Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Shoshana von Blanckensee for access to an early digital ARC of this book. I hope that the ALC becomes available soon too as I would like to listen to it as well.

This is a hard hitting piece of sapphic, Jewish literary fiction, and a debut from Shoshana von Blanckensee. I had a book club friend of mine warn me that the novel slowed in the middle, which while true, did not necessarily feel like a mistake nor a bad thing. In fact, the more I think about it, I see it as the way Hannah experienced that part of her life in the story, as it becoming repetitive and dull and slow. The second half of the book felt like it flew by in comparison, but I also see this as a part of Hannah processing her grief.

I'm not Jewish religiously (I'm agnostic), but I am ethnically and somewhat culturally (Ok I literally had a seder velcro plate toy as a kid so yea). And for anyone who didn't already know, I happen to be a rather gay femme myself. This book is full of hard topics and discussions already, but as someone who was very close to their Jewish grandmother, it felt doubly so.

I recognized my immediate flush of annoyed anger when Hannah tells Chris that she's Jewish and we see Chris' reaction. I myself have gotten the "oh that's what you are!" comment. So in a way getting to see a character that felt true to life having an almost identical experience to my own, and seeing her thoughts and feelings about it herself, was nearly a sort of cathartic experience for me.

What definitely was an admittedly odd form of catharsis was when Hannah comes out to her Bubbe. I never got the chance to myself, so I imagine she would react somewhat similarly - but I always knew that she loved me just about no matter what, and I don't think me being gay would have been a dealbreaker for her, but I do see the possibility of her being afraid for me, as other members of my family have voiced similar fears when I was in the early "stages" of coming out.

Honestly, this is one of very few books where I am relieved at the way it ended - we don't know exactly where Hannah's life is going to go next, but we do know that she has her entire life ahead of her, and people who love her.

Shelved as literary fiction, but more accurately squished between coming-of-age YA and slice-of-life fiction, Girls Girls Girls is a beautifully confused novel. It reads casually, yet tackles some serious topics—from queer identity in the nineties to the ethics of sex work. Hannah’s life alternates from the bubbly joy of a new teenage crush to the crushing grief of losing a family member.

The only constant, ironically, isn’t Sam, the girl Hannah has traveled across the country with—she’s off having her own quarter-life crisis for most of the novel—but the tough-love setting of San Francisco. The city throws challenges Hannah’s way day after day, but also offers her a lifeline time after time, never truly letting her drown.

And in that eternal will-she-survive-or-won’t-she tension, Shoshana von Blanckensee draws the plot of the novel. That’s why why I categorized Girls Girls Girls as a hybrid slice-of-life story: there’s no overarching conflict, no antagonist to face. All Hannah wants to do is pay her rent and be happy. It’s not the highest-stakes novel I’ve read this year, but it’s one of the most real. As someone who made the opposite migration (SF to NYC) as a young woman, I empathize with the determination to succeed at all costs, and the identity shifts that happen, whether you intend to change or not.

For me, the most compelling plot line was the one hardly even mentioned in the book’s description: Hannah’s relationship with her grandmother, Bubbe. She’s the ultimate hype woman enveloped in a feeble body bursting with wrinkles and love. She’s always there to offer just the right semi-vague advice—nudging Hannah to arrive at her own conclusions when she’s at a crossroads. Maybe I loved her so much because she reminded me of my own grandmother—but isn’t that a sign of great literature? Fiction so persuasive that it’s reminiscent of truth? It doesn’t really matter. Bubbe’s the best and that’s that.

But I would be out of my mind not to mention the incredible depiction of the SF queer scene in the 90s. In the prologue, Shoshana makes note of using outdated language with fondness (the 90s understanding of gender and sexuality is much more limited than our understanding today), and you can feel that fondness bleeding through the pages. The lesbian bar! The all-female painting crew! The conspiratorial kindness of a neighborhood barista! The joy of finding language to describe your experience! The awe of joining a community of of people like you! This book was a window into a world I just barely wasn’t old enough to witness myself.

Girls Girls Girls was hope, and honesty, and fear all wrapped into one beautifully-covered package. It’s not a hang-on-for-your-life adventure, or even a head-over-heels romance, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s just one eighteen-year-old finding her way.

This was an interesting coming of age novel that dealt with many more issues than I was expecting. It was very fast paced and a lot was packed in quickly. I liked that it wasn't afraid to get really dark and seemed realistic. The language and setting descriptions really cemented that it was set in the 90s. It was not predictable so had me wanting to stay up all night reading to see where it was going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of Girls Girls Girls.

Hannah and Sam (secret girlfriends) decide to move from New York to San Francisco in order to be free only to find that being free can be elusive, and they’ll have to decide individually what being free means to them.

The story is told from Hannah’s perspective, and I found Blanckensee’s writing style engaging throughout the book while understanding that I was only getting one-side to most of what was going on during the storyline. Sure, we get snippets of what other characters think or feel through conversations that Hannah has with them, but we’re firmly centered in Hannah’s perspective throughout. And while at times, I thought it might be useful to tell this story through a dual-POV of Hannah and Sam, I ultimately realized that would have been too much information and made the narration a bit unruly.

The book is problematic though. I get that it was 1996 and things were different back then – I lived through it, so yeah, I know – but this book is written in 2025, and the issue of consent is a big deal. Here, it doesn’t even seem like any thought is given to consent at all, especially when we look at Hannah’s escort deal with Chris. Those scenes gave me the biggest ick and made me angry.

Hannah and Sam’s relationship was also problematic, and I wasn’t surprised that they struggled while in San Francisco. By the end of the book, I really could not have cared less about Sam. I get that she and Hannah are both young, but Sam came across as selfish and self-involved.

I never completely understood why Hannah cut her sister (Rachel) and her best friend (April) off. I do understand why Hannah didn’t want to talk with her mother, but not keeping in contact with her sister made no sense to me. Like, why not write Rachel if she really didn’t want to call her mother. Or why not set up some kind of arrangement where Rachel would be at Bubbe’s house when Hannah called, so they could talk?
And April was just cast off because of Sam. Another reason why I didn’t care for Sam had to do with her lack of caring when it came to April. That backstory scene at the taco place was horrible, and Sam came off as such an unempathetic person that I was having a hard time understanding why Hannah loved Sam or thought so highly of Sam.

I also felt as though the book should probably have some sort of trigger warnings. There’s an entire sub-plot involving a cancer diagnosis and death of a loved one that I was not expecting at all. And while I thought the writing of these scenes was good, I’m not sure I would have picked up this book knowing that was part of the storyline. Obviously, drug use and issues of consent should probably also be set up as trigger warnings for this book.

It’s weird. The book was well-written, but I also didn’t vibe with everything that was going on here. The stripping storyline seems like such a rich topic to discuss, but the description and discussion of stripping wasn’t as thorough as it could have been. I would have liked to have spent a bit more time with the other women in the club and had Hannah get to know them better. I would also probably not have included the escort sub-plot because, again, there are so many issues with consent that were horribly handled in this book.

Overall, the book wasn’t bad per se, but there were multiple things I found problematic about the storylines presented here.

This book is the perfect summer read. It's sexy, smart, and emotionally compelling. I can't imagine a better Sapphic summer read. It was so much fun to be cast back into the 1990s, where I spent my own early adulthood years, with Hannah and Sam. More 90s fiction, please!

A queer coming of age story set in the 90s? That’s right up my alley. I loved getting to see the journey that Hannah went on in this book from leaving her Orthodox Jewish mom in New York to go to San Francisco with her girlfriend Sam. It was so interesting watching them finally get to meet other queer women and branch out from their hometown. The book touches on a lot of topics like community, family, sex work, addiction, grief, and more.

This is a book full of messy characters not always making the best decisions. It was interesting watching the conflicts that arose from the situations that Hannah and Sam find themselves in. I found it very relatable how Hannah was so reluctant to go out and meet other queer people even though that was the main point of them moving to San Francisco. She’s scared of not fitting in and is intimidated by all the queer women that Sam is meeting.

Shoshana von Blanckensee’s writing is gorgeous and really brings Hannah’s emotions to life. It’s really rewarding to get to see her branching out and starting to own her identity as a lesbian. The story never stops being complicated with her family, Sam, and her friends. But Hannah is able to assert herself more. Definitely check this book out if you’re a fan of nuanced, queer coming of age stories.

This novel is well written but left me feeling unsatisfied. The plot was too simplistic for me. I also feel like the synopsis gives too much away in terms of the plot/storyline. The main characters are interesting and complex. The author did a good job fully fleshing out her characters. I also like the time period, I was a teenager in the 1990s so I have fond memories of this time period, The whole stripper storyline felt forced and superficial. I felt disconnected and rather bored during those scenes. Good book but left a bad taste in my mouth.

“You know how you get used to being closeted, and then other shit ends up in there too? And then, at a certain point, you don’t know what to keep in there and what to take out.”

Queer coming-of-age stories are my bread and butter. There is something so special about these stories where young queer people come into contact with community and are finally able to put all of the pieces together – when they have that moment where they realize that they aren’t alone in their experiences, that there are other people out there just like them.

“Girls, Girls, Girls” chronicles a pivotal period in the life of eighteen-year-old Hannah, beginning with her flight from Long Beach, NY to San Francisco in 1996. Hannah and her girlfriend Sam have managed to keep their relationship mostly hidden from their families and their small town, but the weight of their shared secret is threatening to tear them apart. With a couple hundred dollars and a van named Scooby they make their way to San Francisco, envisioning a life of plenty in this queer paradise. The realities of adult life – lack of job experience, expensive housing, etc. – keep that fantasy just out of reach. Swearing to each other that they won’t return to Long Beach with their tails between their legs, the two girls resort to stripping at a club in the Tenderloin. Sam finds herself swept up in the current of San Francisco’s young queer community, but Hannah’s insecurity and wariness to put trust in others makes her hesitant and she finds herself floundering. Her eventual journey towards self-discovery is intertwined with her burgeoning connection to the other queer people that call San Francisco home.

really well-written book about home, identity, and finding yourself. 5 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

This was such a unique read for me! The story was well written and the plot was great. Not for everyone but I think it’s a good one for the subtype of book!

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS by Shoshana von Blanckensee in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and try to stay safe, sane and happy out there.

wow wow wow this book was so good!

I was born in 1995 so I'm not an expert on the subject at all but the writing in Girls Girls Girls was so good and immersive and I feel like the portrayal of being a queer, Jewish teen in the 90s was so perfectly accurate. The book follows Hannah and (her secret girlfriend) Sam as they move across the country from New York to San Francisco to escape their conservative families and live their queer lives on their terms. Girls Girls Girls is a quintessential coming of age story where these two girls are just trying to do whatever it takes to survive on their own.

While I found both Sam and Hannah frustrating at multiple points through the story, I also felt like they were extremely real. I remembered being 18 and feeling like I knew everything and that I knew best and on that level I related to them so hard. While our life experiences were vastly different, I felt for them so hard and even when frustrated, found myself rooting for their success in life.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy; all thoughts are my own

Wow. I cannot believe this is a debut. This book was so beautifully written and full of nuance. An honest coming-of-age story full of love, friendship, family, and the hard decisions that come with growing into your own. I may have to buy a physical copy because I loved it that much! The relationships are true and feel real. I cried, I laughed, I reflected. This book will stay with me for a while.

This book was brutal and beautiful. It was personal and expansive. It dealt with grief, queerness and Judaism in wonderful ways.

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I didn't expect much when I started this book. It's the author's first published novel and the little I knew about the story didn't make me expect anything out of the ordinary. Within the first few chapters, I knew I was wrong. von Blanckensee has done something special here. Her writing has an immediateness that connects you to her MC immediately and infuses fresh life into the relatively mundane elements of this coming of age story. I enjoyed this so much. I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

Gorgeous and poignant. Absolutely humbling to know that a book set in the 90s is considered historical fiction, but this is an incredible coming-of-age story that explores the politics of sex and gender and how that shapes one’s place in the world. I felt I got to know Hannah, that she could be one of my friends, and found her struggles to be realistic and relatable.
Excited to order this for my library.

Wow. I loved this book. The writing was beautiful. The characters are flawed and lovable. The book is dark and light, deeply sad but also uplifting. I was immediately sucked in and couldn't put it down. Very queer. Very Jewish. One of my favorite reads of this year.

Hannah and Sam were two 18-year-old young ladies who lived in Long Beach, New York. They fell in love when they were in high school. They were desperate to get out of Long Beach and made a plan to go to San Francisco where they could be who they truly were. So they saved up all the money they earned, coupled with $500 from Hannah's grandmother, They bought a VW van from Sam's uncle and headed west.

When they got to San Francisco, they needed a place to live and jobs. They met a man who was willing to rent them a small studio for $350 a month. Since they didn't have any experience, they decided to become strippers. They found that they could make $700 to $800 a night which meant they were rolling in the bucks early on. A 35-year-old dyke named Chris started going to the club and tipping. Hannah $100 for a lap dance every night. Sam came up with the idea that Hannah should spend the night with Chris and have sex with her for $1,200. At first. Hannah was appalled by the idea, but she eventually acquiesced. She scheduled her dates with Chris for Saturday nights. Molly was a lesbian that they met when they first got to San Francisco and she started inviting Sam out to go clubbing. They went out on Saturday nights as well. Since Hannah was somewhat uncomfortable stripping, she decided to quit and spend her weekends with Chris. All the while, Hannah and Sam were drifting apart. They found themselves bickering all the time until finally, Sam decided to go and stay with Molly. Sam had wanted Hannah to stop seeing Chris but Hannah wouldn't. She much preferred her dates with her rather than stripping.

One day when Hannah was leaving the apartment, she saw a team of female painters and one in particular that she was attracted to. Her name was Billie. Hannah had decided she wasn't going to see Chris anymore even though Chris had fallen in love with her. She talked to Billy about the possibility of working on her painting team and Billy gave her her phone number to call if she decided she wanted to join. She gave Billie a call informing her that she did indeed want to paint. She joined the team the following day and found she loved it.

Hannah had a grandmother that she was very close to and she talked to on a regular basis. Her grandmother encouraged her to call home but she didn't want to because she and her mother had a very strained relationship. She had a sister, Rachel, who really needed her but she wouldn't call home because she was afraid her mother would answer the phone. Her grandmother decided she wanted to go to San Francisco to visit her. When she got there, she informed Hannah that she was dying of pancreatic cancer. Hannah was devastated and told her that she would go home with her so she could spend her final days with her, but her grandmother told her not to. By the time she got home, the cancer had spread to her liver.

Hannah was enamored with Billie And she finally asked Hannah out for a date. Their date was scheduled for that Friday, but Hannah's mother called and told her that her grandmother was in the hospital. Without even giving it a second thought, Hannah bought a ticket and flew home. Her grandmother had asked her to help her die telling her that she didn't want any resuscitation and she filled out a DNR, a do not resuscitate. Hannah spent as much time as she could with her and at the very end, Hannah gave her an overdose of morphine so that she could die peacefully.

When Hannah got back to San Francisco she and Billie had their date. They went to an opening of a dyke bar and Sam and Molly were there. Sam had pretty much decided that she and Hannah were broken up. It hurt Hannah, but she was happy with Billie

. I thoroughly enjoyed this fanciful story. I thought the author did an excellent job of weaving, the ups and downs of Hannah and Sam's relationship. I was saddened when the relationship came to an end because I thought Sam did Hannah wrong. But Hannah was resilient and she thrived in spite of Sam shunning her. Sam turned out to be a big flirt and that was not Hannah's style. All in all, it was a very enjoyable book. I gave it five stars.

"I want to belong so much, I ended up not belonging at all."

THIS. BOOK.

Absolutely floored me, beginning to end. It has so much heart, depth, emotion.... the writing is beautiful and masterful, and Hannah has so much vulnerability. I will be thinking about this book for weeks.

I think, genuinely, I need to stop picking up searing literary fiction novels discussing 20 or 30something year old women discovering themselves, their identities, and their sexualities in the city. Every time I feel as though I'm reading the same book as before, which I think is partially the point? I do think this will go over well with sadgirl litfic communities, and fans of Emily Austin or Raven Leilani.