The queer girl is going to be okay is a novel I farelly enjoyed when I first started it but as I kept reading i felt a disconnect with the characters. Maybe I am just not a multiple pov type of person cause I think that was my problem with it. I wish i could have explored the characters and their storylines more, they did feel like real people to me and I found their struggles as queer teenagers very realistic.

I picked out this book for the title. When I was a teenager, all I wanted was to hear that everything was going to be okay, especially when I was struggling with and hiding my identity as a queer girl. I was ready for this book to bring up a lot of emotions, and it did, but most of all, I was left wishing that this was a story that I had when I was younger. I feel that many queer girls, especially queer girls of color, are going to be able to see themselves represented in this book, and I sincerely hope that it gets into the hands of those who need it.

Queer joy is at the heart of this work, and it is evident that it was written with a lot of love and care. The book splits its POV among a trio of best friends, each with their own distinctive passions, struggles, and complex relationships with loved ones, including family and romantic partners. Dawn, an aspiring filmmaker and trans girl, navigates caring for her father while she makes a documentary about queer love, even with her own complicated relationship with the subject. Then, there’s Edie, who’s religious and overbearing parents have led her to remain closeted, hiding her true self as well as her non-binary partner. Finally, there’s Georgia, who is falling in love for the first time, trying to get into college, and dealing with the complex feelings that come with a new partner in her mom’s life. With the POV switching between each character throughout the book, I felt that I got to know them all equally and was able to relate to each of their stories. However, the true gem of the novel is the main characters’ friendship at the center of the story, illustrating the power of queer platonic love and support. It is through this love that the story is made possible and so hopeful. By the end, despite the conflicts, each girl is excited about her future, and it made me smile because I was able to truly believe that the queer girl is going to be okay.

Dale Walls should be proud of this wonderful debut and the impact that it will have on the young, queer people who will read it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Levine Querido for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy. While I started reading this book as a digital ARC, I immediately bought the physical book upon its publication. I couldn't wait to have this story - not to mention its beautiful cover! - on my bookshelf.

The Queer Girl is Going to Be Okay’s strengths lie in its characterization. Edie, Dawn, and Georgia all communicate unique portions of the queer experience. Despite their closeness, each narrative feels fresh and does not overlap with the fellow plot threads.

Yet the writing of this book felt that it needed improvement. The writing can feel juvenile at times. I didn’t love the pacing of this story, and the frequent “show don’t tell” storytelling made it harder to connect with the characters.

Wow, I can't quite believe that this was a debut novel! I loved Walls' prose and especially the huge focus on friendships. While this book talks a lot about love, my favorite part was that platonic love was just as important as romantic. Dawn, Edie and Georgia's story invites you to reminisce and figure out what is important in life - the relationships you have and make while you grow up.
Beautifully written, with a hint for nostalgia, this will land right with teens for sure.

Man, this was such an emotional read. To read what each character had to deal with was so emotional and heartbreaking. I felt bad many time for all of the three main characters and what they had to go through. The book also showcased the power of having a good friendship with others, the type that will be there for you when you can't be there for yourself and ones that won't let you completely quit, no matter how hard situations might be. I hope the author features these characters in a future book. I would love to see what happens for them next.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


A refreshing LGBTQIA read, geared towards young adults and potentially middle school aged children. The story follows three friends as they navigate real life situations. There are no love scenes in this book, so there's no need for parents to be concerned.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- the story had a good plot, but i wish the execution was stronger and the characters had a little more development. however, it was still a decent read, and this book will definitely have its audience.

Yes the queer girl is going to be okay!! A perfect coming of age story. I love that this book was more focused on friendship rather than love. I think that it was unique and such a joy to read. I wish I had this book when I was younger and I REALLY wish I had friends like Dawn. 4 stars!

(PS this audiobook was really good!!)

This book follows a trio of queer girls who are best friends as they face their last semester of high school and everything that comes with it! They are:

Dawn, a filmmaker, who is making a documentary in hopes of winning the grand prize in a film festival - a scholarship to film school. She's a caretaker to her aging, depressed father, and is relying on financial help to allow her to leave the household, let alone go to school. She is dealing with a string of boys who don't respect her. She's also trans, which is "revealed" pretty far into the book, which I actually found to be a really natural and subtle introduction to that part of her character.

Georgia, who is trying to get off the waitlist at her one remaining college she didn't get rejected from. She wants to be a poet, but doesn't have the most confidence in her work at the beginning of the book. She's happily romantically involved with a girl named Jill. She lives with her mom, just the two of them, and when her mom's new boyfriend starts being very inappropriate with her, she's really torn on what to do.

Edie, who lives in a really traditional and religious household. She's dating Ben, a nonbinary person, and Ben wants to meet her parents, because they are kind of like, in love with Edie! But Edie really wants to keep her lives separate and it's definitely beginning to be detrimental on her relationship with Ben. She's good with school, almost too good, because it has resulted in her believing it's the only thing that makes her of value to her parents and is obsessed with their perception of her.

They support each other throughout all of the aforementioned issues and stressors, and they just reflect the queer love, platonic this time, that the book is themed around. The representation is beautiful, the friendships are so strong, the life circumstances are realistic, and yeah, I just recommend it!

The representation in this book was unmatched which was to be expected.

The complexity of the relationships between the friend groups and their families, the school struggles with the daunting feeling of college, and the worries of what is next or yet to come.

I truly loved the unconditional love that Dawn, Georgia, and Edie all had for each other. They all knew they needed each other to succeed, and would go above and beyond what truly a good friend is. Those girls are family.

I honestly wish we got more of Edie and Georgia’s story. The main focus of the story was Dawn and her film, but those two went through some stuff that truly defines a character and how they move through a story.

rating: ★★★.5 rounded up

let me just start by saying…the cover of this book? so beautiful. okay with that being said, I think this was a pretty solid debut! each girl had their own issues to work through but thankfully they had each other while doing so. as always, check cw/tw!

side note: Georgia was probably my fave character lol

The Queer Girl Is Going to be Okay take you on a journey with three queer girls who are just trying to live their life authentically. The girls all go through some issues but at the end of the day they have each. This was such a cute YA read. I loved the diversity of the book, the main characters, Dawn, Georgia and Edie are all POC.
At some points in the book the pacing was a bit off for me. There were quite a bit of time jumps which left me wondering as to what the characters were doing before that.
Overal I enjoyed the book.

It was the representation for me. This was a good read and touching story. 

Here are a few statements/quotes that stood out to me.

🔴 Appreciation for her friends filled her.

🟠 Dawn held herself as if she was holding somebody she loved.

🟡 “It hurts. But I’m here, and I’m laughing about it, so it’s not an impossible hurt.”

🟢 Just say something good. Say something nice to me, please.” She hated to hear herself whine and beg like a kid. But she needed this. She needed him like he needed her.

🔵 She liked knowing the sound of her own home, so familiar with it she could feel its every movement.

🟣 You have to let yourself feel like a winner sometimes.”

🟤 Being away from her parents was easy and nice and let her try new things, new ways of being.

⚪ I want to be in love. I want the impossible. I would wait a million years for it.

⚫ “When I started making this documentary, I had no idea that I would end up here in front all of you. I thought I was making a film for a few of my friends so that I could remember who I am and where I came from. I wanted to document young queer people and their stories today. I wanted to give importance to some infinitely tiny piece of history. I’m so glad to have our stories illuminated in this huge way.”

🔴 This documentary is about representation but it’s also about a lot more than that. It’s about making queer people human. It’s about youth, it’s about a universal feeling. Everyone knows what love is. It’s nice because the definition is so different from person to person. That’s what I’m interested in. The difference. The variation. The ways love can exist in the world from a kiss to an orange peel.

The premise of this book as well as the cover + title really pulled me in! Unfortunately, it felt off to a slow start and I ultimately couldn't get into the book; I've decided to set it aside for now and try again later, perhaps in an audio format.

This is definitely a character-driven, slice-of-life book and is not super plot-heavy. I think readers who enjoy slower reads that focus more on relationships and character growth will really like this one! While it wasn't for me, I will certainly be recommending it at my library, especially to fans of Miel Moreland or Becky Albertalli.

It’s the last year of high school for Dawn, Georgia and Edie. The three girls have been best friends for years, through the good and the bad of adolescence. At the beginning of the book, Dawn is trying to finish a documentary on queer love she wants to submit to the Austin Film Festival in the hopes of getting a full scholarship to film school. Edie is the quintessential perfect student who keeps lying to her parents so she can hide her relationship with nonbinary Ben. Georgia has the coolest mom but she’s now wondering if her mom isn’t a bit too cool, as her college admission requests keep being rejected.

There’s a lot of love in this book but also lies (to others and to oneself), secrets, solidarity and hope. Be warned that there are instances of queerphobia and transphobia as part of what the characters go through but also as part of character growth, as well as sexual assault. The pacing is uneven, at times a bit slow, then rushed, but I liked that all three MCs are POC, I loved the friendship, and the ending is satisfying, especially the hope the author injects that makes all the trials worth fighting through.

Dale Walls captures the sliver of life between childhood/teenage years and adulthood with sensitivity and tenderness. The period between the end of high school and the first years of whatever comes next is delicate to navigate for most people and Walls write the ups and downs, the hardships and possibilities—especially for queer young adults—in a way that I think will feel relatable to many.

“the queer girl is going to be alright” follows three seniors as they deal with different difficulties together and separately. i thought this was well written and I enjoyed the character arcs but felt that it could’ve done with a bit more development. a few extra chapters could’ve gone a long way here. despite that, this was a quick queer read that I ended up really liking. the relationships were complex and tough at times but the progression was lovely.

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

We follow three best friends as they navigate their last year of high school, and all the problems that come with it.
Dawn is trying to make a documentary about queer love for a film festival, in the hopes that she will win a scholarship for film school, all while trying to experience queer love for herself.
Edie has to figure what to do, trying to balance her nonbinary partner, her veryy religious family, and maintaining good grades.
Finally, Georgia, an aspiring poet, is struggling with trying to figure out what do for her future, as she has bad grades and few prospects for college.

I really loved this story and kept thinking about how this would look so good as a coming-of-age movie, I could really visualize all of the scenes in my head.
I grew attached to these girls and their friendhip felt very special, I wish I had the same thing when I was a teen. And their lives felt real, I could believe that they're existing out there, and I'm so happy that teens can read this and see their experiences reflected here ! I warmly recommend this to every queer person ou there, especially if you're still in high school.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Queer Girl Is Going to Be Okay" by Dale Walls is a book about friendship and the transformative power of queer girl bonds. Dawn Salcedo is the sole caregiver for her ill father and hoping to win a scholarship at the Austin Film Festival, but she’s having trouble finishing her documentary. Fortunately, she has great friends to help her finish up when she thinks it's all impossible. Edie and Georgia’s stories round out the book, alternating between the point of view of each of the girls which I really enjoyed.

I think maybe I was the wrong audience for this book. Normally I love YA queer fiction, but I could not get into the storyline. I think what started it off wrong for me was the very first pages where I had to re-read multiple times to understand how the character got out of the situation as I could not logically follow the progression. Never a good thing when you find yourself saying, "wait, I thought she went through the yard - what about a fence - and underwear?" It got better after that, but I just couldn't find an overall investment into the characters. I can see how this would be a great book for the right reader.

Well written and optimistic read! I really loved the characters and the unique take on getting into film school.