Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Girls Like Girls

I wanted to love this more. I truly do. The Girls Like Girls video was my life! But this was so so so toxic. There's so much alcohol and drug abuse, it's not even funny.

I truly think that beating Trenton up was a bad choice. Coley truly was a good girl, despite her past, but she stooped to Trenton's level and I felt like a disappointed parent upon reading it. Both Sonya and Blake were bad for her, only getting her into bad situations, and though I understand her rebound moment with Blake I definitely don't understand her getting with Sonya...

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shesreadingagain_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookedbyc's review against another edition

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3.25

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nightworldlove's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed the book, different than what I expected, but not necessarily in a bad way! It's not easy to make people feel so strongly about a, or multiple, characters. Loved the several references to different songs of Hayley Kiyoko, was a nice touch!

I've laughed, felt anxious, sad and outraged; definitely an emotional rollercoaster, so be prepared for that!

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merlesstorys's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked this book up because it aid by Hayley Kiyoko and she is one of my favorite queer artists.

In general, I really liked this book. It‘s rather fast paced, and the characters were nice.

However I feel like it was too short with it’s about 300 pages. In the end, the character development rather lacked - there was definitely not enough substance in them for the last 80 pages. Every story was closed fast, and many important story beats were done by like 4 pages each, when it worked there (mostly

the conflict with her father, her finding a new friend and losing her, and the conflict and fight between Coley and Sonya

). It could have used a 100 pages more to show us more of the inside of characters and explain many of their motivation between actions, before and after the typical conflict.

Especially, as already named, the thing between rhe main characters is fixed up in the last : chapters with a maximum of 20 pages added up, at most, which was just too less to really root for them.

The characters were mostly great, with Alex being a favorite of mine. But they weren’t too much developed, especially the friend group. They were just stereotypes made out of cardboard, without much else to them. We never learn motivations, backgrounds, personalities.
The main characters Coley and Sonya are nicely written though, with an honorable mention for the diary entries of the latter - that were mostly never explained.

But what redeemed this book in the end was the fact that it used many of the locations of the same titled music video, which launched the music career by Kiyoko.

Also the fact that this whole story takes place in 2006 makes much sens, regarding the lack of smartphones in the teen group and everything.

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slayergirl3281's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

2.25

Thank you Wednesday books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This books really couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. It felt torn between a live story and hard hitting family issues. But it honestly didn’t do either well. The book is set in 2006 and is trying to, but doesn’t capture the nostalgia of the 00’s. I found most of not all the characters toxic towards each other, and yes I know they are teens but it was really really bad. The writing was extremely juvenile and could use a few more rounds of editing or rewrites before it goes to the public. Overall I had to push myself to finish this one. I hope others find joy in it though!

Cw
Suicide
Homophobia
Domestic violence
Emotional abuse
Underage drinking
Toxic relationship
Toxic friendship
Gaslighting
Violence

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theatrealpaca's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Set in the days of AIM and flip phones, this book was sweet and bittersweet in turn. Coley and Sonya experience falling in love and discovering queerness through the summer before their senior year in high school. With a difficult ex and a mother that expects perfection, Sonya has a harder time accepting herself than Coley. Though Coley has her own hardships (the recent death of her mother and moving in with her estranged father), she helps herself and Sonya realize that their love doesn't make them wrong.

I sped through this book, absolutely enthralled to find out how it all turned out. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me remember how big every emotion felt at 17. Hayley Kiyoko did such a beautiful job of writing two flawed girls finding themselves and their love. I can't wait for her next book!

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