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A review by themermaddie
Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko
4.0
sorryyyyyyy for doubting u hayley, this was actually a surprisingly good YA debut. the GLG music video was the blueprint, no one was doing it like hayley in 2015 and for that she is mother. GLG u will always be famous
this book is sooooo intensely teenage angst. it deals with coming out, internalised homophobia, societal pressures, complicated and 'untraditional' family dynamics, mental health, suicide (peripherally), and generally does all of it with a tender and careful hand. coley and sonya aren't the most special or unique girls in the world, but i think their everyman personalities are honestly what make the book so easily relatable. you might not have had the same experiences with loss or grief or family, but surely we've all experienced that teen angst, that first love, that confusing mess of hormones and world ending dramatics. i respect the decision to make sonya kind of unlikeable at times, to make the wrong choices and have so much internalised shit to work through; sometimes we're not the best version of ourselves to the people we love when so much loathing is directed inwards. yeah she's kinda toxic at times and there's like sooooo much underage drinking in this book but i think it ends in a better place, not the final destination but maybe the first step.
this book is all small town vibes, riding a bike on a dirt road, nothing to do but drink and hang out with people you're not sure you like, etc. it's very peak teenage summer, and actually a great companion to/expansion upon the music video. thank u hayley
this book is sooooo intensely teenage angst. it deals with coming out, internalised homophobia, societal pressures, complicated and 'untraditional' family dynamics, mental health, suicide (peripherally), and generally does all of it with a tender and careful hand. coley and sonya aren't the most special or unique girls in the world, but i think their everyman personalities are honestly what make the book so easily relatable. you might not have had the same experiences with loss or grief or family, but surely we've all experienced that teen angst, that first love, that confusing mess of hormones and world ending dramatics. i respect the decision to make sonya kind of unlikeable at times, to make the wrong choices and have so much internalised shit to work through; sometimes we're not the best version of ourselves to the people we love when so much loathing is directed inwards. yeah she's kinda toxic at times and there's like sooooo much underage drinking in this book but i think it ends in a better place, not the final destination but maybe the first step.
this book is all small town vibes, riding a bike on a dirt road, nothing to do but drink and hang out with people you're not sure you like, etc. it's very peak teenage summer, and actually a great companion to/expansion upon the music video. thank u hayley