I didn’t love this but I always appreciate a good River Phoenix reference. Hannah’s relationship with her Bubbe was also very sweet. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Thank you netgalley and to the publishers for the ARC. I enjoyed the story and plot of the book. It was engaging and the dialogue help drive the story. I enjoyed the ending of the story and would totally read another book by the author.

This might be the best book I read all year, and it’s mid December. How this author writes sometimes, I read a line and I want to scream, it’s that good. The first few chapters skip back in time to middle/high school in the 90s, you can hear the Velcro on that Trapper Keeper rip. The nostalgia is a shotgun blast. I want to quote EVERYTHING, it’s lyrical, it’s non-stop. The words are alive.

This is edgier and more adult than a typical teen book. Probably because of being set in the 90s, the target audience is older. Tonally, the vibe is a perfect match to what I (a millennial) used to read in the scant WLW genre back when I was in high school. It starts out like the rough and terminally cool Ariel Schrag graphic novels, and morphs into more of a Michelle Tea book. If you know you know. The author knows what she’s going for, and it hits.

The main character being from a Jewish family and how prominently that is featured adds a warm touch, which I also enjoyed and rounds out the more intense scenes. I just read Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow and that element is similar in the two books (but not really in any other way), the grandma factor.

Also something to keep in mind, and the author addresses this in the foreword, but the language here is of the times. If you didn’t live through it, it might be jarring. I agree with the choice to include it, there’s no other way to write about the past. When you try to erase or revise history, the present forgets and the future doesn’t learn, doomed to make the same mistakes.

Speaking of mistakes, watching these kids make them is HARD. Especially hard because, peppered in, are little touchstones from their childhood that were also a part of mine. It’s called Girls Girls Girls for a reason. Quite a few reasons. Hannah is put through the wringer, highs and lows, and I felt it all as if I was standing in the room next to her.

This book has a beating heart. It does what all great books should - it transports you so far into itself you forget reality. An emotional experience, but a fantastic one. 5 stars, no notes, if this is your genre, get it now.

*An uncorrected proof of this book was provided by the publisher at the reviewer’s request in exchange for a fair and uncompromising review.

This book really hit home for me. I feel as though I was the target audience for this one, and it exceeded all of my expectations. It was an absolutely beautiful and touching story. I loved reading the exploration of the main character’s relationship with both lesbianism and Judaism. This book did an excellent job at setting the scene and differentiating characters. Every person was real and raw and layered. I really cannot recommend it enough!

A huge thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for this ARC :)

"Girls Girls Girls" by Shoshana von Blanckensee is a coming-of-age novel set between San Francisco and New York. The story follows two best friends who begin a romantic relationship and flee to California after graduating.

Hannah, the protagonist, seeks freedom after growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family. Along with her girlfriend Sam, she navigates life in the Bay Area, finding solace in the local queer community while trying to make ends meet.

This book ultimately explores the concept of family—both the families we are born into and the ones we choose for ourselves as adults. It delves into the themes of finding a home, discovering oneself and one’s strength, and experiencing love in various forms, whether with a grandmother (bubbe), a girlfriend, a sister, or a best friend.

I was pleasantly surprised by this debut novel. The depth of sentiment, love, and compassion truly caught me off guard. The book's description doesn’t do the story justice. As a queer person around the same age as the protagonist, I expected a nostalgic and somewhat downbeat narrative. Instead, it turned out to be more than just a tale of a messy narrator; it is bright and full of love.

I highly recommend this book, especially to fans of Michelle Tea's work, who will appreciate its nostalgic reflections. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.