Coley has to move to a small town in Oregon after her mother dies and live with the father she’s never known. I appreciate that this book is trying to handle a lot of heavy things: mental health issues, parent-child relationship issues, maybe some grief/loss. But overall this was a flop for me.

First of all it’s hard to root for anyone when arguably everyone is kind of a horrible person. Sonya is just a bad person. She treats coley horrible, she’s toxic, even with Trenton she’s toxic, and she’s not likable. I would give someone $5 to point out a redeemable quality that Sonya had. Brooke, SJ, and Trenton were bullies and homophobic and contributed nothing to the plot except to get drunk and make questionable decisions and bully people.
Maybe Alex was ok but he was also a drug dealer because he was poor so why wouldn’t he deal I guess? Blake also made horrible choices and was into drugs and stole things and was, in the end a total douche bag. And then there was coley. Who wants to play the victim a bit and don’t get me wrong she’s been a dealt a bad hand but she’s mean to Curtis for 80% of the book and goes back and forth on if she’s gonna be rude or nice to people on a whim. And in the end just runs back to Sonya anyways.

There are other better coming out stories that don’t revolve around a toxic relationship

3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

GIRLS LIKE GIRLS is an honest exploration of queerness and identity in the early 2000s. I hadn't watched the MV for Girls Like Girls before reading, but the picture I had in my head was still somehow sepia-toned. This book felt very real, from the setting to the characters, though some fulfilled specific tropes. The book was a bit repetitive in places, and some parts had me groaning, but overall this is a great story about self-discovery, self-acceptance, and grief.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

A take on young love tied into the music from Hayley Kiyoko. Super adorable all the way through. Ending was predictable but honestly a good book for what I believe is her first time writing one.

3.5 stars

I have to say, this book ended up being better than I expected it to. When I think about this book as an extended prequel to the music video it exceeds every expectation, but I think that without having that context and that nostalgia, it has a bit more trouble standing on its own.

By absolutely no means do I think this book is bad. I didn't have high expectations for a debut novel written by someone who I wouldn't expect to become an author, but honestly, the writing in the book was far better than I anticipated. It definitely leaned into a lyrical style, and since this book was very dialogue-heavy there were some parts that felt a bit cringy, but on the whole it was nothing I wouldn't expect to see in any YA romance.

While I think the first half of the book was fairly strong with the build-up of Sonya and Coley's relationship, I think things started to unravel in the second half. Considering almost the entirety of the book up until that point was about Coley and Sonya's relationship, I think separating them for most of the second half meant the book lost a lot of momentum and started to feel like it was just filling pages. I hoped that things would get brought back around by the end, but everything ended up feeling rushed and a bit anti-climatic. Getting to see the final scene from the video play out in the book was a nice dose of nostalgia, but ultimately felt out of place for where it was in the book.

Overall, I think this book would have worked a lot better if it had just let itself be the novella it was better suited for than trying to stretch things out into a full book. That said, there were some cute moments, it largely felt like a realistic story of young girls coming to terms with their sexuality, and on the whole reading this felt like something of a gift to my teenage self who watched the music video over and over without understanding why. I think this was a pretty decent book for a debut, and I could see myself reading another book by Hayley if she were to ever write one.

I can’t lie, the best part of this book was the acknowledgments.

Coley has just moved in with her dad. Dad that she barely knows but she doesn't have much of a choice, her mom is gone now and he's all she has left. So she moves to a small town and nothing feels right. She does meet some of the young crowd quite fast though and, especially, Sonya, she has an immediate connection with her and they start to spend so much time together... And what if Sonya felt the same way that Covey does?

I wanted to love this. I thought I would love this.
This is set in 2006 and it kind of felt like it was written then too. The characters were two dimensional and I cannot begin to express how much I hated the love interest. She was the worst. So much gaslighting, so much disrespect, forcing the MC to drink alcohol, to shoplift, her ex-boyfriend who she keeps defending while he's a proper bully (which makes her a bully by association imo.) It was all infuriating. And the mc just takes it in stride and just tells you how much she loves her and the whole time I was like WHY?? It drove me insane. Most of the book is about their "relationship" too, so it was hell. The only part I kind of liked was the relationship between the MC and her dad. I also listened to this and the audio production was infuriating, random noises added at random times, it was so destabilizing. I didn't understand the purpose of it. It made me grate my teeth.
Basically, I sadly cannot recommend this one...

*Thank you for the advanced copy for review.

This one was good, but so heavy. A lot to unpack with the main character on her own and also the love interest on her own. Just so much and it felt like the author didn't have time to finish the story. It needed more.

3.25

This book deserved to be so much more but unfortunately, it left me feeling so conflicted that honestly, I'm not sure if it deserves a lower or higher rating.

It kept me engaged and discussed a lot of great topics, such as coming out, misogyny, "boys will be boys", mental health, and complicated family relationships.

But the writing for a lot of the book was so bad and just was unable to keep myself connected. Sonya was extremely one-dimensional whereas Coley had a lot of depth. I couldn't figure out why Coley even liked Sonya to begin with. We saw a little bit of their friendship but not a ton and Sonya was truly terrible so much. I also don't think that she is that dumb that she truly believes "that's just how all guys are." It's one thing to have a trauma response or rose-tinted glasses, but this was another level.

I'm also sick of writers writing about small towns terribly. I don't know if the author has spent a lot of time in a small town but it felt very out of touch. I shouldn't have to withhold belief so much for a contemporary book. Even in small towns, no 17-year-old boy won't let you put anti-itch cream on if it's pink. He might complain but come on.

Also the ending just killed this for me. I get it, not everything has to have a happy ending, but I feel like there wasn't really a resolve? Personally, I think this would have done far better if it wasn't pushed as a romance book, but instead a story of self-exploration and the story of Coley coming out to her dad and such. Like her relationship with her dad was get (though again, really jumped around sometimes and wasn't super realistic).

Girls like Girls
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⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I have never simultaneously loved a book and hated a book at the same time until I read this book.
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I freaking ADORED the plot! How important of a message to discuss mental health, loss of a parent, and being queer in a small town. It was not your average cute YA Rom-Com. It took a discussed heavy and serious issues.
•
BUT OMG THE WRITING WAS SO BAD. I am sorry but it literally was so immaturely written that the parts were painful. Like I totally get we were supposed to hate to douchy ex boyfriend of Sonya, but no 17 year old boy is refusing to put Calamine Lotion on when he has poison oak just because it’s pink. It was just immature writing for a plot that’s so serious.
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It also ended way too abruptly. The climax built so well and when I realized I only had 3 pages left of a resolution I was so confused.
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Would I read a sequel to find out how it continues? Absolutely. Did I devour this book in one afternoon? Yes. But man it was not the best.

Girls Like Girls is the novelization of Haley Kiyoko's famous "Girls Like Girls" music video. A music video that for many in the queer community holds a special place in our hearts. So reading this book was just very exciting to begin with and overall I had a fun time getting to know the characters more.

However, it ended up being kind of a double edged sword because these characters were just so awful to each other most of the time I had a hard time liking them. But queer stories should be allowed to have unlikable, messy characters because we're human too. That being said I felt like it encapsulated being a teenager and all those messy feelings pretty well.

Part of me wishes this had been more focused on the "coming of age" aspect than the romance. I felt that a lot of Coley's trauma was unexplored in favor of her romance with Sonya. That or maybe some of it should've been removed in favor of the romance. Either way both felt underdeveloped which left the ending feeling kind of disappointing.

Despite this I would still recommend the book to YA readers and any Hayley Kiyoko fans (if there are any who haven't read this yet lol). It's a good read and the atmosphere in general does a great job of capturing the vibe of the music.

When Corey’s mom dies, she ends up having to move cross country to live with her absentee dad, who she hasn’t seen since she was three. Her plan is to put her head down, finish school and then get out of there. But things never go to plan. Enter Sonya, the girl Corey finds herself more infatuated with than either of them like to admit. Enter Curtis, the absentee dad who wants to try to fix things and who actually cares. Coley’s summer has gotten a whole lot more complicated.

I actually really liked this! Yes, if you detected surprise in those five words, you are correct. I’m gonna be honest, I went into this expecting to be bored, or even a little annoyed. This is partly because there are always these reports of celebrities writing books when writing is never something they’ve ever before expressed any interest in. I don’t know if this was Kiyoko, but I’m wary of celebrities who suddenly have a book to publish, because was it ghost written? Was it written horribly—really horribly—and then edited five million times after the publishing deal had been made? Or does the celebrity actually have a hidden talent for writing? Hint, it’s rarely the last one. I often feel annoyed at these celebrities getting huge advances for poorly written books when it could go to so many more deserving authors who have made writing their livelihood.

But I truly don’t think this was the case with GIRLS LIKE GIRLS. Was the prose out of this world? No. But it was enjoyable and I found myself absolutely flying through it. I found Coley lovable, and although it slightly annoyed me how she kept going back to Sonya after all the shit she’d pull, I loved their relationship. Their relationship was sweet and wholesome, and I found myself rooting for them. I loved Coley’s budding relationship with her father, and how despite her reservations, he kept trying.

I feel like the only negative thing I have to say about this book is it could have been longer to develop everything outside of Curtis and Sonya. I would have liked to see Alex and Coley talk a bit more, especially about sexuality, and I would have liked to see a bit more of the aftermath from what happened at the end. It felt it lacked in some places, bits where I wanted more. I wanted to see more of Coley and Sonya together as a couple, rather than just sneaking around not entirely sure what they’re doing.

All in all, I liked this more than I thought I would. I definitely watched the video a few times while reading this and I Get it now. I Get it.

Thank you, Netgalley, for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This really just didn’t do a lot for me, but I’m glad it exists. I obviously love Hayley Kiyoko and am thrilled that she’s writing books (and hope she writes a lot more).

I do think this would appeal to high school aged readers more — but there was too much drama and not enough compelling characters.

Sometimes celebrity written books are vanity projects to earn extra cash. I don't get that feeling from this book at all. Kiyoko is cementing her skills as a solid writer beyond her musical abilities.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

3⭐️

Were you blessed with watching the life changing GIRLS LIKE GIRLS music video by Lesbian Jesus herself Hayley Kiyoko? WELL I WAS! AND NOW I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH RECEIVING AN ARC OF THE ORIGIN STORY OF GIRLS LIKE GIRLS!!!

Coley is all alone. She’s 17 years old and was forced to move to a rural Oregon town after the loss of her mother. After a near-miss accident has meets Sonya, and her world stops. After the events of Coley’s life, she’s not sure if she is worthy of love and with the battle of internal homophobia, she’s not sure if she can make it work with Sonya and Sonya isn’t sure if she can risk it all for Coley.

I absolutely hate rating this so low but the writing just wasn’t there for me 😩 Hayley is an all around goddess, she’s Lesbian Jesus for a reason, but this book just needed a little bit more editing and fine-tuning. Hayley’s poetry really shines through and is a beautiful way to show sapphic love, it was just the dialogue that lost me. The storyline was fantastic and based on just vibes this was perfect. Girls Like Girls shows us the story BEFORE the music video and really ties everything up so well. This story is about acceptance, healing from grief, and being able to fully love yourself. And after I finished this I had to watch the music video again, for a full circle moment.

Please note that there are several triggering and heavy themes throughout the book like mentions of suicide, loss of a loved one, grief, mental illness, homophobia, internalized homophobia and struggling with identity and sexuality.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, Hayley Kiyoko and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy for an honest review. I love you all! 💕

I had high expectations for this because I loved the Girls Like Girls music video when it came out, so what could be better than that but in longform? Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. It read too much like an actor pretending to be an author, with way more telling than showing. There was so much drama and wistfulness that it crossed over to artificial. Don't get me wrong, I love and appreciate the sentiment of this story, but the execution was lackluster.

This was a masterpiece and I’d like to live in this book and be friends with these people and just idk. I needed this so much and I’m so happy our teens will have books like this.

I DNFed around 35%. The fact that Hayley Kiyoko wrote this book is what intrigued me but ultimately, I think I'm over slow-burn YA romances. I didn't find the characters very compelling and the story wasn't fresh enough to keep my attention.

Hayley Kiyoko really shocked me on this one. I was expecting a good story with okay writing. However, I found the writing to be really up to par with all other YA romance authors. There was a lot of unpacking of trauma in this book without it feeling gratuitous. I really enjoyed the way we got to see both characters POV, but in a more creative way than just alternating chapters.

great book and I enjoyed the characters growth. Loved the friends and how this all worked out. I enjoyed the characters journey to finding oneself and others. I hope to read more by this author again.

2.5-4 ⭐️ (very conflicted feeling)

I have a lot of thoughts about this book and I’m very conflicted on how I feel, I think I need to re read multiple times before I can know one way or the other because I personally think I wouldn’t like it nearly as much if I didn’t have the history I do with the music video. It was definitely a worthwhile read if it peaks your interest although I do wonder if the book can stand on it’s on away from the legacy of the music video and Hayley.