I enjoyed this for what it is - a story built from a music video centering teenage love. Was it cringy at times? Yes! But being a teenager is cringy! While the writing wasn't the best, I thought it captured the big feelings of growing up and young love well. And I thought the use of the Live Journal format was clever and effective.

My biggest complaints were around the opening and close of the story. The opening smacks you in the face with a potentially triggering event and closes with NO accountability and minimal growth of the romantic interest (Sonya). Coley....you've done all this growth and recognized this girl has so much self-loathing and has treated you badly....but her wanting to be with you is the happy ending? Girl, no!

I really enjoyed the depth to both main characters. Coley and Sonya make a lot of growth throughout the story and it was beautiful how they came to realize they are both worthy of true love. Kiyoko does a great job of capturing teenage angst and catching feelings for someone.

I’m of two minds about this book. On the one had, I am so happy that this book exists. I remember when the song and music video came out how exciting it was to see such open and honest lesbian representation become part of wider pop culture and I loved seeing a more fully fleshed out version of the story. That being said, it was not a perfect book.

Kiyoko is a talented storyteller and crafted a story that had me wanting to keep turning pages but I almost feel like she was trying to pack in too much. This book is marketed as a romance, but the plot mostly centers around Coley learning to love herself and accept that she is worthy of being loved which I love to see. The actually romance itself is rocky in the way that many teen relationships/first loves are, but I was never able to fully buy into it. I found the love interest to be toxic which was understandable given her circumstances but it made it harder for me to see why Coley kept going back to her.

The book handles some really heavy topics, like grief and suicide and of course homophobia, and while I think it handles them well, I wish some of the elements had been developed a little more. Especially towards the end, some plot threads were added that really didn’t go anywhere and then the reunion between Coley and Sonya felt rushed. I also struggled a little with the decision to set the book in 2006. While it makes sense given Kiyoko’s age, I alternated between forgetting that it was set in 2006 and wondering how well certain aspects of being a teenager nearly 20 years ago would play out for teens today.

Overall, I thought this was a really solid debut and a good summertime / beach read, and I look forward to seeing if Kiyoko writes another novel!

i loooved this. i've been a fan of hayley kiyoko for yeeears, literally since i saw her on wizards of waverly place! i also love her music & so when i found out she was writing a book based off of one of her songs/music videos, i knew i NEEDED to read it asap. i literally screamed when i received this arc & WOW. i loved it sm! the representation was amazing but i didn't expect anything less.

This probably could have done better with a better editor or dare I say a ghost writer. It was kind of all over the place, wasn’t sure if it was YA or adult, and missed the mark for me. I love Hayley’s music and this was a bummer

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

Published: May 30, 2023
Wednesday Books
Pages: 311
Genre: LGBTQ+ Romance
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Hayley Kiyoko is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, and author.

“But I guess love is the strongest tether, isn’t it?”

Coley moved in with her estranged father after her mother passed away. She has a lot of emotional weight to unpack, so her last need is a crush. Sonya is trapped playing a part she isn’t sure she wants, but she doesn’t know if she can stop.

This was a typical teen story, filled with big feelings and angst. While Coley was dealing with how to process her grief while building a relationship with her dad, she also has to process being the new girl in town.

The characters were well-defined as teenagers. There was an element of emotions and despair that I think all teens feel as they evolve.

The storyline was decent. The romance aspect was very high school. Hang out for a couple of weeks, and bam, it’s love. I would have liked to see Coley work through some of her inner struggles as she started on the path to finding herself.

I think Sonja needed some more growth throughout the book. She comes across as flighty and a bit shallow at times. Her character had some issues I think would have been interesting to see processed.

Overall, this was a typical YA novel. Dealing with young people who feel too much and not enough.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

I was initially intrigued by the author, probably like many other people familiar with her work. And of course, I am always here for new queer YA so I was excited to dive in.

I think perhaps this book isn't the right fit for me, however I did enjoy my reading time of it! I enjoy that it was set in the near past; the journal entries felt very teen and were a smart way to give the reader other POVs. I'm definitely the right age to remember this past familiarly. However I definitely feel too old for this style of writing and narrative.

I feel like it really accurately captures the stream of consciousness, the emotional turbulence, and (lets be honest) self-centeredness of teenage life. Everything is so immediate and important when you're a teenager. Its hard to trust adults, its hard to trust yourself, everything is changing and you hate it.

For Coley a lot of things have turbulently changed recently! And she definitely starts the book kind of unlikable because of this trauma she's still working through.

It's a long book for a short plot, if that makes sense. I wish a little bit more happened, but it makes sense to take place over the summer like it did.

I think anyone who loves teen romcom movies, is a teenager themselves, and is a fan of Hayley Kiyoko should give this book a try. I will say, go into it expecting a LOT more angst then you may think would happen for a book based on a music video.

As a lesbian do I even need to say that I loved this!? I mean come on a book based on one of the best sapphic songs written by lesbian Jesus herself, this book is literally everything! This book had me on a roller-coaster of emotions. I was sobbing and it hurt so much but in the absolute best way. I really don't think I can say anything new about this book. It was fantastic and you just need to go read it right now!

i love hayley kiyoko and her music, and i was so pleasently surprised by this book. i love how it directly ties into her song and the story was fantastic. we need more sapphic books all the time!

I love Hayley Kiyoko, I love the original music video, and I was so excited to receive this ARC. Kiyoko honestly pleasantly surprised me with her writing, I'll admit my expectations weren't too high going in. I think a few more edits/drafts would've done this book some good, but overall it was a sweet (if not a little too sappy) read. I would've loved to see more exploration of Sonya's character and a deeper connection between the two characters. Overall though, this is a very sweet sapphic YA that I could definitely see myself recommending to younger me.

Girls Like Girls aka THE book by THE lesbian Jesus (*screams a bit*) was exactly what the author (and that iconic video) promised it to be - two girls finding themselves and battling their inner demons while doing so. Their love story was sometimes very gentle and sweet but also very much filled with angst and pain and even self-loathing that seeped into their relationship at times.
After Coley is forced to move to her dad's after her mother's death, her life is turned upside down. But when one of her first days there she crosses paths with a fearless Sonya and her gang, Coley's summer starts looking up. Hanging out with Sonya, tolerating her friends (mostly), spending endless days and nights cocooned in a fantasy - a fantasy that gets even better when Coley realizes that there might be something more than friendship between her and Sonya. But after soft kisses comes a rude awakening - Sonya won't admit her feelings or the fact that she might be attracted to girls, and as the summer progresses and Sonya leaves for dance camp, Coley is left all alone to deal with her feelings. But maybe having some time to sort stuff out isn't all bad.

Coley truly found herself during this summer - who she was as a person, how she wanted her life to progress. At 17 she was dealt with too many blows, but as she allowed herself to be truthful with the people around her - be it her estranged dad or strangers that became friends, she grew into herself, learning what she deserves and refusing to settle for less. It was then only Sonya's job to catch up.

Girls Like Girls perfectly captures the vibe and the story of the music video it was based off of - so if you know and like the video, you know what to expect - some sweetness, some pain, lots of gay (yay!)! This story takes place in mid-2010 which is also mirrored in how much these teens know about the queer culture and what kind of rep they had growing up (barely any) - and that also colours how they see themselves a lot. I enjoyed Coley's journey and I think my favourite character next to her was Alex (a true friend - I wish we learned more about him and his queerness as well!). I had my problems with Sonya at times but I do believe that those tiny glimpses into her kinda "online private journal" made her a lot more likeable - she was struggling with her sexuality a lot and while her actions can't be completely written off, that can be taken into account.

All in all this will be a perfect read for any fans of Hayley Kiyoko and her storytelling through music, but also for fans of queer YA books that hit a bit harder (I do recommend checking the trigger warnings before jumping in).

Trigger Warnings: suicide of a parent, lesbophobia and homophobia, internalized homophobia, on-page violence (between teens), on-page drug use and alcohol consumption by minors

My sole reason for reading this book is because Hayley Kiyoko wrote it. She has a song by the same title and it’s like that song came to life into a YA novel. It follows 17-year-old Coley who moves to a new town to live with her estranged father. It’s the summer before her senior year at a new school and she’s trying to make friends and come to terms with her sexuality. It was good, but nothing that special. It was extremely predictable. What I did like, was all the early 2000s reference, including the AIM and Live Journal updates. Overall cute, but nothing super memorable.

(Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.)

I wanted to like this more than I did, it wasn't bad at all but i think it was hyped up a lot more so I expected to like it a lot more. It was still a good story with likeable characters and interesting plotline.

The following review was posted on my blog on Tuesday, May 30th, the day of publication. It has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.




“And one day you learn: it’s not that you’re not like other girls.
It’s just that you’ve never met a girl like you.
And then, you do. You meet her.
And suddenly the songs make sense.”

Genre: Young Adult
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses parental death, suicide, and hate crimes. Describes homophobia, and emotional and physical abuse.

Girls like girls like boys do, nothing new, right? Well, this was something new for some. “Girls Like Girls” follows Coley after she is forced to move to rural Oregon after her mother’s death. Things are as bad as they can get when she meets Sonya and everything immediately clicks into place. But being together wouldn’t be wise, so repressing it will be the way to go… Until it isn’t.

In all honesty, this YA novel would’ve been exactly what I needed in high school, and I think that’s what hurt the most. This story was healing in a way that only people who somewhat struggled with their sexuality will probably get, but I am so so thankful this story is being told.

This book, based on the viral song by this very own debut author, was both heartwarming and heartwreching. Hayley Kiyoko’s writing voice is wise but at the same time childish; exactly what you’re looking for in novels with teen-aged main characters.

I would definitely recommend this read. If you’re looking for a short, coming-of-age queer book, then look no more—“Girls Like Girls” is exactly what you’re searching for.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 30, 2023

This was just the read I needed for June! I can only hope to find more books with the same vibes and story line!

Girls Like Girls ended up just being okay for me. It was enjoyable enough to finish, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care much about the characters or their relationships with each other.

Despite understanding Sonya’s motivation for her actions, I found her to be so toxic and felt like Coley would have been much better off without her. The best chapters in the book are when Coley begins to foster a relationship with her dad and starts her job at the hibachi grill - there was so much growth in those pages!

* Sweet
* Earnest writing, at times felt a bit tooo young adult for my liking
* Such an acute description of young love and the budding queerness
* Gay teen dreams
* Sweet for fans of the music video, solid YA
* Definitley more plot driven, took me a while to get into

I really wanted to love this but I had a very difficult time getting into it. It appears as though this is a fairly unpopular opinion, but it really just left me wanting more.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the arc.

GIRLS LIKE GIRLS by HAYLEY KIYOKO was one of my highly anticipated reads after my love for the music video the book is inspired by. At the time of its release, the music video was something that I didn't know I needed and I think was a pivotal moment of realization and acceptance of myself. Learning about the video being expanded into a book, I couldn't have been more ecstatic. It felt like being given the behind-the-scenes or full script of something that we only saw glimpses into. The story makes many references and connections to the source material: keeps the original character names, continues with scenes from the video, references, includes, and expands on aspects of the video that might have been glimpsed such as the side characters, clothing, and room decor. While I did enjoy the intentional efforts to stay close to the video, making the story feel like an expansion not a loose retelling, I struggled with just about everything else. To summarize my issue with this book was it felt lackluster and unfinished. There was a character and information about them mentioned once, never to be discussed again. Plot points felt random and disconnect as if multiple stories were being told. The ending was rushed, I would have liked to see more after the music video's ending to see where certain relationships and behaviors went/changed but didn't. There were just so many aspects of this that needed room to flourish and have more depth just for them to go nowhere. Reading this was like seeing a present under the Christmas tree, its shaped like something you've wanted for months, you open it up, and its just some socks and a notebook. (this is a terrible example but you get the point). 2 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. I think coley is way too good for Sonya but I really enjoyed how this book isn’t just about her relationship with her. I loved the focus on family and the parental relationship, her father teaching her about her self worth, and just the vibes of being a messy teenager. I really enjoyed getting to see coley come into herself and stand up for herself by the end of the novel.