story focused more on them healing from their past and repairing their relationship.