This is the kind of story I wish was around when I was a teenager. I loved the characters and hearing their experiences.

Unlike many people, I don’t have any particular connection to Hayley Kiyoko’s music or this music video in particular (although I’ve certainly always been aware). So it was fun to read this with the idea of a music video in the back of my head and then see how it all played out on screen after I’d finished (something I’d highly recommend if you do read this book and you can see all the little details). Overall, this was a pretty good read, with a decent balance of fun and character exploration/growth. It definitely falls more on the contemporary side, rather than romance, but if you’re looking for the lesbian jesus book, then this is definitely the book for you.

While Coley took a little while to grow on me, I think that her character exploration and growth were the best parts of the book for me. And while there are romantic elements to this book, I don’t think they’re as interesting in the long run. This is a book about Coley, a lesbian in the mid-2000s in rural Oregon who’s learning to live as herself and to just live after her mom died. It’s a hard book to read at some points, and Kiyoko digs into those emotions. There are things that I wish were more developed, and the last 20% of the book felt a lot more like a story I really wanted to read than before, but as a whole I enjoyed this as a character journey, albeit one I wanted to see progress even more.

As far as relationships go, I think that the development of the platonic and familial relationships was better or easier to root for than romantic (although there was still a part of me rooting for Coley and Sonya). The development of Coley’s relationship with her dad was probably my favourite, although I wish that we’d also gotten more of her relationship with her mother, even if it’s in the past. Coley and Sonya were fine, but they weren’t a couple I really saw going anywhere, more of a plot point within their overall journeys, although I did enjoy parts of their journeys.

At the end of the day, I decently enjoyed this book. I wish that I had more of an emotional connection with it going in, but I don’t think it’s necessary to enjoy the book.

A young adult queer love story inspired by the iconic music video of Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko...

Overall I did enjoy the story, its like a hug to young queer girls. Just like Kiyoko's song was when it released. The story of acceptance and grief is really impactful.

Kiyoko definitely has some writing talent but this really does feel like a debut book. It probably could have used a little more refining. This was partly in the behavior and actions around Trenton. There was no subtly to how unlikeable he was so it's kind of hard for readers to get why Sonya would put up with it.

The romance in this is very instalove/friends to lovers, which I'm not the biggest fan of. I have seen a lot of debut (and seasoned) authors have an issue with telling rather than showing the reader the character and relationship development., and Kiyoko is not exempt from this. I would have liked to *see* a lot more of the development than we did.

I'm curious to see where Kiyoko's writing goes from here and I am hoping for some more improvement as this was a bit of a let down.

2.5 rounded up to 3

This book is based on Hayley Kiyoko’s iconic “Girls Like Girls” music video that was released around seven years ago. The book starts with Coley moving to a rural area in Oregon after her mother passes away from suicide. She’s shipped off to live with her dad, Curtis, who she doesn’t know well. Interestingly, this strained relationship with her father was the most compelling part of the story for me. Curtis tried really hard, and he seemed to really love Coley, which I really liked.

The AIM and LiveJournal stuff didn’t really do anything for me. Perhaps that is because this book takes place in 2006, and I was only 9 at the time, but I didn’t experience the nostalgia that older people may experience for those things while reading this book. Considering this is a YA book and is intended for ages younger than myself, I don’t think it would do much for them either. I just want to know why the author chose to situate the story in 2006 other than to add the LiveJournal stuff, but I think this could have been easily modernized with Tumblr entries or posts on Instagram or Twitter. Again, why 2006?

Sonya, the love interest, is a closeted girl struggling with her sexual identity who constantly defends her horrible friends, including her abusive POS boyfriend, Trenton, who got away with too much considering everything he said and did. There are some chapters dedicated to her LiveJournal entries, but a lot of her character development aside from these journal entries are done at dance camp, which happens off page. I think the book would have been better if it was a dual POV that showed us Sonya’s development, especially at dance camp. A dual POV would have also allowed the author to explore and readers to watch two girls figure out their sexual identity.

The book ends like the music video, very open ended. However, I cannot envision book Coley and Sonya moving forward in the way that I can see music video Coley and Sonya moving forward. The book simply didn’t live up to the music video. I wasn’t rooting for book Coley and Sonya the way I was rooting for the music video version of them, but I made up my own story for the music video version of them that the book doesn’t live up to. I was not rooting for the two of them to be together in the book with how toxic their relationship was.

Also, aside from one comment about Coley not being white enough for white people and not Asian enough for Asian people, there was nothing else in the book to distinguish her racial/ethnic/cultural background. I would have liked that aspect of Coley’s identity to be expanded, especially since most of her friend group appears to be white. This struggle in her cultural identity could have even been juxtaposed in relation to the setting of rural Oregon, since I have heard that it is not very progressive there outside of Portland.

CW: suicide (off page), death of parent (off page), physical and emotional abuse, underage drinking, drug use, toxic relationships (platonic and romantic), gaslighting, violence.

TL;DR I prefer the music video

netgalley could benefit from providing trigger warnings. i wont be reviewing this book further as the content is triggering for me.

DNFd once I realized that her mom died by suicide. I wish I had looked up TW before requesting this book bc I just lost my own mother to suicide.
Thank you for the ARC

2.7/5,
(3 stars rounded up)

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review

Girls Like Girls is a coming-of-age young adult novel surrounding Coley, as she navigates her life moving to a new town with her estranged father following her mother’s suicide. First, I think that Hayley Kiyoko did a good job of writing Coley’s voice with all the angst and confusion that comes with being queer in the era of AIM and LiveJournal. The setting brought me a lot of nostalgia for me. I found the storyline of Coley and her father learning to become a family sweet and compelling. Coley’s growth and confidence in her identity and worth was great and could have been a great message to younger readers, until the end.
I didn’t love the writing– it felt too staccato and wasn’t my preferred style of writing. My biggest problem with this book was the portrayal of the romance between the protagonists. I’ve noticed that there is a lot of sapphic media in which one half of the relationship is clearly a terrible person and the love feels toxic but is portrayed through a lens that is rose-colored. Unfortunately, Girls Like Girls falls into this trope that is sadly common with queer media. While Sonya’s struggles to accept her identity were valid, as being in the closet is a confusing experience, we gloss over all the other ways in which she is terrible to Coley. She immediately ghosts Coley after Coley becomes vulnerable with her about her mother’s death– something that is never fully discussed at the resolution of their conflict. Additionally, she’s in a situationship or dysfunctional pseudo-relationship with someone else for the entire events of the novel. Although he is portrayed as being the absolute worst she never fully denounces their relationship. She’s also clearly selfish, spoiled, and self-centered, which both Coley says outright and is apparent from all of Sonya’s LiveJournal posts. Despite these red flags, Coley completely romanticizes Sonya. I had a lot of hope that Coley would get over Sonya and learn her self-worth and towards the end of the book but unfortunately, they end up together. I think this book would have had a much more positive impact if she ended up walking away happier without Sonya. What was the message that was trying to be conveyed with this relationship?
If you ignore the romance in Girls Like Girls, it’s a cute book about a young queer girl learning to love herself and forgive her father after the loss of her mother. Unfortunately, the romance plot takes up most of the book and creates a harmful narrative that one should accept the type of treatment Coley got from Sonya. I hope to read more from this author, but I really hope that in the future she is more intentional about her portrayal of romance and doesn’t glamorize toxic relationships, especially in a book geared towards young adults.

The idea of a book that expands on the Girls Like Girls music video is a genius one. This book satisfies that curiosity.

After the death of her mother, Coley moves to small town Oregon where she runs into Sonya and her friends. The attraction is immediate and the girls spend the summer navigating their friendship-turned romance.

If I'm being honest, the most compelling part of the story was Coley's relationship with her father and how she processed her grief. I wasn't a fan of Sonya and how she treated Coley, so it was hard for me to root for them. Coley deserved better.

Overall, it was a quick read but I think the best parts of the story were put on the back burner for the romance. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review!

Girls Like Girls is the debut novel from pop star Hayley Kiyoko based on her 2015 song/music video of the same name.
The book follows Coley, the summer before her senior year, as she moves to a new town following her mother's death. Coley falls for her new friend Sonya and messiness ensues. In the vain of the Sarah Dessen books of our youth, this isn't a light YA romance. Coley is dealing with grief and guilt from her mother's death, meeting her estranged father, falling for her best friend, bullies in her new town, and coming out as queer.
I really enjoyed this angsty book, like I said earlier, it reminded me of a queer Sarah Dessen book from the early 2000s. I only wish the ending had been a little less rushed!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been waiting for this book since I first saw the Girls Like Girls music video in 2015. I became an immediate fan of Hayley’s then and have been lucky enough to see her in concert over the years, and Girls Like Girls is always my favorite part of the night. There is nothing quite like the feeling of safety, community, and love that emits when the whole audience is waving pride flags and singing “girls like girls like boys do, nothing new.”

Inspired by the hit song and dreamy music video by Hayley Kiyoko, Girls Like Girls follows the story of 17-year-old Coley. After losing her mother, Coley is forced to move to Oregon the summer before her senior year to live with her estranged father. Coley is dealing with the aftermath of her world being turned upside down when she meets Sonya, and the spark is instant.

Coley and Sonya quickly begin to blur the lines between friendship and something more. Coley believes she’s undeserving of love, while Sonya struggles to accept her feelings for another girl. There are so many moments of pure queer joy, longing, and love that had my heart clenching and my eyes welling up. I also loved the little Kiyokian easter eggs scattered throughout the story (Cliff’s Edge fans keep your eyes peeled)!

Hayley Kiyoko brought her hit song "Girls Like Girls" to life with her debut novel.

17 year-old Coley recently lost her mother and needs to live with her absent father. Not knowing what is going on with her life and attractions, she meets Sonya and life is forever changed.

Sonya hasn't had a legit relationship before with a female. With her attending dance camp, she worries she won't be enough for Coley. What happens when she isn't there for emotional outbursts? Is she willing to put her heart on the lin?

It's not until they accept who they both truly are that suddenly, life becomes a lightbulb moment.

While this is a debut novel, I couldn't stop reading Kiyoko's Girls Like Girls and rooting for Coley. I admire the ways that Kiyoko approached grief and the different feelings that teens feel when they are trying to branch out of society. Still on the fence if this is truly a Young Adult read, I know Kiyoko fans will adore.

*I don't identify as LGBTQ+ so I don't feel that it is my role to speak to the feelings addressed throughout this novel relating to coming out. I look forward to reading reviews of those who identify and how they felt reading.*

3.5 So, I have to admit, I was actually pleasantly surprised by this!

I was super excited to get an arc of this book, but it was more because of what it represented and how iconic the idea of it was. Once I actually started reading it, it immediately dawned on me that, as talented of a singer-songwriter Kiyoko may be, this is not an author who has been honing their writing craft for years.

The beginning did feel quite slow and I wasn't expecting a whole lot, plot-wise. But at about the 25% mark, we started to discover more about our MC, and I became actually quite wrapped up in her story. I will say that, in fact, I far and above preferred reading about the MC's relationship with her parents and her emotional journey towards accepting that she is loved, rather than the main romance plot.

Maybe not the deepest, most complex novel I've ever picked up, but I will admit that I shed a couple of tears, the book itself is a fast and easy read, and had fun with it! It was nice to remember parts of the music video that were directly referenced or copied in the book, so I think it accomplished what it set out to do.

That being said, the writing does need work. There were definitely some moments that I kind of sped through because the writing wasn't at the caliber necessary to get me to feel the full weight of emotions that I was supposed to be feeling. There were some big climaxes and confessions that fell kind of flat for me.

The quality of the writing also fluctuated a lot, which threw me off. There were some scenes or passages that I thought were actually really well written, and the very next chapter, it would fall back into awkward, clunky narration and dialogue. The ending also felt very rushed, and the rest of the novel wasn't good enough to make up for a too-quick conclusion, so the whole thing felt quite anticlimactic.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to just anyone, but if you go into it specifically expecting a book-version of the Girls Like Girls music video and that's want you want, I think you'd enjoy yourself and have fun with it!

Girls Like Girls is a perfect companion to the music video of the same name by Hayley Kiyoko. I enjoyed learning more about the background of the story that brought this book to life. It was an easy read that brought back some great nostalgic memories. The story deals with some heavy elements but does a good job of balancing it out with healing. I loved seeing queer representation in a YA novel. For a debut, it really hit the mark for me. I highly recommend reading Girls Like Girls! Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Girls Like Girls is a novel that parallels a music video by Hayley Kiyoko of the same title. While watching the music video before reading the novel was a perfect precursor for me, it's not necessary to understand the novel. I will say to be mindful of the trigger warnings as you read (an abusive relationship, suicide and death of a parent, homophobia, etc), since the book can get pretty intense at times. Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I had a great time reading, and it brought me back to my younger self when this music video first came out and it broke my heart and put it back together.

First of all, thank you NetGalley and publishers for letting me get a copy of the arc for a review.

I loved the concept of the book Girls Like Girls being an extension or background story for Hayley Kiyoko's music video. I thought the setting of the early 2000s and having LJ and AIM being some of the format for the book was a nice way to break up the story and get to see a little of Sonya's thoughts. I do think that a lot was trying to be covered in a short amount of time to where some of the story fell a little flat for me. The ending, especially, felt a little rushed.

I would still say this is a great coming of age story that I think young readers would enjoy.

3.75 rounded up to 4

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023. Hayley Kiyoko's iconic "Girls Like Girls" music video came out when I was about 15, and I have been a massive fan of hers ever since. I've been excited to get my hands on this book since she announced it, and it did not disappoint. Reading the book delivered such a feeling of nostalgia for me, giving me the same queer angst that made me love the music video so much. The story was heartwrenching with a lot of focus on grief and healing. I do wish that the book spent more time wrapping things up at the end as the conclusion felt quite rushed, and a few of the character arcs seemed somewhat incomplete. Even so, I would highly recommend this to any Hayley Kiyoko fans, or fans of queer YA romances in general!

Girls Like Girls was off to a very slow start. At first I had difficulty getting into it. And just when I was about to put it down it got better. It's the story of Coley and Sonya. Coley was gay and sure of herself. Sonya had never been with a girl before. Trent was her ex-boyfriend and he continued to try to draw her back in.

Coley's mother had committed suicide and she was living with her father, with whom she had no relationship previously. But as time went on, they developed a relationship and got close.

Coley fell hard for Sonya. They spend a great deal of time together. One day they found themselves making out on Sonya's bed But afterwards Sonya wouldn't talk about it. This broke Coley's heart. And then Sonya went away to dance camp. While she was gone, Coley figured out how to live without her.

Coley got a job in a restaurant and one day Sonya and her family showed up. Coley tried to ignore her but Sonya was having none of that. She talked to her and told her that while she was at camp she missed her. That was not something Coley wanted to hear. She turned away from her but Sonya asked to see her after work. When they got together Sonya kept telling her how much she missed her and how badly she wanted to be with her but that she couldn't. Coley got angry with her and left.

The next day Coley decided to go to the lake. She went early in hopes she wouldn't see Sonya and her friends. But just as she was leaving they showed up. SJ, one of Sonia's friends ran after Coley. Coley had shared with Sonya that her mother had committed suicide and Brooke, one of Sonia's friends, heard Sonia sharing this with SJ and she spread the rumor. So anyway, SJ caught up with Coley. First, she told Coley that Sonya had only shared with her about her mother because she wanted to know how to be a good friend to her. She told her how Sonya had been so depressed and she invited her to a party at her house. At first, Coley decided she wasn't going to go to the party because she knew Sonya would be there. But after some consideration she decided to go because she really wanted to talk to Sonya.

So Coley goes to the party and Sonya comes to sit next to her in the living room. Coley knows she can't talk to her there, because there's so much noise. Before she knows it, Trent comes and drags Sonya onto the dance floor. That proved to be too much for Coley so she gets up and leaves. As she is outside she glances back to the pool and she sees Sonya sitting by the pool by herself. So she goes back through the house out to the pool and sits next to Sonia. Sonia leans her head on to Coley's shoulder. Trent goes outside to the pool and sees the two of them sitting there and hits Coley in the back of the head and draws blood. He's screaming at Sonya, " How can you do this to me?" He dragged Sonya away and is basically manhandling her. This doesn't go over too well with Coley and she jumps up and starts beating on Trent. He's drunk and she's pounding him on the ground. Their friend Alex pulse her off of him. In the midst of the melee Coley decides to leave.

The rest is the end of the book which I refuse to divulge. What started out to be a really boring book ended up being quite good. I gave it four stars.

I was so excited to have seen that Hayley Kiyoko was releasing a YA book and jumped at the chance to read this! But unfortunately this one missed so many marks for me, I actually DNF’d about halfway through. The story idea was amazing, especially since this is based off the ‘girls like girls’ music video, but the execution of it was a bit off. I think Hayley Kiyoko is still such an amazing artist and person, I’m always looking forward to anything she puts out!

When I first heard about Girls Like Girls, I was so excited for it. I mean a coming of age based on her video of the same name? Count me in. Yet, it ultimately fell short.

The writing felt really basic and by moments, immature. It just didn't flow in a way that made me want to keep on reading, and for a book that was on the shorter side, it still took me a while to get through it.

It's not a bad book, let me be clear. I just think that it had such potential, and it just didn't manage to meet it. It felt like the book attempted to touch on so many things without any depth. To get to know more about the other characters around Sonya and Coley, so that we can get a better understanding of who they are. To understand more about Sonya's struggle. I almost wish it had been a dual POV instead of just Sonya's Livejournal's post.

Overall, it was okay. It wasn't a bad book, I just wish it was more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, and apologies for taking so long to read it.

This book was super cute. Very easy to read, I instantly vibed with the protagonist, and really enjoyed the first person narrative (which at times definitely hurt my lil queer heart).

My main issue with this novel is the pacing. The first 60% of the book was kind of all over the place, and the last 40% happened very very quickly. Some chapters picked right up where the previous left off, others started an indeterminate amount of time later. Because of this, I felt the main relationship in the book wasn't as developed, and therefore as convincing, as it could have been.

The side characters could've used more "screen time". I wanted more from Blake and Alex especially. Of course, debut novels tend to have this issue of solely focusing on the protagonist, and in this case it wasn't too off-putting. But upon reading other reviews I did notice myself wanting to know more about the other characters, wanting them to be fully formed and well-rounded.

Speaking of characters, I hated Sonya. I did not want them to end up together but, alas, they did. Her redemption arc didn't feel justified or deserved. Coley deserved better.