Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

It's 2006 and Coley has just lost her mom to suicide. She's sent to live with her dad, who she hasn't seen or heard from since she was three. In an effort to make friends, she meets Sonya, and she swears they have a connection that's different... if she could just get Sonya to admit it out loud.

This story is very much a "coming into your own" tale, and I respect that. I requested this book because of the author, and though I enjoyed the core of what the story was, I felt like it could have been written a bit better. However, I will say that the topic of suicide was handled delicately and in a way that was realistic without being gruesome, and I really appreciated that.

CW: suicide, grief, mental illness, homophobia, violence

The story of a first queer love and coming to terms with your identity, while also revolving around themes of grief and loss, depression, and navigating difficult relationships.

Coley’s life is uprooted after her mom’s death, and she’s moved in with her absent father who she has very little connection to. She quickly stumbles upon a colourful friend group in this small town, immediately forming a connection with the quiet girl, Sonya.

There was a lot I liked about this story - although it started off slower, it quickly developed to a pace that kept me reading until the end in almost one sitting. The story was sweet at times, heartbreaking others.

As an adult reader, I felt the writing style to be too young and simple for me - even compared to other YA books. I regret to say it read more like fanfic.

My main issue, after finishing the book, is the pacing. It starts slower, speeds up towards the middle, and ends very abruptly.

<spoiler>
I would’ve appreciated some time for Coley and Sonya to talk more, find their footing, and deal with the aftermath of all the drama in the friend group. I was left with some unnecessary questions: do her friends know now? Is the group split up? Will they be safe?
I’m not sure if there’s going to be a sequel - there’s certainly a lot of room for one - but regardless I would have liked a day or two to cool down and figure things out after the fight and Sonya’s big decision.
</spoiler>

Overall I enjoyed this and would recommend it to younger readers who are struggling with similar things!

'Girls Like Girls' feels like an honest slice of life into a teenage summer that is sometimes fun and often heavy for our main character Coley. Coley is going through a lot. She's managing grief, blaming herself for things beyond her control, navigating a relationship with a previously absent parent, and exploring her identity all at the same time. I appreciated the nuanced depictions of how complicated and weighty this could all be for Coley, while still including the day-in-the-life perspective of how she was passing her time and the spark of joy caused by her possible relationship as she worked through these emotions.

Throughout the romantic arc in the novel, I loved how we got to see the highs and lows for each character and for their relationship together. Each of the characters is on their own unique journey towards self-acceptance and the wrenches these journeys threw in their relationship and how they worked through them felt true to character, while their palpable connection and the spark we see between the two from the meetcute drives the story onwards. Overall, I appreciated that we got to see into the whole worlds of what was going on with each character and I loved the overarching message of learning you are deserving of love.

**Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review**

The plot is mostly vibes, but the characters are so cute and sweet. This absolutely reads as someone who isn’t usually an author, but again, it was heartwarming! The book feels like a love letter to my young bisexual self and even though it was written to be during the early 2000s, I still think it covered a range of topics. The book caters to its audience and is something I think most people will enjoy.

The plot lines aren't great but the overall story is good.

I have a very strong love/hate relationship with the characters of this book. I also feel like there are multiple starts of storylines that aren't resolved very well or at all. However, the story itself was an easy read and the primary storyline was well developed. I just think there were parts that too much time was spent on and parts where there wasn't enough time. I would have liked to see more of the after, which we didn't get, but overall this was a pretty good book, regardless of the status of a celebrity author.

As a long time fan of Hayley Kiyoko as an artist, I was very excited for this book. I agree with other readers that some of the transitions between scenes felt a bit disjointed, but overall I was pleased with the quality of the writing. The editor in me struggled when it flip flopped between numerals and written out numbers in one paragraph, and there was a typo earlier on that caught my eye as well.

The build up was somewhat slower than I was anticipating, but by the halfway mark I was invested and could not put it down. I appreciated how Kiyoko set up the time period, and though I was only three/four in 2006 the setting felt natural to me. The characters were my favorite part- not necessarily that I liked all of them, but they are well written and the reader gets a strong sense of who they are, even the side characters.

Coley deals with some heavy emotions throughout the story but she really pulls through and I love her character growth. I have mixed feelings about Sonya, but I do feel she is very realistic. For a side character, I absolutely fell in love with Alex. He definitely pulled his weight as a supporting character and his humor and probably-baked wisdom balanced some of the more grating characters (Brooke and Trenton).

This is a story that teenage me could have used, and I hope it gets to the people who need it now.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Publishing Group, and Hayley Kiyoko for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a longtime Hayley Kiyoko fan I absolutely LOVED this book! The Girls Like Girls music video has always been a favorite, and this novel effortlessly captured the story. The relationship between Coley and Sonya was so raw and real, and I loved how each girl's point of view was explored. This is absolutely an excellent debut novel that I will be recommending to everyone!

I had never read a book based on a music video before, and I thought that was such a cool and creative format for a novel! This story follows Coley, a rising high school senior who moves to Oregon soon after losing her mother, to live with her estranged father. Shortly after she arrives, Coley meets a group of local teens, including Sonya, who she is immediately drawn to. Could Sonya feel the same way—and how will they overcome the obstacles surrounding them in order to be together?

Overall, I think this is a great book! The writing style draws you in right away, and it tells a compelling love story while also touching on some other serious topics. Beyond the connection between Coley and Sonya, I also liked reading about Coley's relationship with her dad and how Coley grew as an individual, becoming more vulnerable and learning more about herself. She is definitely a character you can't help but root for. Additionally, this book is set in the 2000s, but it does feel timeless in some ways, while also capturing the feeling of a specific moment in time. However, I wish that certain things had been fleshed out a little more. I think the ending could have been drawn out a bit, and I would also have liked to know even more about Sonya as a character. I enjoyed how we got snapshots of her perspective throughout from her LiveJournal entries, but I found her a really complex, fascinating character, and I would have wanted to see more of her POV and backstory too. I'm excited to see what Hayley Kiyoko might write next! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really liked parts of this but struggled with some other parts. I thought Sonya hurt Coley a lot and was kind of toxic to her and I didn't like how everything was forgiven too quickly and they jumped to confessing love to each other. I thought they just needed a bit more time to work through some of their issues and make sure that Sonya was ready for the relationship. There are some parts that are really sweet and enjoyable to read and I did read the book very quickly!

I was so excited when I saw Hayley Kiyoko wrote a book! She’s a great performer and I like a lot of her songs. I didn’t love the book though. The writing wasn’t great and I disliked a lot of the characters.

2.5 stars

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but honestly I don't think this one was for me.

While I really enjoyed Coleys character and even her dad. I didn't really like Sonya and most of the other side characters.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for the e arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am so so so so glad this story and stories like it exist. I loved this book so much and found it very healing to read.

Teenage me needed this book and I am so excited for it to be out in the world.

Coley was such a great character and I really could feel what she was feeling. However, I think some of the other characters lacked the same depth. All of the side characters didn’t feel quite flushed out and it got confusing at times.

That said though, I still very much enjoyed the book. I loved the storyline and relationship between Coley and Curtis most, and of course I am happy Coley and Sonya worked things out.

The overall arc of the story worked pretty well, but I didn't think the relationship between Coley and Sonya made sense. It all happened too quickly, and there was too much anger at each other for me to believe they'd actually fallen in love.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin for this advanced copy.

I like Hayley Kiyoko's songs, that's why I requested this advanced copy. However, this book wasn't good as the music video.

I disliked Hayley Kiyoko's writing style. Too cringey. And some parts, she used this type of sentence :
blah blah blah, you know?. I hated that. Because I didn't know the thing she said in the book. I didn't understand what she meant. Just describe it more. It would be better.

She also liked to use "Unfinished lines", like : "Because you have to be gentle with someone you ..."
Please just finished the line. Please.... I didn't see the point why she did that. It didn't feel more dramatic. Just cringe. Afterall this book was so so to me.

I hope if she decided to keep writing, she will be better in her next books.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


As a Haley Stan I was so excited to see this book. It did not disappoint. If you've seen and love the video, you will love the book as well. The story is cute and will have you emotionally invested. I hope she does the same with Sleepovers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.

Trigger warnings: suicide and gaslighting

Coley is the new girl in town, coming to live with her dad when her mom passed away. She’s almost run over by a group of teens and she befriends them but becomes especially close with Sonya. When sparks fly, Sonya gets scared each time and runs away. Will Sonya admit that she’s into Coley like how Coley likes her?

I was really excited for this book but unfortunately this missed the mark for me. I did like that it was set in 2006 and we got to see Sonya’s live journal posts but that’s only because I grew up in that time period. Teens today might not appreciate or get it. I really wasn’t a fan of Sonya. She kept gaslighting Coley and I honestly didn’t see redeeming qualities about her and didn’t think Coley should be with someone that treats her that poorly.

3.75

It was cute and expected.
A bit dramatic but aren’t all first loves? I feel like in some regards plot points are important but when you are scared to go against the grain it makes sense.

I didn’t feel overwhelming connection to these characters but I did understand when you realize you are different.

It was nice and good book.


Thank you so much for an arc copy.
I do appreciate it.

So I'm only a recent fan of Hayley Kiyoko's, but of course I still wanted to check this book out. Based on her music video for "Girls Like Girls," this novel takes place the summer Coley (first person narrator) moves into town. She's been through a lot of tough events lately, and I really enjoyed enduring her emotional journey - and angst - as she grew throughout the book. My favorite parts were the bonding scenes between Coley and her dad, Curtis, even though I wish those parts were longer. I desperately wanted to know more about Coley's life before the move, her relationship with her mom, and how Curtis fit into all of this. It was so intriguing and I wish it was expanded on a little more.

Honestly, I feel a little bad for saying this, but I did not like Sonya at all. She was constantly defensive of her obnoxious friends, including Trenton, who really should have gotten more consequences for the stuff he did and said. Sonya was very passive for what felt like was no reason. I understand not wanting to come out because of her family, but a lot of her drama felt one-dimensional and had no payoff. She basically got to act carelessly, and then apologize enough times for Coley to forgive her. I was begging the novel to end with Coley walking away from the whole mess and finding someone who actually cares about her. It was very toxic and at times a bit forced.

Overall, I really wish I liked this book because I was excited to read it. I still enjoyed aspects of it, but I think even just fleshing some parts out and working on the pacing could make it a more enjoyable read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for letting me read a copy of this eARC for an honest review.

I was as hyped as everyone else about this book as a lesbian who watched the music video a little too much. I was fully expecting this book to be a typically sappy romance, and i was okay with that. But this book was so so much more, it’s a beautiful story about grief and love and the setting and time was perfectly constructed. I was trying manage my expectations but I didn’t need to, they were rightfully high. Hayley Kiyoko did an incredible job and this is a wonderful sapphic story and romance.

This has a lot of grammar mistakes and spelling errors, but it’s a good book, though I think it should’ve shown the consequences Trenton got.