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madanxiety's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
"Good Luck, Babe" by Chappell Roan, the good ending.
This is like the book I always wanted to write. But I guess I should still write it because there still aren't enough wlw stories on paper.
This is like the book I always wanted to write. But I guess I should still write it because there still aren't enough wlw stories on paper.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Lesbophobia
robinks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It was lovely to hear Kiyoko narrating her own novel. Having other voice actors and certain sounds within the audiobook was an interesting choice but also ended up taking me out of the story. I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the scenes too. I also haaaated Sonya’s character, which made Coley’s feelings for her hard to understand, and I’m annoyed that they end up together (though I do appreciate the nod to the Girls Like Girls music video).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy
sarahspils's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wanted to pick up something that'd be a fairly light read and that I could move through quickly, and I ended up reading this one in a day! If I'm being honest, I had somewhat low expectations for this book since I've moved a bit away from the more high school YA novels, but I have to admit this was a sweet read; like a proper romcom. This has a lot of those primary coming-of-age themes of self-discovery, dynamics with parents, mental health, and the staple here, of course, being navigating sexuality and how that impacts our identity. I think Hayley does a good job of developing her characters in a way that shows their young, restless nature through how they react to the situations they're faced with and to each other.
There's that balance of classic teenage angst, moving through grief, and girls realizing they're in love with each other that kind of gave me early-2000s romcom vibes for sapphics tehe. I personally wouldn't qualify this as a life-changing book per se, and there are some moments where I think there could be more to be desired. My one critique that comes to mind right now is that I might've liked a little more use of terms of sexuality, especially since 'lesbian' is only used once in the entirety of the book in reference to "lesbian Jesus" (lol), and I think that could've been an opportunity to normalize them even more, working alongside the ambiguous moments of Coley and Sonya discovering their sexualities while not being too cliche. But with the root of the work originating from the iconic "Girls Like Girls" music video, overall it was really nice to see this idea become fully dimensional. I liked it :)
I don't know if this really qualifies as a spoiler (we've all seen the music video 🤭), but:In regards to the relationship between Coley and Sonya, do I think they're representative of an ideal couple and are this profound illustration of queer love? No, definitely not, but I don't think that's what this was trying to be, either. There are key moments of back and forth uncertainty, distrust, and betrayal, but I think that pushes the high school narrative, anyways. Honestly that's kind of how high school romance goes, né? 🤷🏻♀️
A simple read handling more complex topics, kind of Emily Henry-level but way less boring 😌.
(is this too long of a review omg idk I just kept typing oh well)
There's that balance of classic teenage angst, moving through grief, and girls realizing they're in love with each other that kind of gave me early-2000s romcom vibes for sapphics tehe. I personally wouldn't qualify this as a life-changing book per se, and there are some moments where I think there could be more to be desired. My one critique that comes to mind right now is that I might've liked a little more use of terms of sexuality, especially since 'lesbian' is only used once in the entirety of the book in reference to "lesbian Jesus" (lol), and I think that could've been an opportunity to normalize them even more, working alongside the ambiguous moments of Coley and Sonya discovering their sexualities while not being too cliche. But with the root of the work originating from the iconic "Girls Like Girls" music video, overall it was really nice to see this idea become fully dimensional. I liked it :)
I don't know if this really qualifies as a spoiler (we've all seen the music video 🤭), but:
A simple read handling more complex topics, kind of Emily Henry-level but way less boring 😌.
(is this too long of a review omg idk I just kept typing oh well)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual harassment
luhreen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Death of parent
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I thought this was really a sweet story about initial love and finding out who you are but I really disliked the characters in the story, particularly Sonya and Trenton. I don’t like the way that love is portrayed in some ways, particularly as something that always has elements of harm or hurt. That’s an unhealthy way to describe love, especially to the target audience of this novel which are upper middle/high school aged kids. I didn’t love the ending, because it felt like a cop out. The characters hadn’t changed all that much and they weren’t ready to make the choices they had made — it all felt too sped up. But, Coley and her dad building a relationship out of really negative circumstances was a beautiful plot line.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bethersboop's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
amanda_marie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.75
It was cute! Better and different than expected, with enough of a nod to the music video to be satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, and Death of parent
readingqueerly's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It's not that I think this book is amazing and everyone should read it. It's just that it made me a little nostalgic for my baby queer days when I watched this music video over and over again. And now, years later Hayley Kiyoko herself actually wrote the story for those two characters.
Though with that, I must say it was a little underwhelming. I should have known as simple YA romances just don't really hot the same anymore for me. It wasn't bad necessarily, just a little clunky and repetitive at times. I think if this book had come out seven years ago I would have loved it a lot more. For me it's just a little too late to be reading this.
It's a debut novel and it very much feels like a debut novel in YA. It was... Fine I guess.
Though with that, I must say it was a little underwhelming. I should have known as simple YA romances just don't really hot the same anymore for me. It wasn't bad necessarily, just a little clunky and repetitive at times. I think if this book had come out seven years ago I would have loved it a lot more. For me it's just a little too late to be reading this.
It's a debut novel and it very much feels like a debut novel in YA. It was... Fine I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
hologram_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
captaincocanutty's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol