Girl's Girl

by Sonia Feldman

From a dazzling new talent, a sensual and spellbinding novel about one summer that shatters the balance between three best friends, forcing them to confront the line between friendship and desire

Fifteen-year-old Mina’s whole world is her two best friends, but after an unexpected kiss, the established dynamics of their trio quickly unravel. Everything that was once shared openly, from clothes to secrets, now feels impossibly fragile. Loyalties shift and tensions simmer across the long days of this pivotal summer, where the girls have nowhere new to go and everything new to feel.

Looking back, an adult Mina traces the undercurrents of longing that shaped her first experience of desire. The rituals of girlhood—gossip, selfies, sleepovers, and videogames—become threads in a delicate, volatile web of intimacy, in which everything feels achingly fleeting and permanently etched. Loving one person, Mina learns, can change the way we love everyone else—including ourselves. 

Bold, vulnerable, and sharply observant, Girl’s Girl is a sundrenched and dewy snapshot of modern girl culture set in the blaze of one suburban Midwest summer.

Genres: Fiction, Lesbian, Literary Fiction, LGBT, Adult, Coming Of Age

256 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 2, 2026

Reviews

[cyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. This book was the most evocative and vivid portrayal of girlhood that i’ve read in a while. Every feeling in this book is something I think most girls have felt in their youth. From posing for fake pictures to mae others jealous and the confusion of being in a trio friend group every part of this book felt like reading a diary that could have easily been my own. The characters are all so flawed in the way that only teenage girls can get away with and it feels like watching yourself from afar. The underlying romance was so well written but didn’t take away from what at its core is a book about friendship. The only critique i have is that it wants longer but that’s just me selfishly wanted to stay in this nostalgia painted world for just a little bit longer. This is already in my top new releases of 2026 and the year hasn’t even started yet.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published June 2, 2026.

4 stars

It’s summer (Oh, do I wish it was summer. We have snow here. Snow. We never get snow until January and even then almost none. I’m afraid it may be a rough winter. But I digress.) Mina is fifteen. The most important thing in her world are her two best friends, Margaret and Eleanor, also fifteen. But what happens when one of those friendships becomes more?

It’s been a long time since I was that age but this felt so honest to me; not the way we want teenagers to act, but the way the actually do, with all the small stuff, the day to day navigations required just to maintain friendships. I really loved this and I loved all three girls, even with their faults, maybe especially with their faults.

***Edited to add: this is a debut? Bumping this up to five stars. It was a close call anyway, but knowing it’s the author’s first novel, well, I’ll be looking for more from her, and if she just wants to spend her career writing female coming of age stories, I’m here for that!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

an absolutely perfect novel. i don't know how sonia does what she does. for a book to hit this hard while reading as a .docx means there's some real magic here. cannot wait to hold the physical copy in my hands and for ms. feldman to take the literary world by STORM. the more time that passes since i read this the more i am in awe of sonia's ability to write from the POV of a teenage protagonist without sounding like an adult ventriloquizing a teenager while still being a book that adults will want to read. very rare talent!!!!

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore coming of age books like this one. This gave me so much nostalgia about girlhood and I love the focus on the desire, confusion, and other emotions we feel as females. It was a lighthearted read that moved at a fast pace and really held my attention. I actually was taken back to my younger years and my own female friendships when I read this book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Oola · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received an online copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

(4.5 stars rounded up)

Girl’s Girl is, in the simplest terms, an exploration of the complexities of platonic and romantic relationships at an age where the lines are sometime blurred. But it’s so much more than that — it juxtaposes the posterity of photos in our digital age with the ephemeral nature of time; it weaves themes of belonging, lust, and change into one tight, compelling narrative; and, above all, it provides an anthropological, dissecting look at the lives of teenage girls. Margaret, Eleanor, and Mina are all imperfect and, at times, cruel, but they are also incredibly relatable. This book resonated with me because I saw myself, friends, family members, crushes, and acquaintances reflected in the lives of the characters. Often, books about teenagers written by adults feel unrealistic, but Girl’s Girl was filled with such raw emotion and realistic heartbreak that I truly felt like I knew the characters personally by the end of the book.

It wasn’t perfect — at times, the plot felt a little bit overly soapy, and certain emotions or conditions were overexplained to the point of suffocation — but this book made me feel, and that’s what I love in a novel.

[Elle Spohrer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not for me, and I mean that in the literal sense. This book was written for people who will relate to it (i.e., not me). It aligns with how the current mainstream white feminist discourse describes “girlhood” in that it represents a particular experience of growing up white, upper middle class, neurotypical, and conventionally attractive. I’m just over it. Mina and her friends didn’t remind me of myself as a teenager; they reminded me of the popular girls in high school who seemed to operate under the belief that whatever was going on with them and their friends was the most important thing in the world. I was annoyed by it at fifteen, and I’m annoyed by it at twenty.

I do understand why other readers would really connect with this book. It’s a book for women who grew up like Mina, and there’s nothing wrong with that; what irks me is that it’s described as a “snapshot of modern girl culture” when the slice of “modern girls” it represents is really quite thin. I think Feldman did a great job of portraying these characters and their emotions; I just didn’t enjoy reading about them. There are plenty of books I enjoy that focus on characters I dislike, but those stories don’t require the reader to relate to the protagonists. This one does.

I think the title is pretty apt. One aspect of shallow internet feminism that bothers me is this obsession with labelling oneself “girls’ girl” while simultaneously not giving a fuck about girls who don’t fit in with the status quo, and that is absolutely the vibe I got from the main characters. Of course, they are teenagers—I don’t expect them to have a mature understanding of the world and their place in it. Still, I found myself rolling my eyes at how obsessed these girls are with being attractive and other people knowing they’re attractive (and I think I would have been annoyed by this when I was their age, too). There were a couple of brief moments around the middle of the book when Mina experienced fleeting glimpses of self-awareness, but these were passed over very quickly.

Unfortunately, the writing style in this book also didn’t work for me. I found the prose to be painfully overwritten. I’m sure some readers would enjoy the style, but it felt forced to me.

There were some things I did like. I thought the pacing was great, and the three distinctive mother-daughter relationships were done very well. I also appreciated the representation of teen sexuality. The conclusion of the story felt realistic and meaningful.

I would like to reiterate that, despite my low rating, I think a certain type of reader would absolutely love Girls’ Girl. I do hope that this book finds its community, and that I start doing a better job of vetting books on NetGalley before requesting them.

***Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial press for giving me a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.***

[:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the arc

Minor spoilers ahead.

Oh to be 15 again.

This is a gorgeous book, both aesthetically and writing wise. It also hurt me a lot. A little too real! I couldn't help but picture myself as a 15-year-old, struggling to make sense of my identity, my feelings, my place in the world.

This is, like I said, also a very real book. Every word, every character dynamic, every moment feels genuine and earned. There are a nitpicky things I could point out, but it doesn't feel worth it.

I have a feeling this is one of those books that will stick with me for a long time. I love it when books feel like a hot, humid summer, the kind that leaves you feeling sticky. I absolutely love the setting and care that was put into this because it really pays off.

There's one specific scene, where the girls go to a fair, that was so accurate to my teenage years it could've been written about me. Anyone who's from a small town knows that the big fair is the highlight of the summer, and it was so fun to see that included.

I loved and resonated a lot with Mina. She and her two best friends, Margaret and Eleanor, grapple with growing up and the changes that come with it. I loved the subtle differences in the relationships, as Mina realizes why her friendship with Eleanor is different than with Margaret. I love that they actually feel like friends, which seems silly to say, but unfortunately, is not something you see executed well in every book. They actually seem like they know and like each other!

I also really loved Mina's relationship with her mother, which I wasn't expecting to be so poignant. It's very teenage girl-coded, but again, just so realistic. I like that her mom isn't some major villain, that she's always there for Mina, and that the reasons she doesn't get along with her mom feel genuine and relatable.

I also liked that Mina doesn't struggle with her identity because she likes girls; she struggles with her identity because she's a 15-year-old trying to figure out what she feels. It's refreshing to not have a lot of homophobia or internal struggle (which I do enjoy in writing, but sometimes it's nice to not have that!).

I really liked the ending, too, when we switch to adult Mina's perspective. I'd say it's a realistic ending, not necessarily fairytale happy, but bittersweet and truthful.

I also enjoyed the format of this. There are no distinct chapters, which I really liked because it allowed the whole story to flow together, keeping the timeline loose but also more immersive. There's no particular, hard end to a scene; it simply breaks and moves to the next, which I think is very representative of real life. There aren't chapters in life; each day flows into the next and carries over.

Once again, this is a gorgeous book. Not a perfect read, but an important one.

4.5 stars

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Dial Press and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I LOVE coming-of-age stories and this one was no exception. I think Mina was a great character to be in the eyes of because she had this simultaneous naivety and maturity that Margaret and Eleanor didn’t have. I liked her relationship with her mother as well. I liked how she tried to understand that relationship, even if ultimately she knew she was too young to fully grasp it. And through her relationship with her mom, Mina was able to understand herself a little more and why she’s so emotional and transparent toward the people she loves.

My only critique is that I felt like some of the writing was disjointed and therefore unnecessarily convoluted. I understood everything Mina felt and said, but it took a bit of subtext for me to get there. I’m not sure if that makes any sense, but it did slow down the reading experience because I had to keep stopping and rereading sentences to make sure I actually picked up on what was going on. But then again, a lot of young adolescence is about rethinking every little interaction you’ve ever had, especially with your best friends, and wondering if whether or not there was more to it.

I related a lot to Mina. I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on who I’m with. I was also in a trio friendship when I was fifteen, and I remember times where I felt closer with one and then the other and then I would question if the friendship meant the same to each person. I spent a lot of time trying to prove my love to my friends, while not loving myself.

Lastly, I loved how Mina’s conflict was with herself and figuring out who she truly was and not just homophobia in general (I read this in another review). I think a lot of being fifteen is about growing into yourself and of course, a part of that is discovering your sexuality and who you truly love. But at the same time, a lot of that inner conflict is about becoming a new version of yourself as life feels fleeting when you’re fifteen, even though it’s not; it’s just the beginning.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Girl’s Girl is one of the more accurate portrayals I’ve read of how intense adolescent girl friendships can be—especially that instinctive possessiveness, the sense that your friends’ relationships with others somehow reflect on you. Feldman captures the insecurity, the competitiveness, and the unspoken hierarchies with a clarity that feels both nostalgic and mildly uncomfortable.

Mina and her friends move through the world with a logic that makes perfect sense at 15: everything is personal, every shift in loyalty feels monumental, and boundaries are more of an idea than a practice. The friendships blur—admiration sliding into comparison, closeness edging toward attraction—and all of it reads as deeply true to the murky interiority of coming-of-age girlhood.

I laughed several times at how sharply Feldman evokes the interior monologue of girlhood: dramatic, self-protective, convinced of its own correctness. And the small-town Midwest setting heightens it all, creating a pressure cooker where every slight feels amplified.

Overall, it’s a sharp portrayal of the ways girlhood friendships tangle with identity—how easily you absorb, mirror, and measure yourself against the people you love most when you’re still figuring out where you end and they begin.

[Kelty Duval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC. I have read many books about the teenage experience, but none have done as accurate a job as “Girl’s Girl.”

“Girl’s Girl” follows Mina’s recounting of the summer she was 15. Through her adventures with her two best friends, Margaret and Eleanor, Mina discovers that her feelings for the two of them are not the same and now must navigate their changing relationships.
At 15, you feel grown up, but when you look back at 15, you realize how young you were. That is exactly what “Girl’s Girl” does. Mina and her friends feel like grown-ups with their fancy clothes and makeup, but in reality, they still can’t drive and do need their moms sometimes. They are dealing with emotions that feel too big for their bodies, but they don’t know what to do about them. Feldman is able to hint at and play with these emotions that are never said aloud, but are woven into Mina’s actions.
Feldman is also able to very accurately describe the constant shifts that come with trios of friends. Two people are always going to be closer, and one is always going to feel left out. Mina has yet to be the one left out until this summer, after being grounded, and Margaret and Eleanor getting closer. Feldman has captured the nuance of Mina clawing her way back into the group and watching it change over and over again.
“Girl’s Girl” is set in the modern age and suitably ties in the girls’ use of social media into their ever-changing relationships. It has captured the feeling of opening Instagram to find your friend went out without you with friends you didn’t know they had. The balance between sending DMs, texts and artfully posting to get a rise out of someone is an aspect of modern girlhood that often goes unlooked.
Feldman has seemingly captured the universal teenage experience and distilled it down to one endless summer. She has packed the reckless abandon, the caution, the fury, the confusion and the nostalgia of adolescence into a novel sure to delight readers.

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written snapshot of a 15 year old girl’s summer of exploration. Exploration of the relationship between her and her 2 best friends - their deep friendships that tend to toe the line of co-dependency. There was something so real about longing to be included in every aspect of a best friend’s life and then needing to balance one’s own individuality, secrets, experiences, etc.

The book also delves into the world of blossoming sexuality - intrigue, confusion, attraction, blurred lines of friendship and something more. The role that social media plays in these teenagers actions as well as emotions is something my millennial self does not envy.

I thought this book was a great view into a particular type of teenage upbringing while exploring the universal struggles of being a teenager.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!!

[Corky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A snapshot of summer in the Midwest as a young woman - with all the yearning and angst that entails.
Feldman did a wonderful job of placing the reader in a time in which both nothing, and somehow everything, was happening for the protagonist. A few things stood out to me. First, the complexities of friendship at the age and the way different parenting styles seem to loom so large in friendships. Secondly, the way time is both blurred and stagnant at that age, especially in the era of social media.
Lastly, though I wanted more of a deep dive into Eleanor's psyche, it was realistic for the protagonist to not really understand.
Towards the end of the novel conflict did get resolved in a way that was a bit too tidy for teenage girls. Also, the narrative voice became more distant.
Overall a great read!

[mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow this was such an unexpected banger for me! I feel like I’m gonna be thinking of it in tiny lil bursts for a while. as someone who has had trio friendships my entire life (even currently), there was so much to these dynamics that I could relate to - esp as it related to my friendships as a teen. I’ve never had romantic feelings towards a friend but I can’t even imagine the element that would add to things!!!

this book was funny, poignant & sweet. it’s so girl-coded & made me reflective & nostalgic for my teen years, tender towards my teen self. I loved Mina and related to her a lot. I also loved Margaret and Eleanor though they both kinda irritated me in their own ways - I think it’s good they irritated me tho, cus it made them feel more real, like real teenage girls really figuring it out together.

4.5 stars rounded down. thanks for the arc!

[Delilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

i am someone who loves to reminisce about my childhood, the girl i once was & still am, really—but I admittedly have less of a charmed view of my teenage self. those were the years in which i wanted grow up so fast, in which i was most painfully aware of all my shortcomings. so fixated on the strange and complicated knots of friendship, so childish and yet unable to acknowledge it, so bound by the laws put into place by friends & mothers.

this novel made me love that self a bit more. & made me remember the wonderful, aching infinitude that exists in the middle of the night between teenage girls <3

[jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trio of best friends—pensive Mina, extroverted Margaret, and hyper-aware Eleanor—are looking forward to another summer together in their Midwest hometown. When you’re 15 years old, your friends make up the entire world outside of your parents’ home. And for Mina, her life with her friends is one she loves and relies on.

That is, until Eleanor kisses her one morning and their entire relationship dynamic changes.

This book was somehow both what I hoped it would be and much, much different than I initially expected. The girls were both intriguing and frustrating, and at one point I realized why that was because they were girls playing and practicing womanhood. This is very much a coming-of-age novel while also being a character study of these three individuals.

For the sheer amount of Sims references alone, this book was a 5 star read for me ✨

Enormous thanks to Random House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this honest review. “Girl’s Girl” releases on 6.2.26 and this is one I am definitely recommending!

[Khara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in one sitting. Reminiscent of The Virgin Suicides, without the suicide (spoiler). A realistic view of the complex nature of teenage relationships. As I was reading, I remember being a teenager with some of the same feelings that the main character experiences. I enjoyed the realness of the writing and the effective use of how social media acts as a different character in the friend group. Would recommend for readers who enjoy We Were Liars.


Grateful to NetGalley & Penguin for the ARC.

[Brinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wish I'd enjoyed this more, but sadly, I just didn't vibe with it. Maybe I'm just too close in life to the characters? I just found myself feeling so distant from them, I couldn't bring myself to care. I love the representation and the frankness, but for some reason, this book just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

[Nicole Safady · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

I absolutely do not miss being a teenager. And thank god social media wasn’t really a thing all those years ago. This story really encapsulates the fear and drama of being a 15 year old girl. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!