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Long Island Girls: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 23 Jun 26An unforgettable novel of love and belonging, set in the indie music world of the early 2000s.
The only thing Susan loves more than music is Eliza, and both keep breaking her heart.
The first time Susan and Eliza meet, it's 2005, and Susan is barreling down the Long Island Expressway driving a group of friends to an indie rock show. Eliza is a surprise addition to the backseat, and she doesn't quite fit in; she's a little too pretty, and she doesn't know anything about music, but Susan is drawn to her anyway. Their flying sparks lead to combustion when Susan recognizes Eliza as the girl from a nude photo boys have been sending around. They part ways, and Susan assumes that’s the end of it. Susan goes off to college and onto a career in Brooklyn's indie music scene, where she navigates a toxic job at a small record label and learns hard lessons about who exactly has the privilege of making art under late-stage capitalism.
In 2015, in her twenties, Susan has a chance run-in with Eliza on a dating app, and they finally embark on a relationship. But Eliza is plagued by her traumatic past, which involves people Susan is still involved with, and that's where it all falls apart again. Over the next few years, Susan's career takes off, she helps dismantle a predatory work environment, and meets someone new who might actually be good for her. Yet she can't stop thinking about Eliza. What might have been, if things had gone differently? And who might Susan become if she could only let Eliza go?
At once a hilarious-yet-tender coming of age story, a steamy, complicated romance, and an authentic celebration of queer joy, Long Island Girls is for anyone who has ever struggled to stop getting caught up in "what-ifs" and start appreciating what is.
The only thing Susan loves more than music is Eliza, and both keep breaking her heart.
The first time Susan and Eliza meet, it's 2005, and Susan is barreling down the Long Island Expressway driving a group of friends to an indie rock show. Eliza is a surprise addition to the backseat, and she doesn't quite fit in; she's a little too pretty, and she doesn't know anything about music, but Susan is drawn to her anyway. Their flying sparks lead to combustion when Susan recognizes Eliza as the girl from a nude photo boys have been sending around. They part ways, and Susan assumes that’s the end of it. Susan goes off to college and onto a career in Brooklyn's indie music scene, where she navigates a toxic job at a small record label and learns hard lessons about who exactly has the privilege of making art under late-stage capitalism.
In 2015, in her twenties, Susan has a chance run-in with Eliza on a dating app, and they finally embark on a relationship. But Eliza is plagued by her traumatic past, which involves people Susan is still involved with, and that's where it all falls apart again. Over the next few years, Susan's career takes off, she helps dismantle a predatory work environment, and meets someone new who might actually be good for her. Yet she can't stop thinking about Eliza. What might have been, if things had gone differently? And who might Susan become if she could only let Eliza go?
At once a hilarious-yet-tender coming of age story, a steamy, complicated romance, and an authentic celebration of queer joy, Long Island Girls is for anyone who has ever struggled to stop getting caught up in "what-ifs" and start appreciating what is.
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 23, 2026
12 people are currently reading
10744 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a way to end 2025(I'm writing this on the 31st)!
I got this ARC on a whim, I don't know the author and it sounded intriguing but I didn't even check if it was romance of litfic or what, I just read “indie music world” and requested it. I'm so glad I did.
This is a fantastic book, an easy 5 star read. It was so beautifully written, I could see everything described and felt like I was there. It helps that I grew up partially in the era described here, so it was really nostalgic. But when we're moving through the years I was surprised to see how a movie was going in my mind of what happened during those years and it made the experience of reading this book just absolutely perfect.
This was a hard read at times, definitely check trigger warnings, but it was so beautiful and a little cathartic. From growing up queer in a time where it wasn't as nice out there, to having anxiety and not knowing what is the right decision, navigating adult life when you have no clue what you are doing and feeling like you were supposed to still be a kid. There's a line about chance that really stuck with me, I'm very set in my own ways and I just don't know how to handle things changing. I'm much like the main character in that way, it freaks me out and I just can't function.
During that ending I had chills all over my body, that was POWERFUL. I wasn't really sure where we were going with this, the beginning led me to think this was one thing but it was a completely different story, and I loved that.
I felt seen in many ways, and in different parts of the book. It was just a great time and I couldn't ask for a better way to end the year.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!
I got this ARC on a whim, I don't know the author and it sounded intriguing but I didn't even check if it was romance of litfic or what, I just read “indie music world” and requested it. I'm so glad I did.
This is a fantastic book, an easy 5 star read. It was so beautifully written, I could see everything described and felt like I was there. It helps that I grew up partially in the era described here, so it was really nostalgic. But when we're moving through the years I was surprised to see how a movie was going in my mind of what happened during those years and it made the experience of reading this book just absolutely perfect.
This was a hard read at times, definitely check trigger warnings, but it was so beautiful and a little cathartic. From growing up queer in a time where it wasn't as nice out there, to having anxiety and not knowing what is the right decision, navigating adult life when you have no clue what you are doing and feeling like you were supposed to still be a kid. There's a line about chance that really stuck with me, I'm very set in my own ways and I just don't know how to handle things changing. I'm much like the main character in that way, it freaks me out and I just can't function.
During that ending I had chills all over my body, that was POWERFUL. I wasn't really sure where we were going with this, the beginning led me to think this was one thing but it was a completely different story, and I loved that.
I felt seen in many ways, and in different parts of the book. It was just a great time and I couldn't ask for a better way to end the year.
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!
Want to read
October 15, 2025"The only thing Susan loves more than music is Eliza, and both keep breaking her heart."
#BEENTHERE
#BEENTHERE
December 19, 2025
Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn. Thanks to @stmartinspress for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Susan met Eliza one night in 2005’s and hasn’t stopped thinking about her since. As Susan comes into her identity, dates, starts a career, she’s always thought of Eliza. Now their lives are about to come back together.
A great coming of age story that shows what it was like growing up in the early-mid aughts. I was in college by then and reading the book I could see how dangerous of a time it was to be a teen. Not only does the book show the perils of the time period, but it’s a terrific coming into gay story as Susan grows into her identity as a lesbian. I also loved how the story shows the strong connections we make with certain people, and how we become infauted, not necessarily because of that person but because of circumstances around the relationship.
“We had the entire world at our fingertips. Something no generation had before ours. And what did we use it for? We used it to torture each other.”
Read this book if you like:
-NYC settings
-Coming of age stories
-Queer identity treks
-Sexual assault recovery tropes
-New adult timelines
Long Island Girls comes out 6/23.
Susan met Eliza one night in 2005’s and hasn’t stopped thinking about her since. As Susan comes into her identity, dates, starts a career, she’s always thought of Eliza. Now their lives are about to come back together.
A great coming of age story that shows what it was like growing up in the early-mid aughts. I was in college by then and reading the book I could see how dangerous of a time it was to be a teen. Not only does the book show the perils of the time period, but it’s a terrific coming into gay story as Susan grows into her identity as a lesbian. I also loved how the story shows the strong connections we make with certain people, and how we become infauted, not necessarily because of that person but because of circumstances around the relationship.
“We had the entire world at our fingertips. Something no generation had before ours. And what did we use it for? We used it to torture each other.”
Read this book if you like:
-NYC settings
-Coming of age stories
-Queer identity treks
-Sexual assault recovery tropes
-New adult timelines
Long Island Girls comes out 6/23.
Want to read
January 9, 2026── pre read
lit fic set in the 2000s and in the music world? yes PLEASE sign me tf up.
thank you to netgalley & st martins press for the arc! all opinions are my own.
lit fic set in the 2000s and in the music world? yes PLEASE sign me tf up.
thank you to netgalley & st martins press for the arc! all opinions are my own.
October 26, 2025
“Everything is changing all the time, regardless of our feelings about it.”
One of my favorite quotes from the book is also exactly a perfect reflection of its best themes. The book follows Susan and has a few snapshots from her life. Sort of like how the memories on your phone hit you hard sometimes… it’s incredible how not much seems to change day to day but a snapshot from 2019 can really knock you off your stool.
Starting in 2005, Susan doesn’t know who she is and has typical self-centered teen relationships. She comes across Eliza briefly but immediately loses track of her and sees her as the one that got away.
The first chapter is rife with early 00s nostalgia, you’ll be surprised at things that have since faded away that were so entrenched in the every day. The Lancôme juicy tubes and downloaded punk rock.
The subsequent chapters jump and while you miss Susan’s coming out, her career start, I love the way this book skips the “big event” scenes and just cuts to a sort of a normal day. Just as in real life, people who are main characters in one phase of your life become a forethought in the next.
All throughout, Susan sort of romanticizes Eliza although she truly doesn’t really know her. It’s less of a Romance than a coming of age LitFic character study. It is solidly Susan’s POV and shows a jump in her maturity and a loss of innocence and a growth with each passing year.
“Maybe love is trusting how someone feels about you.”
You’ll highlight several sentences.
Thanks to NetGalley and st martins press for the ARC. Book to be published June 22, 2026.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is also exactly a perfect reflection of its best themes. The book follows Susan and has a few snapshots from her life. Sort of like how the memories on your phone hit you hard sometimes… it’s incredible how not much seems to change day to day but a snapshot from 2019 can really knock you off your stool.
Starting in 2005, Susan doesn’t know who she is and has typical self-centered teen relationships. She comes across Eliza briefly but immediately loses track of her and sees her as the one that got away.
The first chapter is rife with early 00s nostalgia, you’ll be surprised at things that have since faded away that were so entrenched in the every day. The Lancôme juicy tubes and downloaded punk rock.
The subsequent chapters jump and while you miss Susan’s coming out, her career start, I love the way this book skips the “big event” scenes and just cuts to a sort of a normal day. Just as in real life, people who are main characters in one phase of your life become a forethought in the next.
All throughout, Susan sort of romanticizes Eliza although she truly doesn’t really know her. It’s less of a Romance than a coming of age LitFic character study. It is solidly Susan’s POV and shows a jump in her maturity and a loss of innocence and a growth with each passing year.
“Maybe love is trusting how someone feels about you.”
You’ll highlight several sentences.
Thanks to NetGalley and st martins press for the ARC. Book to be published June 22, 2026.
October 28, 2025
She wonders if she could flush her whole body down the toilet, disappear forever into the sewer, join a family of rats, eat garbage.
November 14, 2025
The nostalgia. The self discovery. The millennial girlhood. 🥹♥️
As a girl who grew up in the 90s/2000s, I loved Long Island Girls! It is such a unique yet relatable story. Gabrielle delivered lovable complex characters, real life trauma and struggles, and a deep dive into relationships, both intimate and platonic.
So good. Highly recommend!
As a girl who grew up in the 90s/2000s, I loved Long Island Girls! It is such a unique yet relatable story. Gabrielle delivered lovable complex characters, real life trauma and struggles, and a deep dive into relationships, both intimate and platonic.
So good. Highly recommend!
January 29, 2026
Gabrielle Korn always manages to write beautiful queer stories.
In 2005, Susan meets Eliza on a trip to a concert and realizes she likes women, and this one specific one a lot. When Susan recognizes Eliza from a picture the boys, they go to school with have been passing around, Eliza gets uncomfortable and the two lose touch. In 2015, Susan is working in the music industry and has embraced her sexuality when she and Eliza match on a dating app. However, the past may come to haunt them again. Told in four periods of time, this story follows Susan throughout her life, with Eliza making her appearances. A meditation on self and the different kinds of love.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.
In 2005, Susan meets Eliza on a trip to a concert and realizes she likes women, and this one specific one a lot. When Susan recognizes Eliza from a picture the boys, they go to school with have been passing around, Eliza gets uncomfortable and the two lose touch. In 2015, Susan is working in the music industry and has embraced her sexuality when she and Eliza match on a dating app. However, the past may come to haunt them again. Told in four periods of time, this story follows Susan throughout her life, with Eliza making her appearances. A meditation on self and the different kinds of love.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.
Want to read
February 4, 2026just got the arc... god bless
November 24, 2025
Not only did I really enjoy this book, but I really related to it. As a lesbian that grew up in Staten Island during the 2000s/2010s, this book felt like a time-capsule filled with moments and memories that I felt so near and dear to my heart.
Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for the ARC!
Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for the ARC!
October 20, 2025
Dare I say that most people can probably relate to romantizing something, and building it up in their head to be quite different from what it actually is.
The human nature of wonder, yearning for things we don’t have, and believing that life would perfect if we could grab hold of that thing that is just ever so out of our reach.
That is essentially what this book is.
Susan is endlessly chasing that high of one that got away, no matter how many times it ends in heartbreak.
I feel like I have really just gone on a journey with this book, and with Susan.
From early 2000s teen girlhood, to the life of a struggling recent-college graduate, to still trying to figure out life in her late 20s, all the way to new feelings, maturity and new beginnings in her 30s.
Theres a lot of ground getting covered here.
I think that’s pretty fun, with quite a bit of depth, naturally.
Also, slightly unnerving! But thats probably just me. There is something scary about watching all of that time pass by in a short 300 pages.
I didn’t really connect with Susan as much as I would have liked to, and I’m not really sure why.
Not that she was unlikable, it’s just one of those stories where I feel like there is some distance between the reader and character.
Though, I liked reading her story and watching her grow into herself.
I think women’s fiction can be a little bit difficult to review sometimes, because I think that everyone will probably have a unique experience with it.
What things you relate to, what characters you can see yourself in, what exactly the story means to you (if anything), and if the messages are something that you have already come to learn-or if you’re still working on it.
But, I can say that I thought this was nice, enjoyable, and probably contains something that a lot of people have felt in some way, at some point in their life.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and author Gabrielle Korn, for providing me with the eARC of “Long Island Girls”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: June 23, 2026
The human nature of wonder, yearning for things we don’t have, and believing that life would perfect if we could grab hold of that thing that is just ever so out of our reach.
That is essentially what this book is.
Susan is endlessly chasing that high of one that got away, no matter how many times it ends in heartbreak.
I feel like I have really just gone on a journey with this book, and with Susan.
From early 2000s teen girlhood, to the life of a struggling recent-college graduate, to still trying to figure out life in her late 20s, all the way to new feelings, maturity and new beginnings in her 30s.
Theres a lot of ground getting covered here.
I think that’s pretty fun, with quite a bit of depth, naturally.
Also, slightly unnerving! But thats probably just me. There is something scary about watching all of that time pass by in a short 300 pages.
I didn’t really connect with Susan as much as I would have liked to, and I’m not really sure why.
Not that she was unlikable, it’s just one of those stories where I feel like there is some distance between the reader and character.
Though, I liked reading her story and watching her grow into herself.
I think women’s fiction can be a little bit difficult to review sometimes, because I think that everyone will probably have a unique experience with it.
What things you relate to, what characters you can see yourself in, what exactly the story means to you (if anything), and if the messages are something that you have already come to learn-or if you’re still working on it.
But, I can say that I thought this was nice, enjoyable, and probably contains something that a lot of people have felt in some way, at some point in their life.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and author Gabrielle Korn, for providing me with the eARC of “Long Island Girls”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: June 23, 2026
October 21, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This book was unlike anything i’ve ever read and i could not put it down. If i wasn’t so busy I would’ve finished it in one sitting. The story leaps off the page and all the characters feel so real that it’s endearing. I would read thousands of pages of what happens to each character of his book and that’s saying something because I don’t really like character driven stories. The timeline can get a bit jumpy and points but it didn’t bother me too much. The long span of time this book covers allows for the characters to grow and mature without making the book longer than it needs to be. Seriously check this one out next year.
October 21, 2025
Am I from Long Island? No. Have I ever been to Long Island? No. Am I a girl? Yes!!!!! I am a girl and I love lesbianism and queer literature and I love this book!!! I am ecstatic for this release so I can share my adoration of this story with everyone who will listen (and everyone who will not.)
December 29, 2025
I wish there were more chapters to help break this up, I feel like the chapters could’ve been “parts” which could’ve been broken down into chapters. But I really enjoyed the themes and I particularly liked the friendships and secondary characters (Katie, Jake and Jonny).
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
oh, this book spoke to my millennial lesbian soul.
December 16, 2025
‘Long Island Girls’ is a your typical LGBT+, coming of age novel. Very easy to read, and in most parts, droll from recycling the same cliche LGBT+ tropes in most other queer fiction. From obsessions with ex’s, heavy hand social-political convos with parents, and general queer issues, the writing and plot really doesn’t add anything to the literally landscape that didn’t already exist. I will say, I have read this authors ghostwritten work, and it was the same struggle then, the lesbian girl crush obsessions, miscommunication, and explanations about queer culture that are too heavy handed. She also tends to do a lot of describing with little showing which can lead to things dragging out- I’ve learned my lesson that these books are just not for me. But if you’d like a Renee Rapp style fever dream, this is the perfect book for you.
October 15, 2025
An epic story of millennial girlhood, coming of age, coming out, and 20 years of bumping into people you have feelings for. I could not put this book down. I absolutely loved Susan’s character and each of her connections with the other characters. There is so much nostalgia for me as a millennial throughout this book and I love that it follows the characters from 2005 up till 2025. Beautiful writing, interesting character personalities, and a relatable and captivating plot! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 13, 2025
This is one of the times when I think the book blurb really nailed exactly what the novel is—this is really a story about relationships (both platonic and romantic), life changes, and just growing up in general. And even though this is most definitely a queer novel, I think it's the kind of story that even non-queer readers will be able to easily relate to. From intense crushes to worrying about employment to wondering if your closest friends are drifting away, many readers are sure to have experienced at least one of the situations that show up in this novel.
I really liked how this was set up so each chapter is a new year in our main character's life. The reader really gets to see Susan at all her most important milestones—both the good and the ugly. Although at times I wanted to knock some sense into her, Susan felt like a real person that you could meet in real life and that was nice to see. I enjoyed reading her story and I really wanted to see her manage to succeed.
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading coming of age stories—especially if you're looking to get a little early aughts nostalgia in as well!
(Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
I really liked how this was set up so each chapter is a new year in our main character's life. The reader really gets to see Susan at all her most important milestones—both the good and the ugly. Although at times I wanted to knock some sense into her, Susan felt like a real person that you could meet in real life and that was nice to see. I enjoyed reading her story and I really wanted to see her manage to succeed.
I would definitely recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading coming of age stories—especially if you're looking to get a little early aughts nostalgia in as well!
(Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an advance review copy via NetGalley! I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book had a lot of promise examining the toxic music industry in New York City and a sapphic obsession spanning a decade but it didn’t quite work for me. The writing style is very simplistic and there was a lot of cheap feeling nostalgia bait, especially with the chapters set in the early 2000s.
I felt a lot of distance from Susan, the main character. Things just work out for her like the lead singer of a band immediately clocking she’s queer and kickstarting her career at an indie record label. Even the central conflict around men in positions of power taking advantage of young women feels really distant from the main character, never really impacting her.
She’s got that ‘not like other girls’ thing going on, we’re often told she’s conventionally attractive but she doesn’t feel that way because her childhood friend is prettier than her. She’s selfish and self-absorbed while also having low self esteem which makes for a protagonist I’m not super compelled by.
I did like how this explores her fixation on Eliza, a girl she met as a teen and met again as a young adult, and how both women have idealised each other in a dehumanising way. There’s also some interesting commentary on how the culture of the early 2000s impacted young girls, but again this felt a bit too surface level for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
I felt a lot of distance from Susan, the main character. Things just work out for her like the lead singer of a band immediately clocking she’s queer and kickstarting her career at an indie record label. Even the central conflict around men in positions of power taking advantage of young women feels really distant from the main character, never really impacting her.
She’s got that ‘not like other girls’ thing going on, we’re often told she’s conventionally attractive but she doesn’t feel that way because her childhood friend is prettier than her. She’s selfish and self-absorbed while also having low self esteem which makes for a protagonist I’m not super compelled by.
I did like how this explores her fixation on Eliza, a girl she met as a teen and met again as a young adult, and how both women have idealised each other in a dehumanising way. There’s also some interesting commentary on how the culture of the early 2000s impacted young girls, but again this felt a bit too surface level for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
January 24, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe there’s irony in the fact that I felt so seen as a Gen Z reading a coming of age experience of Millennials, but how could I not when LONG ISLAND GIRLS perfectly enraptures the queer experience in all ages of life. (Also, I’m an early 2000s Gen Z, sooo maybe I have some credibility here. No? Okay…onward)
I know a book is going to be a 5 star read when I make a playlist for it. When I finished this book, I immediately turned on Around U by MUNA and felt the same intense overwhelming sensation you feel when exiting a theater after convincing yourself you’re larger than life.
Is that dramatic? Perhaps. But it’s exactly true to my feelings toward this book. First, the cover lured me in, but the story devoured me. I laughed, I cried, and suddenly growing older doesn’t seem so scary to me.
Partial SPOILER??!
My favorite line: “All this time she thought she was obsessing over Eliza, but really she was just infatuated with her own desire.”
It’s so often that we find ourselves infatuated with a person or place, and convince ourselves we need them/to live there to be happy. When really that intense need just tells more about us than it does them. A friendly reminder to look inward. This book was also a free therapy session for me, and alas I enjoyed every second of it.
Pick. Up. This. Book.
Maybe there’s irony in the fact that I felt so seen as a Gen Z reading a coming of age experience of Millennials, but how could I not when LONG ISLAND GIRLS perfectly enraptures the queer experience in all ages of life. (Also, I’m an early 2000s Gen Z, sooo maybe I have some credibility here. No? Okay…onward)
I know a book is going to be a 5 star read when I make a playlist for it. When I finished this book, I immediately turned on Around U by MUNA and felt the same intense overwhelming sensation you feel when exiting a theater after convincing yourself you’re larger than life.
Is that dramatic? Perhaps. But it’s exactly true to my feelings toward this book. First, the cover lured me in, but the story devoured me. I laughed, I cried, and suddenly growing older doesn’t seem so scary to me.
Partial SPOILER??!
My favorite line: “All this time she thought she was obsessing over Eliza, but really she was just infatuated with her own desire.”
It’s so often that we find ourselves infatuated with a person or place, and convince ourselves we need them/to live there to be happy. When really that intense need just tells more about us than it does them. A friendly reminder to look inward. This book was also a free therapy session for me, and alas I enjoyed every second of it.
Pick. Up. This. Book.
December 4, 2025
Okay wow Gabrielle I love you. How do you capture humanity exactly the way it should be captured???
This coming-of-age queer novel set in 2005 Long Island is an honest portrait of relationships (to people and technology) at that time. Korn captures the suburban world of record stores, "garage band" shows, family pressure, and aching uncertainty with incredible authenticity. The relationship between the characters (specifically Susan and Eliza) throughout their lives feels extremely authentic to the queer experience —messy, electric, and full of possibility. The story balances nostalgia with emotional depth, rage, and devastation, reminding us how transformative our first relationships can be. This novel lingers long after the final page, As with all of Korn's novels. Well done!!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
This coming-of-age queer novel set in 2005 Long Island is an honest portrait of relationships (to people and technology) at that time. Korn captures the suburban world of record stores, "garage band" shows, family pressure, and aching uncertainty with incredible authenticity. The relationship between the characters (specifically Susan and Eliza) throughout their lives feels extremely authentic to the queer experience —messy, electric, and full of possibility. The story balances nostalgia with emotional depth, rage, and devastation, reminding us how transformative our first relationships can be. This novel lingers long after the final page, As with all of Korn's novels. Well done!!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
October 19, 2025
Thank you to those at St. Martin's Press, NetGalley, and Gabrielle Korn for this ARC! I was preselected for this ARC and it was an interesting read. I haven't read a lot of books with this setting, starting in the 2000s and coming to 2025. It was fascinating to see all the characters as they grow, especially Susan and Eliza. There was so much angst, which isn't always my cup of tea, but I loved the women empowerment that was there throughout the book. It was nostalgic in terms of women going for what they want and getting it. That was my impression by the end of the book and hope for the characters as they continue to live their lives. Overall, nice read!
November 28, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read an ARC of Long Island Girls! I was so invested in Susan and Eliza’s stories as they changed over the decades. I loved how that even though there is a romance in it, it is truly a coming of age story that focuses on Susan, and the ups and downs of her personal and professional life. Many of the themes really resonated with me. I felt at times there were certain plot elements that felt unnecessary, but overall I really enjoyed sapphic yearning and maturing alongside Susan.
February 1, 2026
The perfect sad girl queer coming of age. My heart ached for Susan and I was always rooting for her. She is so beyond naive but she is fierce and surprisingly unapologetic about who she THINKS she is. Korn does a stellar job of allowing Susan to grow without it feeling forced and clunky. The way the book is broken up drives the plot forward really well. It is left open ended but I felt very satisfied with the way things played out. And the millennial nostalgia was perfectly encapsulated centering around the music scene
December 5, 2025
I love Gabrielle’s writing, and I’ve loved her other books, but LONG ISLAND GIRLS is her best yet. I lived a different life than Susan in so many ways but I still felt like I knew EXACTLY where she was at in every stage of her life, not just because of the millennial nostalgia tinging the pages but because Gabrielle made her so crystal clear that Susan feels like a long-lost friend. A gem of a book.
December 16, 2025
always love to read more lesbian coming of age stories. the third person POV story telling wasn’t my favorite but it is a debut. I enjoyed the full arc from young teens to late queer adulthood. While i wouldn’t have made the choices susan did and would recommend a therapist i enjoyed the book overall!
November 29, 2025
I started off really loving the book until I got about halfway through and it felt like I was just reading the same thing over and over at different ages. I wanted to like it more than I did, I do think that the writing style is super interesting but I wish that more dramatic things happened in Susan's life. Her parents felt like a half complete story that kept randomly coming back.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.
A queer coming-of-age story that spans two decades, it's easy to read and really captures the feeling of the early 21st century and the changing role of technology in social relationships in the last two decades. There's some unrealistic plot developments, especially in the last part, and some of the characters are disappointingly one-dimensional, but it's overall a compelling story about a queer girl becoming a woman.
The story starts in 2005, when Susan is a high school student on Long Island going to a music show. She meets Eliza, who she's drawn to, even though she's not fully aware of her sexuality yet. Their initial meeting ends awkwardly, and Susan goes on with her life, going to college and then getting a job at a small record label as an adult. The book visits her life every few years, and she keeps having encounters with Eliza, with various complications. Meanwhile, she's also dealing with a toxic workplace, and then later the pandemic, which affects her job situation quite a bit. Even though I'm older than Susan, and maybe it's with the distance of hindsight that I can look back at the 2021 chapter without reliving all of the negative parts of the pandemic, but I found the book to be an effective journey through the last two decades. Susan gets into the music scene in high school, and then has to deal with more social media in her record label job as it takes off in the 2010s, and she also uses dating apps that started taking off then. She also deals with the panic and uncertainty during 2020 and 2021 and navigates her new employment situation, and the book captures that mood of fear and strangeness during that time. I also appreciated how realistically complicated her relationship with Eliza is over the years, and the way they both handle trauma and also slowly realize their true feelings with the benefit of hindsight felt true to life.
There were times while reading this book, though, where some plot developments felt quite unrealistic, which is especially noticeable in a book where a lot of the details felt quite real. How Susan deals with the problematic CEO of her company is brave, but the fallout from her actions is quite neat and tidy, almost like a fantasy of how these things can go. The developments in the last chapter set in 2025 seem like something out of a dream, and it ties up what seems like a messy two decades in a fairly neat bow. There's also some characters that feel underdeveloped, like her parents, whose economic and health problems and later political beliefs are mentioned, but this really doesn't go anywhere besides showing a strain in their relationship, and it feels quite superficial in its treatment. There's two especially villainous men in Susan's life, but they're quite flat in their characterization, and they just seem like evil for evil's sake. There's some illustration of the people around them that enable their behavior, but by the end they just kind of fade away, and the resolutions to their character arcs never felt like they had closure.
But overall I was surprised at how engaging this coming-of-age story was, despite some unrealistic developments and some underdeveloped characters. It's an effective story covering two decades, touching on topics like toxic workplaces and bosses, homophobia and trauma, and the good and evil parts of the internet and social media. It's also an interesting glimpse into the indie music scene in New York City, something I was completely unfamiliar with.
A queer coming-of-age story that spans two decades, it's easy to read and really captures the feeling of the early 21st century and the changing role of technology in social relationships in the last two decades. There's some unrealistic plot developments, especially in the last part, and some of the characters are disappointingly one-dimensional, but it's overall a compelling story about a queer girl becoming a woman.
The story starts in 2005, when Susan is a high school student on Long Island going to a music show. She meets Eliza, who she's drawn to, even though she's not fully aware of her sexuality yet. Their initial meeting ends awkwardly, and Susan goes on with her life, going to college and then getting a job at a small record label as an adult. The book visits her life every few years, and she keeps having encounters with Eliza, with various complications. Meanwhile, she's also dealing with a toxic workplace, and then later the pandemic, which affects her job situation quite a bit. Even though I'm older than Susan, and maybe it's with the distance of hindsight that I can look back at the 2021 chapter without reliving all of the negative parts of the pandemic, but I found the book to be an effective journey through the last two decades. Susan gets into the music scene in high school, and then has to deal with more social media in her record label job as it takes off in the 2010s, and she also uses dating apps that started taking off then. She also deals with the panic and uncertainty during 2020 and 2021 and navigates her new employment situation, and the book captures that mood of fear and strangeness during that time. I also appreciated how realistically complicated her relationship with Eliza is over the years, and the way they both handle trauma and also slowly realize their true feelings with the benefit of hindsight felt true to life.
There were times while reading this book, though, where some plot developments felt quite unrealistic, which is especially noticeable in a book where a lot of the details felt quite real. How Susan deals with the problematic CEO of her company is brave, but the fallout from her actions is quite neat and tidy, almost like a fantasy of how these things can go. The developments in the last chapter set in 2025 seem like something out of a dream, and it ties up what seems like a messy two decades in a fairly neat bow. There's also some characters that feel underdeveloped, like her parents, whose economic and health problems and later political beliefs are mentioned, but this really doesn't go anywhere besides showing a strain in their relationship, and it feels quite superficial in its treatment. There's two especially villainous men in Susan's life, but they're quite flat in their characterization, and they just seem like evil for evil's sake. There's some illustration of the people around them that enable their behavior, but by the end they just kind of fade away, and the resolutions to their character arcs never felt like they had closure.
But overall I was surprised at how engaging this coming-of-age story was, despite some unrealistic developments and some underdeveloped characters. It's an effective story covering two decades, touching on topics like toxic workplaces and bosses, homophobia and trauma, and the good and evil parts of the internet and social media. It's also an interesting glimpse into the indie music scene in New York City, something I was completely unfamiliar with.
December 7, 2025
Thank you NetGally, St. Martins Press and author Gabrielle Korn for this ARC. I am leaving my honest review.
I was immediately captivated by the blurb to this book and it was a detailed and entertaining read. Although I had assumed this would be a love story following Susan and Eliza, it was much more of a coming of age and growth story. This was not what I was expecting but I did enjoy it. Long Island Girls is a fun and engaging deep dive into a queer woman's journey through the early 2000s full of emotion, humor, depth and the messiness of real life.
The entire story is told from the POV of Susan and while I worried that might leave the story a bit one sided, it really worked well. Afterall, this is the story of Susan and her journey from anxious teen, to struggling 20’s and eventually confident 30’s. Susan's build up of Eliza as the idealized partner does plague her throughout her life but it is a sentiment that many can understand and sympathize with. This sort of magnetism between Susan and Eliza is a central theme and Susan can’t help but think of her and compare other relationships to her. There is this strange gravitational pull toward Eliza that never really fades.
I really enjoyed this in depth, messy and emotional story of Susan and her journey toward becoming who she is. This book combines a sort of complicated love story with a much bigger exploration of self and the crazy, messy, painful adventure of identity discovery and personal growth. Susan grows up right before our very eyes and becomes a badass queer woman that I would love to be friends with. Each chapter delves further and further into Susan, her relationships both platonic and romantic and her growth as a queer woman. She struggles with self worth, desire, regret, forgiveness and everything that many of us have had to navigate through. I loved the time period and the throwbacks. THis was largely my time period and I appreciated the nostalgia.
I found myself incredibly intrigued and more invested the longer I read. This was such a satisfying read and a wonderful exploration of a lesbian woman coming into her own. I know that the infatuation with Eliza was sort of a cautionary tale of sorts and Susan's true peace comes from letting her go. But I can't refute how important she was to the overall journey. Korn’s writing is wonderfully descriptive and fabulously blends together a sort of frank humor and tender emotion. She writes about a messy world and invites us to dissect the life of a realistically flawed woman. I found the careful weaving of trauma and real life healing to be believable and enjoyable. This story is written over a decade and the pacing helps to highlight all the positives and negatives that come with a life well lived. Though at first I was kind of disappointed that this wasn't an easy romance, I later came to appreciate how powerful this story really is.
Overall, this is a book that will linger in my mind and that is a huge compliment. I read a lot and stick to sapphic stories because they matter most to me. All of the side characters were written with care and aided the story along. I enjoyed Susan's story a great deal and won't soon forget her. I very much recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate an authentic and tender story of queer womanhood. A story about the hard won clarity that can really only come from growing up. This book offers so much and will quickly become a new favorite.
I was immediately captivated by the blurb to this book and it was a detailed and entertaining read. Although I had assumed this would be a love story following Susan and Eliza, it was much more of a coming of age and growth story. This was not what I was expecting but I did enjoy it. Long Island Girls is a fun and engaging deep dive into a queer woman's journey through the early 2000s full of emotion, humor, depth and the messiness of real life.
The entire story is told from the POV of Susan and while I worried that might leave the story a bit one sided, it really worked well. Afterall, this is the story of Susan and her journey from anxious teen, to struggling 20’s and eventually confident 30’s. Susan's build up of Eliza as the idealized partner does plague her throughout her life but it is a sentiment that many can understand and sympathize with. This sort of magnetism between Susan and Eliza is a central theme and Susan can’t help but think of her and compare other relationships to her. There is this strange gravitational pull toward Eliza that never really fades.
I really enjoyed this in depth, messy and emotional story of Susan and her journey toward becoming who she is. This book combines a sort of complicated love story with a much bigger exploration of self and the crazy, messy, painful adventure of identity discovery and personal growth. Susan grows up right before our very eyes and becomes a badass queer woman that I would love to be friends with. Each chapter delves further and further into Susan, her relationships both platonic and romantic and her growth as a queer woman. She struggles with self worth, desire, regret, forgiveness and everything that many of us have had to navigate through. I loved the time period and the throwbacks. THis was largely my time period and I appreciated the nostalgia.
I found myself incredibly intrigued and more invested the longer I read. This was such a satisfying read and a wonderful exploration of a lesbian woman coming into her own. I know that the infatuation with Eliza was sort of a cautionary tale of sorts and Susan's true peace comes from letting her go. But I can't refute how important she was to the overall journey. Korn’s writing is wonderfully descriptive and fabulously blends together a sort of frank humor and tender emotion. She writes about a messy world and invites us to dissect the life of a realistically flawed woman. I found the careful weaving of trauma and real life healing to be believable and enjoyable. This story is written over a decade and the pacing helps to highlight all the positives and negatives that come with a life well lived. Though at first I was kind of disappointed that this wasn't an easy romance, I later came to appreciate how powerful this story really is.
Overall, this is a book that will linger in my mind and that is a huge compliment. I read a lot and stick to sapphic stories because they matter most to me. All of the side characters were written with care and aided the story along. I enjoyed Susan's story a great deal and won't soon forget her. I very much recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate an authentic and tender story of queer womanhood. A story about the hard won clarity that can really only come from growing up. This book offers so much and will quickly become a new favorite.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
(Rating rounded up from 3.5 stars)
Overall, this book was very enjoyable to read; I thought the characters, plot, and pacing were all excellent. Susan was a very relatable character for me, and her continuous (though not always linear) growth and loss of innocence felt natural and poignant. The strongest element of this book, in my opinion, was the depiction of Susan’s internal relationship with Eliza. Though Eliza is not physically present for most of the story, she remains an almost constant fixture in Susan’s mind, and much of Susan’s development centers around her obsession with Eliza.
Much of Susan’s life revolves around music. She is drawn to the DIY indie rock scene in the early 2000s, and wants to become a part of this world as she grows up. Although I’m too young to have actually experienced it, I did think Korn’s depiction of the indie rock scene and Susan’s love for it were a unique and important part of the story’s worldbuilding. I also appreciated the portrayal of the darker parts of the music industry; there’s certainly a nostalgia factor at play with the early scenes, but it’s balanced out by a sobering peak behind the curtain later on.
This book includes some commentary on gender, sexuality, and class, especially in relation to the music industry. I wasn’t blown away by any of this—I don’t think there’s anything here that hasn’t been said before—but it added another layer of complexity and realism to the story that felt thoughtful and relevant.
The ending of this book (which I will be very vague about, for obvious reasons) is, in my opinion, perfect. I thought it was satisfying and matched the tone of the rest of the story well. The bigger themes Korn explores in the last couple chapters felt like a nice way to wrap everything up, and I liked how she touches on some of the important topics brought up at the beginning.
All that being said, I didn’t think the writing was exceptional. The dialogue often felt awkward and sometimes broke my immersion, and the exposition was pretty “tell-don’t-show.” (One tiny thing that particularly bothered me was the use of the phrase “passenger princess,” a term popularized in the 2020s, in the chapter set in 2005.)
I would recommend this book to readers who like reading about awkward female protagonists, queer coming-of-age stories, millennial nostalgia, messy lesbian relationships, and lifelong friendship. I also think that, while decidedly not a romance novel, this book might appeal to some romance readers because of how well Korn develops the relationship between Susan and Eliza. This was a quick, fun read for me, and I would definitely read more from Gabrielle Korn in the future.
***Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
Overall, this book was very enjoyable to read; I thought the characters, plot, and pacing were all excellent. Susan was a very relatable character for me, and her continuous (though not always linear) growth and loss of innocence felt natural and poignant. The strongest element of this book, in my opinion, was the depiction of Susan’s internal relationship with Eliza. Though Eliza is not physically present for most of the story, she remains an almost constant fixture in Susan’s mind, and much of Susan’s development centers around her obsession with Eliza.
Much of Susan’s life revolves around music. She is drawn to the DIY indie rock scene in the early 2000s, and wants to become a part of this world as she grows up. Although I’m too young to have actually experienced it, I did think Korn’s depiction of the indie rock scene and Susan’s love for it were a unique and important part of the story’s worldbuilding. I also appreciated the portrayal of the darker parts of the music industry; there’s certainly a nostalgia factor at play with the early scenes, but it’s balanced out by a sobering peak behind the curtain later on.
This book includes some commentary on gender, sexuality, and class, especially in relation to the music industry. I wasn’t blown away by any of this—I don’t think there’s anything here that hasn’t been said before—but it added another layer of complexity and realism to the story that felt thoughtful and relevant.
The ending of this book (which I will be very vague about, for obvious reasons) is, in my opinion, perfect. I thought it was satisfying and matched the tone of the rest of the story well. The bigger themes Korn explores in the last couple chapters felt like a nice way to wrap everything up, and I liked how she touches on some of the important topics brought up at the beginning.
All that being said, I didn’t think the writing was exceptional. The dialogue often felt awkward and sometimes broke my immersion, and the exposition was pretty “tell-don’t-show.” (One tiny thing that particularly bothered me was the use of the phrase “passenger princess,” a term popularized in the 2020s, in the chapter set in 2005.)
I would recommend this book to readers who like reading about awkward female protagonists, queer coming-of-age stories, millennial nostalgia, messy lesbian relationships, and lifelong friendship. I also think that, while decidedly not a romance novel, this book might appeal to some romance readers because of how well Korn develops the relationship between Susan and Eliza. This was a quick, fun read for me, and I would definitely read more from Gabrielle Korn in the future.
***Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***
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