I really enjoyed this short and sweet poetry book. It follows the protagonist, Tate as she navigates starting at a new school, making new friends, and understanding her sexuality. The writer did an excellent job of including lots of sensitive and difficult topics in to quite a short read, whilst making it manageable for young people to engage with. I’m sure a lot of young girls will see aspects of themselves within Tate and her journey.

Whilst I am much older than the intended target audience for this book, I can see it fitting well into any school library to encourage an accessible choice for young people.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book for my honest reviewing.

The narrator of this is Tate, a girl who has never really had the liberty of teenaged life, nor enough constancy to get and keep friends and hobbies together, as her military family have always and forever been on the move. But mother is no longer with them, and father has become a civilian – and so Tate at last is free to put down roots – she can even choose colours for her bedroom walls and ceiling knowing they won't have to be left behind soon. Heck, she can form an instant gang with three girls at school – and when they lust after a college band drummer, she can find herself with more than a crush on the girl violinist in the same group. But is that what she wants – especially when a lot of her new friends dislike the girl?

This is very much one of those coming-out, finding-yourself stories, and in Hi/Lo format and verse it is a very readable one. I do wonder if it is a touch too simple at its core, however – the different layers it puts on to be distinctive, individual and clever don't always work. It certainly seems to have success with Tate's mindset, how she is struggling with the lack of restrictions of non-military-camp life, and also in parallel with the lack of restrictions being bi might mean. But the whole reason for the violinist Zoey's dismissal? That seemed cheap. That said, you have to find yourself gunning for Tate, and in a book this short (it can easily be read by some with standard reading skills in an hour) you will only get a short story's worth of complexity, not a novel's. And for many audience members, that will be perfectly fine – as this pretty much is throughout.

I don't normally care for poetry very much but this was engaging and sweet enough to keep me interested. Tate is a high schooler who has moved to a permanent home with her dad after the death of her mom, a military bomb expert. She grappled with the complexities of forming long-term friendships with people at her new school and having ordinary experiences with her friends, both things she has no experience with since she was always living at army bases and moving frequently. She also forms a crush on a violinist and local "weird" girl, Zoey and starts to figure out her sexuality while trying to find out why Zoey is such an outcast among her friends and the rest of the school.

This is a sweet little story about coming of age and figuring out living with grief but with stability rather than constant change.

I was accepted to read this book before official publication through NetGalley and below is my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I absolutely loved the premise — the concept of the story was interesting and reminded me of my younger days where I was struggling to work out and come to terms with my sexuality, it felt close to home so I found myself drawn to the plot from the very start.

However, I have to admit that the writing style didn’t work for me at all. I found it difficult to connect with. I understand it was meant to be hi/lo & poetic style but it just didn’t hit for me. It was a bit of a struggle to get through because of this, even though I really wanted to enjoy it more.

Overall, while the premise was great, I didn’t connect with the writing style. If you can look past that, it could still be an enjoyable read, but unfortunately just wasn’t for me. .

Overall, I give this book 3 stars!

You know that feeling when a book pulls you right back to your high school days—bad cafeteria food, awkward crushes, and the constant identity crisis? Yeah, Girl Crush by C.H. Williams did exactly that for me. I don’t read a ton of YA, but this one caught my eye, and suddenly, I was sixteen again, trying to figure out if I liked boys, girls, or just fictional characters (spoiler: the answer is yes).

At the heart of this story is Tate, a 16-year-old Army brat who’s used to being the new kid. Making friends? No problem. Catching unexpected feelings for another girl? WHOA. Cue the high school rumor mill, because this book nails that whispers-in-the-hallway, heart-pounding, does-she-like-me-back feeling.

But here’s what really got me—the writing style. It’s this beautiful blend of diary entries and poetry, which makes it feel like you’re literally inside Tate’s head, feeling every moment of joy, confusion, and heartache right along with her. And that ending? Let’s just say my eyes got a little misty (fine, a lot misty). It left me nostalgic, hopeful, and wanting to hug my younger self.

If you love sweet, heartfelt coming-of-age romances, Girl Crush is a must-read. Perfect for any young (or young-at-heart) reader trying to figure out love, attraction, and where they fit in this messy, wonderful world. 🌈✨

This was something completely different from what I have ever read before but at the same time so impactful. I could never imagine that such a fast read could be something that stays with me for along time. The verse format really works and I would love to read a lot more about Tate and Zoe. The whole story about the army brat Zoe that has lost her mom and will finally settle down with her dad and then meet new great friends and then this fascinating being being Zoe that she falls so hard for, Zoe also being so troubled after losing her brother.

Thank you so much to Rosen Publishing / West 44 books and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Tate is an army brat who’s finally in a place of her own, she makes friends instantly on her first day of school, but she also finds out she has a major crush on Zoey a girl with a bad reputation, that her friends don’t like. She has to find a way to balance both parts of her new life.

How instantly she fell for Zoey was adorable, she couldn’t stop thinking about her and Zoey clearly felt the same when she saw Tate. I really loved seeing their relationship grow and the two getting closer with each other, I also love that despite what everyone else had to say about her she stayed with Zoey. They had such a beautiful connection.

It was great that Tate was so able to make friends instantly, they were very typical high school girls, which was great she managed to fit in with them easily, even if she was a little different to them. I was so sad though when they didn’t like her being with Zoey, and they didn’t want to be friends with her If she was with her. We also never found out within the story if she made up with Mikey or not as he was her friend too, before Zoey.

A very wonderful verse story perfect for Teen readers, the story covers not only a girl figuring out her sexuality and having her first relationship, but deals with friendship, deals with family loss, drug use, it also deals with the struggles of being an army brat never staying in one place too long. I really loved reading this story and seeing Tates life told.

This was an emotional journey with so many sincere and heartfelt moments. The growing romantic connection between the two girls was done so well, believable, and feels so honest. A lot of emotional twists unrelated to the romance that makes this a heavy and important read for teens. I strongly recommend this read, especially for those looking for sapphic romance and/or bisexual representation.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rosen Publishing Group, West 44 Books, and C.H. Williams for the opportunity to read Girl Crush in exchange for an honest review.

Girl Crush is a HiLo novel written in a poetic verse style. The story follows Tate, who moves around a lot because her mother was in the military. She makes friends easily, but also must say goodbye swiftly. She has never really had the chance to date or form strong attachments, since she doesn't stay anywhere long. After her mother's passing, Tate and her father are able to pick a place to settle permanently.

When she meets a new groups of friends at her latest new school, she enjoys listening to their music and going over to slumber parties. They certainly talk a lot about cute boys and which ones they like. While Tate does find guys attractive, she also finds an interest in a violin player named Zoey, though the others are telling Tate to stay away.

As Tate falls for Zoey, she learns some secrets about the girl that are dark, but also relatable when it comes to the human condition and the experience of loss. Tate wants to maintain her new friendships, but also explore her crush. Hopefully she is able to keep both, even though their groups are divided.

I enjoy the military and LGBTQ aspects to this story. It also goes deeper in its exploration of loss and how people cope with the loss of a loved one. It isn't easy, and people need time, and those who perhaps cannot relate may not quite understand the choices their friends make after such a loss. The exploration of family, friendship, and something more makes this a great novel for teen readers with relatable real-word applications within.

Given that I am not the biggest fan of YA or modern poetry, I enjoyed this book surprisingly much!
The main character is a teenage girl that moves to her first permanent home after her father retires from the army. At her new school, she develops a crush on the girl that everybody else calls a "freak". She has to come to terms with her sexuality as well as decide what is more important to her: her crush or her reputation?
I think the verse format works well here to add emphasis and meaning to the sentences and overall, the story was well told, though a bit fast paced. From an adult viewpoint, the main conflict falls a bit flat, but I think it works well within the YA genre.

4.75 stars rounded up

Who knew such a quick read could have such a high impact?

This is a beautiful HI/LO story about a girl settling in with new friends after years of military life and discovering her sexuality and a new interest in music.

As a veteran, I really appreciated the military aspects, especially that Tate's mom was in the service. Music always held a special spot to me also, so I enjoyed that as well. Except Tate's skill level with the violin seems suspect, but it works for the purpose of the story. This book also tackles difficult topics like grief and suicide in a respectful way.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

CW: Suicide, drug abuse, alcohol, death of parent, grief