This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, I love Hayley Kiyoko. Unfortunately, I have to say that it was a bit disappointing. The book started out with a lot of potential, but I don't think it reached it. I liked the main character and it was great to read about the relationship she develops with her dad. Other than that, I didn't like the romance, I was never rooting for them, and I didn't really like Sonya a lot of the time. I feel like they both have to grow a lot for something to work. I also feel like there were a lot of things that could have been explored more and just weren't: her relationship with her mother and her grief, more about her family history, her friendships, etc.

It's not bad but it has a lot of wasted potential.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to an e-ARC!

As someone who grew up watching Hayley Kiyoko in Lemonade Mouth and listening to her music as a late teen, it came as no surprise to see that Kiyoko is a lyrical and impactful writer. This story follows Coley, a teenager who has faced some seriously tragic events. She finds herself living in the smallest of small towns with her father- a man she barely knows. As a reader, you see her account of that first summer there, including people she meets and events that take place that force her to find her some semblance of belonging in this town.

This book perfectly encapsulated what it felt like to be growing up in the early 2000s. From the AIM usage to subtle pop culture references sprinkled throughout, it felt like I was unearthing a time capsule of that era. Kiyoko was able to create a valuable insight into the lives of queer people during that time- especially to those only just discovering who they are. This resonated with me, even though I never used AIM and have never met a girl like Coley.

Please check trigger warnings before you read, as there are some things that could fall heavy on readers' hearts. I would recommend this book to anyone questioning their sexuality, queer people who needed comfort as teens, and to anyone who enjoys a hopeful story (even with a dash of sadness).

As a lesbian and a huge fan of the song and music video this is based on, I found myself extremely satisfied with where she took the story and expanded it

This music video was so important for me as a young queer human before I ever even realized I was queer. When I found out Hayley had written the novel backstory, I was over the moon to receive an Advanced Reader Copy. The book follows Coley, a young girl who has recently lost her mother and has been forced to move to a small town where she knows no one. She's queer and immediately is attracted to Sonya, one of the first people she meets in town. But Sonya has never been with a girl before and neither of them know if they'll have the confidence to openly show up for each other.

There was a lot of music video nostalgia reading this book and I loved that aspect of it. It's definitely a relatively simple read and I wanted to love it, but unfortunately it just didn't hit the mark for me. The ending was incredibly abrupt and I honestly thought I might have received an incomplete copy at first. It left me feeling unresolved and that there was no finale/conclusion to the book. The messaging around being worthy of love is an important one and I hope Hayley writes more in the future as I'd love to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to Hayley Kiyoko and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

This is a moving story about finding your place in the world and your reality. After losing her mom, Coley is forced to move in with her father, with whom she has never really had a relationship. She also struggles with her sexuality, living in a new town and dealing with her grief while navigating a rocky relationship with her father.

Delightful, angsty slow burn queer summer romance. Need I say more? I will recommend this. I do think it will hold more appeal for queer millennials (especially those of us who never got to have our queer summer romance) - it is set in 2006 and VERY reminiscent of that time period. Might hold some interest for teens who are interested in the 00s as a nostalgic period (and yes, just writing that made me feel old) but was intensely healing for my missed queer youth.

Sadly, this title failed to live up to the expectations I had built for it and didn't quite speak to me on any real level.

I liked this book for what it was- a sapphic love story based off a song and music video. I felt like some parts were rushed and some parts were slow. I switched between the ebook and audiobook. I liked that the audiobook had several narrators and also sound effects. It made it more of an experience to read. The ebook was better for the parts where the characters were instant messaging. I enjoyed getting more context and a story behind Coley and Sonya.

gorgeous, stunning, literally everything. read this book. the character growth, the romance arc, the pacing, the mood, the vibes, it was all perfect.

Oookay Hayley, thanks for the emotional rollercoaster! I was not expecting that. This story was wonderful despite its small faults. It definitely packs a punch and the author creates realistic unreliable characters filled with angst. I don’t think the writing was 5 star worthy but the story itself was pretty dang close.

This was so much more than a YA sapphic romance. This was full of the struggles with growing up and learning to love and accept yourself, a total coming of age. It’s about heartbreak and feeling every feeling so deeply.

Overall Girls Like Girls is a quick read filled with important emotional moments and a sapphic love story that was a bit quick to wrap up!

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday books for an advanced copy!

This author may be a trailblazing LGBTQIA+ advocate with many accolades under her belt but sadly this felt like another case of someone with pre-existing fame who's style doesn't translate to a traditional book format.

Unfortunately this story's narrative read extremely juvenile, often unpolished, and was a struggle to get through. Nevertheless, I hope that the target audience will find great comfort and joy from this story but don't feel that it will be as impactful to older generations like other YA books successfully do.

I received this book for free from netgalley for an honest review.

One of the best books I've read all year. I loved the music video and I'm glad that it follows so closely with the book. The text conversations I wasn't as thrilled with but everything else was perfect.

high hopes, but ultimately disappointing

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

oh I had really high hopes for this book, but it was very disappointing. the writing wasn't the best & it was slightly predictable. I was just expecting a little bit more..,

i was really looking forward to reading this book because this music video was super formative to me as a 12yo lesbian but this was one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me.

i understand that this was based on a music video so there wasn't really that much material to go off of but the plot was so woefully underdeveloped- i felt like i was holding my breath waiting for something big to happen the whole time and by the time i got to the end of the book i was shocked that there was no more material. there were a lot of plotlines that were never really explored fully which led to me feeling underwhelmed.

i understand that this book was set in 2006 (which was like, why?) but there was a completely disproportionate amount of internalized/externalized homophobia on page. i don't think there's really any need to highlight homophobic gays in a book published in 2023. there is almost always more nuance to these conversations about internalized homophobia, and none of this was actually brought up on page. i don't understand why coley was so determined to see sonya as the perfect girl when she expressed so much homophobia towards coley while they were both figuring out their identities and why they ended up getting together.

the relationship between coley and sonya was severely underdeveloped too- we really only saw coley falling for sonya, who was determined to view sonya through rose-colored glasses for some undisclosed reason. sonya was consistently awful to coley because sonya thought "wanting a girl was wrong" but this didn't turn coley off of her at all. when the two finally start acting civilly in front of each other, there's almost zero buildup to their first kiss which is then immediately followed by sonya's ex-boyfriend physically assaulting the girls. there's no resolution to this either. sonya chases after a bloody coley and declares her love for coley, and the two end up kissing and presumably getting together.

in terms of positives, i thought coley's development as an individual was well-written and i liked seeing her relationship with her father progress.

I must say, when I discovered the music video, I watched it so many times, even now, years later, I still love it and always wondered what the story behind the characters could've been.

Now after reading Hayley Kiyokos story for her famous music video, I can say I am not disappointed.
Sure some scenes were cheesy and a little flat. But you could feel the gay panic and the longing between the characters very early on, and I thoroughly enjoyed the tension.

The end may have been a little rushed, but we could always appreciate a sequel.


Thanks to netgalley for an arc, in exchange for a honest review.

I was really excited for this book. Unfortunately, it let me down. Most of it fell incredibly flat, and while the writing style was what I expected, something about it rubbed be the wrong way. What was one of my most anticipated books of the year became a chore to read, which was really disappointing. I think there was a lot of potential, but there was a lack of significant editing that would've brought everything together.

I went into this book for the nostalgia factor of Hayley Kioko’s Girls like Girls music videos because as an early 2000’s lesbian it was such a corner stone of my identity but didn’t know what to expect of the book. I was afraid that it would tarnish my love if the original music video but it really lived up to everything I wanted it to be. I can’t wait to have another sapphic, young adult book on the selves.

Including my insta post for the book https://www.instagram.com/p/CpiBublLxAw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

this book made me so nostalgic for that just out feeling. the memory of watching this music video weekly, finally understanding all of the feelings i felt. reading sonya’s pov was so frustrating sometimes but her feelings were so understandable because i related to her fears so much.