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Girl's Girl
NATIONAL BESTSELLER A “lustrous debut”* and a sundrenched and dewy snapshot of modern girl culture set in the blaze of one suburban Midwest summer
“Feldman brings an Austenian attentiveness to the foibles of suburban adolescence. . . . The pleasure of Girl’s Girl is that it reveals the invisible jealousies, affections and gnawing needs lurking at the edge of so many seemingly trivial images of young womanhood.”—Sanjena Sathian, The New York Times Book Review*
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.
“Feldman brings an Austenian attentiveness to the foibles of suburban adolescence. . . . The pleasure of Girl’s Girl is that it reveals the invisible jealousies, affections and gnawing needs lurking at the edge of so many seemingly trivial images of young womanhood.”—Sanjena Sathian, The New York Times Book Review*
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.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,293 reviews
June 27, 2026
one of life's most prestigious titles
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(review to come)
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
(review to come)
June 28, 2026
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ 3.5 stars ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆
this book is a lovely, poignant portrayal of girlhood and all of its joys and pains.
the story is told from the perspective of Mina as she reflects on a significant summer when she was 15. Mina and her two best friends, Margaret and Eleanor, are nearly inseparable. during this summer, however, a kiss (and feelings) between two of them threatens to disrupt the entire balance of their trio. we get to reflect with Mina as the friends fall apart, keep secrets, gossip, come together, adventure together, and get into some teenage trouble. it is worth mentioning that this is modern, so the girls have texting, DMs, social media, take selfies, play The Sims, etc.
this is an exploration of friendship, desire, angst, getting to know yourself during your teen years, and the nostalgia of childhood summers.
the entire story is largely character-based rather than plot-driven but i still flew through it. this made me reminisce on so many aspects/memories/experiences of my pre-teen and teenage years. i love a coming-of-age story like this — and it always hits so hard during the summer months.
if the synopsis of this story sounds interesting to you, i recommend picking this up. you'll get summer vibes, good writing, memorable characters, and the chance to relive girlhood. it's also not very long (241 pages, i believe).
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ summer tbr prompt: literary fiction ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆
this book is a lovely, poignant portrayal of girlhood and all of its joys and pains.
the story is told from the perspective of Mina as she reflects on a significant summer when she was 15. Mina and her two best friends, Margaret and Eleanor, are nearly inseparable. during this summer, however, a kiss (and feelings) between two of them threatens to disrupt the entire balance of their trio. we get to reflect with Mina as the friends fall apart, keep secrets, gossip, come together, adventure together, and get into some teenage trouble. it is worth mentioning that this is modern, so the girls have texting, DMs, social media, take selfies, play The Sims, etc.
this is an exploration of friendship, desire, angst, getting to know yourself during your teen years, and the nostalgia of childhood summers.
the entire story is largely character-based rather than plot-driven but i still flew through it. this made me reminisce on so many aspects/memories/experiences of my pre-teen and teenage years. i love a coming-of-age story like this — and it always hits so hard during the summer months.
if the synopsis of this story sounds interesting to you, i recommend picking this up. you'll get summer vibes, good writing, memorable characters, and the chance to relive girlhood. it's also not very long (241 pages, i believe).
⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ summer tbr prompt: literary fiction ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆
March 10, 2026
what a rare and precious thing this book is—the last line made me burst into tears on the spot.
July 3, 2026
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒.ᐟ 𓆩♡𓆪
Ugh, I miss them already.
How nice to start June with such a great book about how beautiful and how hard it is to be a girl falling in love with a girl. As someone who once experienced the same thrilling hardship, with its rollercoaster of heart-warming and heartbreaking sensations that sometimes happen all at once, this book was already relatable enough as is, but some of its characteristics made it almost an uncanny read for me. It's impossible to extricate my feelings for the book from how intimate it felt for me. I literally have lived entire scenes of this book to an alarming degree of detail, and I love how universally positioned it made me feel.
Girl's Girl explores the relationship of a trio of best friends during the summer of their fifteenth year. Right from the first line in the book you're made aware of its sapphic nature in a blunt and direct way that I found comforting and reassuring, because it set the tone for the whole novel. Mina is a protagonist with a very prominent trait: she's hard at lying and the best at following rules, which means that whatever she feels or thinks, the reader gets to know right away: she can't help herself. She orbits around her two best friends, a childhood bff called Margaret who's a social butterfly who's always eager to flutter away in a crowd, and a more recent bff called Eleanor, who is sharp and confident but has a hard time communicating her softer self. She loves both with a disarming intensity, though she loves them in different ways...
The shiny crown jewel of this book is the full grasp it has on the minutiae of girlhood dynamics, the wonderful sensibility it provides when dealing with the unspoken rules and unseen gestures that guide teenage relationships: the subtleties, the silences that mean more than words, the small shifts that can tilt the fabric of reality, entire conversations that happen only through short glances and body language, the strict balancing of status quo, the misunderstandings through insecurities, all of it. The author understands girlness in a meaningful way and is able to thoroughly guide the reader through the inner workings of girlness, to make sense and order of what looks like complete chaos to the outside eye. Watching Mina go through her summer of self-discovery is delightful because she is both incredibly complex and incredibly simple, like all girls are, but not everyone can lay out the step-by-step of it with such ease.
I fell very much in love with the three of them, especially Eleanor, who I both relate to and fell in love with (what does this say about me??), and I loved all the Sailor Moon references. It still irks me to read books that are so centered around social media behaviour, since I am repelled by it irl, but here it adds a sort of necessary tension and yet another layer of micro-managing of aspects of girlhood, another layer of micro-meanings to be interpreted by an already clustered analytical mind. It was also a very no-tw book, which to me is a big deal: I love queer stories that can focus on just being sweet and sour without the mandatory addition of trauma and bigotry. And I really loved the ending! I thought it was unexpected and ideal at the same time.
Yay for girls who love girls! ˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊
Ugh, I miss them already.
How nice to start June with such a great book about how beautiful and how hard it is to be a girl falling in love with a girl. As someone who once experienced the same thrilling hardship, with its rollercoaster of heart-warming and heartbreaking sensations that sometimes happen all at once, this book was already relatable enough as is, but some of its characteristics made it almost an uncanny read for me. It's impossible to extricate my feelings for the book from how intimate it felt for me. I literally have lived entire scenes of this book to an alarming degree of detail, and I love how universally positioned it made me feel.
Girl's Girl explores the relationship of a trio of best friends during the summer of their fifteenth year. Right from the first line in the book you're made aware of its sapphic nature in a blunt and direct way that I found comforting and reassuring, because it set the tone for the whole novel. Mina is a protagonist with a very prominent trait: she's hard at lying and the best at following rules, which means that whatever she feels or thinks, the reader gets to know right away: she can't help herself. She orbits around her two best friends, a childhood bff called Margaret who's a social butterfly who's always eager to flutter away in a crowd, and a more recent bff called Eleanor, who is sharp and confident but has a hard time communicating her softer self. She loves both with a disarming intensity, though she loves them in different ways...
The shiny crown jewel of this book is the full grasp it has on the minutiae of girlhood dynamics, the wonderful sensibility it provides when dealing with the unspoken rules and unseen gestures that guide teenage relationships: the subtleties, the silences that mean more than words, the small shifts that can tilt the fabric of reality, entire conversations that happen only through short glances and body language, the strict balancing of status quo, the misunderstandings through insecurities, all of it. The author understands girlness in a meaningful way and is able to thoroughly guide the reader through the inner workings of girlness, to make sense and order of what looks like complete chaos to the outside eye. Watching Mina go through her summer of self-discovery is delightful because she is both incredibly complex and incredibly simple, like all girls are, but not everyone can lay out the step-by-step of it with such ease.
I fell very much in love with the three of them, especially Eleanor, who I both relate to and fell in love with (what does this say about me??), and I loved all the Sailor Moon references. It still irks me to read books that are so centered around social media behaviour, since I am repelled by it irl, but here it adds a sort of necessary tension and yet another layer of micro-managing of aspects of girlhood, another layer of micro-meanings to be interpreted by an already clustered analytical mind. It was also a very no-tw book, which to me is a big deal: I love queer stories that can focus on just being sweet and sour without the mandatory addition of trauma and bigotry. And I really loved the ending! I thought it was unexpected and ideal at the same time.
Yay for girls who love girls! ˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊
December 8, 2025
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.***
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.***
December 12, 2025
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.
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.
December 10, 2025
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!
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!
June 30, 2026
oh yes i loved this
June 11, 2026
It’s so perfect and nostalgic and mundane and deep
July 3, 2026
Mina, Eleanor, and Margaret are 15 years old. They spend all of their time together passing the long, hot summer days sharing clothes, taking selfies, playing video games and whispering secrets. As affection grows, a surprising kiss changes the dynamics of this trio. A different feeling is in the air and suddenly there are questions about identity. Heartfelt and very real, I was wrapped up in the lives of these girls. The time frame takes place during one summer which is perfect because emotions, like a season can be fleeting. But this summer has illuminated a new self awareness.
Girl’s Girl takes me right back to those sun drenched, endless summers of my youth with my very best friends. It also reignites all the feelings of being a teenager.
This has a nostalgic summer vibe and the writing flows beautifully. It’s hard to believe this is a debut. I’m looking forward to reading the next novel by Sonia Feldman.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for an early copy.
Girl’s Girl takes me right back to those sun drenched, endless summers of my youth with my very best friends. It also reignites all the feelings of being a teenager.
This has a nostalgic summer vibe and the writing flows beautifully. It’s hard to believe this is a debut. I’m looking forward to reading the next novel by Sonia Feldman.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press for an early copy.
June 28, 2026
3.25
A great debut novel, it’s a light easy breezy read however I couldn’t connect to the story because it’s basically a lesbian summer awakening and how a kiss unravels lies, truths, relationships, friendships and self identity 👒🦋 would def recommend to read this during the summer as the season of summer is kinda like a character almost as the story goes on ☀️
A great debut novel, it’s a light easy breezy read however I couldn’t connect to the story because it’s basically a lesbian summer awakening and how a kiss unravels lies, truths, relationships, friendships and self identity 👒🦋 would def recommend to read this during the summer as the season of summer is kinda like a character almost as the story goes on ☀️
June 30, 2026
literally the perfect summer read
June 18, 2026
omfg beautiful teenage girl friendships and crushes on each other I LOVED IT
while its not really at all how my teenage experience was - popular girls, boys who like them, underage drinking and mischief - i really loved this glimpse into mina's life, and how her experience of 'girlhood' was so tied to same sex attraction without it being something strange or revelatory.
i personally love slice of ife novels, and this was a great snapshot into intense female friendships that are underscored by utter devotion.
while its not really at all how my teenage experience was - popular girls, boys who like them, underage drinking and mischief - i really loved this glimpse into mina's life, and how her experience of 'girlhood' was so tied to same sex attraction without it being something strange or revelatory.
i personally love slice of ife novels, and this was a great snapshot into intense female friendships that are underscored by utter devotion.
November 12, 2025
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!!!!
June 29, 2026
Never has a book made me glad not to be a 15-year-old girl just beginning to find out who she is again.
I see why this might not be for everyone, though.
For starters, SF’s target audience is very specific: Gen Zs who grew up with a phone, but for whom social media wasn't a “threat” yet.
And it's firmly connected to the storytelling, which might come out as confusing, annoyingly complicating and repetitive.
That's the whole point, tho; the girls that get it, get it.
↠ 3.2 stars
Thanks to Random House, The Dial Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
I see why this might not be for everyone, though.
For starters, SF’s target audience is very specific: Gen Zs who grew up with a phone, but for whom social media wasn't a “threat” yet.
And it's firmly connected to the storytelling, which might come out as confusing, annoyingly complicating and repetitive.
That's the whole point, tho; the girls that get it, get it.
↠ 3.2 stars
Thanks to Random House, The Dial Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
November 21, 2025
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.
March 7, 2026
It took some time, deliberation, and patience for me to figure out how I felt about this book, which I suppose is appropriate given that this is a very slow and reflective narrative about a trio of young teenage besties (Mina, Margaret, and Eleanor), over the course of a summer, as they develop understanding of their identity, sexuality, friendships, and romantic relationships. In particular, it is a queer coming of age story of protagonist Mina, who develops more-than-friend feelings for one of the group.
This book is mostly Mina’s interior monologue as she reflects back on her youth from adulthood, and the narration comes across as a mix of Mina’s youthful firsthand perspective tempered and moderated by her wiser adult introspection. The book is a character study, to put it mildly, and takes vibes-over-plot to a new level: for instance, the first quarter of the book, along with many other swaths of it, consists solely of the girls hanging out in the heat, idly gossiping, playing Sims, and doing hair/makeup/clothing (and of course, posting pics and checking socials). There are other parts of the book where the girls might be doing something a bit more dramatic, such as navigating the socially fraught atmosphere of the county fair, and then there are still other large portions where the girls are Kind Of In A Fight and totally ignoring one another, and so Mina is just ruminating in her bedroom and marinating in All The Feels. This is definitely all very “Marcel Proust writes privileged white suburban Ohio teenage girls,” and it won’t be for everyone, but the writing is pretty beautiful and perceptive and I’m glad I stuck with it all.
I was also super grateful that this book is gay, because I have to admit that I may have found it all rather insufferable without the added importance and complication of this representation. The story compelled much more of my empathy and investment when, amidst navigating all the teen girl developmental hurdles that are already so difficult, Mina must also navigate the additional challenge of realizing she is gay and in love with a best friend. I have to say without this “hook” to provide more relevance and weight to the story, I would have had a very hard time relating to these girls who are, again, extremely privileged in all the traditional senses and don’t seem to have an inch of space for any of the additional anxieties and cares that preoccupied me as they have many other teens: safety (personal, household, neighborhood, the planet), financial security, health, etc.
All that being said, this is a very realistic (at least with regard to these characters) and respectful portrait of teen girls and their relationships with one another (as well as with their mothers), and I think I can avoid all spoilers while saying that I really appreciated that we can have these stories today without them being totally tragic. There was a historical time when even women authors of the liberated young ladies of literature had to circle back and punish their creations by capsizing them in their rowboats, compelling them to OD on their insomnia tinctures, or worse. Nothing like that happens here: it’s all just growth, and while girls may be crushing, nobody gets crushed.
Many thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Random House/The Dial Press for the ARC of Girl’s Girl, expected for release on June 2, 2026.
This book is mostly Mina’s interior monologue as she reflects back on her youth from adulthood, and the narration comes across as a mix of Mina’s youthful firsthand perspective tempered and moderated by her wiser adult introspection. The book is a character study, to put it mildly, and takes vibes-over-plot to a new level: for instance, the first quarter of the book, along with many other swaths of it, consists solely of the girls hanging out in the heat, idly gossiping, playing Sims, and doing hair/makeup/clothing (and of course, posting pics and checking socials). There are other parts of the book where the girls might be doing something a bit more dramatic, such as navigating the socially fraught atmosphere of the county fair, and then there are still other large portions where the girls are Kind Of In A Fight and totally ignoring one another, and so Mina is just ruminating in her bedroom and marinating in All The Feels. This is definitely all very “Marcel Proust writes privileged white suburban Ohio teenage girls,” and it won’t be for everyone, but the writing is pretty beautiful and perceptive and I’m glad I stuck with it all.
I was also super grateful that this book is gay, because I have to admit that I may have found it all rather insufferable without the added importance and complication of this representation. The story compelled much more of my empathy and investment when, amidst navigating all the teen girl developmental hurdles that are already so difficult, Mina must also navigate the additional challenge of realizing she is gay and in love with a best friend. I have to say without this “hook” to provide more relevance and weight to the story, I would have had a very hard time relating to these girls who are, again, extremely privileged in all the traditional senses and don’t seem to have an inch of space for any of the additional anxieties and cares that preoccupied me as they have many other teens: safety (personal, household, neighborhood, the planet), financial security, health, etc.
All that being said, this is a very realistic (at least with regard to these characters) and respectful portrait of teen girls and their relationships with one another (as well as with their mothers), and I think I can avoid all spoilers while saying that I really appreciated that we can have these stories today without them being totally tragic. There was a historical time when even women authors of the liberated young ladies of literature had to circle back and punish their creations by capsizing them in their rowboats, compelling them to OD on their insomnia tinctures, or worse. Nothing like that happens here: it’s all just growth, and while girls may be crushing, nobody gets crushed.
Many thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Random House/The Dial Press for the ARC of Girl’s Girl, expected for release on June 2, 2026.
February 4, 2026
2.75/5
Firstly thank you NetGalley, Random House, the Dial Press, and Sonia Feldman for gifting me with this ARC to review! While this book wasn’t for me, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy this debut novel.
Liked:
-the premise of teen dynamics, figuring out sexuality and different types of love. This is more of a modern take on teen dynamics which entails: selfies/pictures for every occasion, the self importance, and caring about how others perceive you. Now I will say I don’t think it’s a great overall view of modern teen girls. I’d say it’s a very narrow view into white, middle class, attractive teen girls. I enjoyed the lesbian/queer representation and that no one had an issue with it (again not very accurate to real world, but still it was nice).
Disliked:
-the writing had way too much purple prose for me to enjoy it thoroughly. Listen I’m all for explaining things in a complex way but Mina’s inner thoughts and her descriptions of the past as an adult were just too much.
-the pacing. It’s a very slow read, despite it only being about 256 pages. It picks up a bit around the 60% mark but not by much. It got a bit boring for me to read about how much Mina, Margaret, and Eleanor would ignore and not spend time with each other.
-the sims game play stuff. I could’ve done without the whole dive into the gameplay and emphasis on it lol. It’s not a major deal but still I just wanted to skip past it and move to the next scene.
Firstly thank you NetGalley, Random House, the Dial Press, and Sonia Feldman for gifting me with this ARC to review! While this book wasn’t for me, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy this debut novel.
Liked:
-the premise of teen dynamics, figuring out sexuality and different types of love. This is more of a modern take on teen dynamics which entails: selfies/pictures for every occasion, the self importance, and caring about how others perceive you. Now I will say I don’t think it’s a great overall view of modern teen girls. I’d say it’s a very narrow view into white, middle class, attractive teen girls. I enjoyed the lesbian/queer representation and that no one had an issue with it (again not very accurate to real world, but still it was nice).
Disliked:
-the writing had way too much purple prose for me to enjoy it thoroughly. Listen I’m all for explaining things in a complex way but Mina’s inner thoughts and her descriptions of the past as an adult were just too much.
-the pacing. It’s a very slow read, despite it only being about 256 pages. It picks up a bit around the 60% mark but not by much. It got a bit boring for me to read about how much Mina, Margaret, and Eleanor would ignore and not spend time with each other.
-the sims game play stuff. I could’ve done without the whole dive into the gameplay and emphasis on it lol. It’s not a major deal but still I just wanted to skip past it and move to the next scene.
Did Not Finish
July 2, 2026Simply not my cup of tea, and I can only blame myself because I picked this up with a very specific preconceived notion of what I thought it would be. One that, in retrospect, was completely unfounded and was actually just what I hoped it would be. But it turns out the author didn't crawl into my brain and write the book I dreamed up.
What I had envisioned was reliving the sweet summer nostalgia of endless days and sleepless nights spent giggling with the girlies. I wanted fun, laughter, inside jokes. Endless beach days that blur together; boardwalk strolls as dusk bleeds into night; backyard bbqs with smoky bonfires; evening treks to the local ice cream shop. Basically, the many blissful experiences that I associate with that one euphoric, seemingly weightless season of life as a teen (I being the operative word here; it goes without saying that this is entirely personal bias and not a reflection of the book's merits).
Instead, what I experienced was a low-grade existential crisis at the realization that I was reading about three girls constantly glued to their electronic devices from my own electronic device. It all felt a bit grim and mundane. Their daily activities consisted largely of taking selfies, playing Sims, and stalking social media.
But perhaps more significant was that I didn't particularly relate to the novel's portrayal of 'girlhood' or the characters. While I don't typically need to identify with a cast to become invested in a character-driven story, in this instance, I simply never found these girls or their arcs engaging enough to sustain my interest.
I read up to page 35 before deciding this probably wasn't the right book for me. I skimmed the rest to see if I was judging it too prematurely, and it did seem to improve slightly, featuring more peak summery moments like a trip to the county fair, a backyard party, and a late night swim. But those moments felt too scarce for me to justify continuing, and I had already checked out.
It's a beautifully written story that I imagine many others will love. It was poignant, and the author did a phenomenal job of capturing the chronic angst and emotional volatility so characteristic of a hormonal teen navigating big, confusing emotions. I also really appreciated the mother-daughter tension explored during that phase where you're trying to assert the freedom you feel entitled to while also trying to preserve a degree of emotional closeness.
So again, beautiful book, just not what I expected or what I was seeking in the moment.
What I had envisioned was reliving the sweet summer nostalgia of endless days and sleepless nights spent giggling with the girlies. I wanted fun, laughter, inside jokes. Endless beach days that blur together; boardwalk strolls as dusk bleeds into night; backyard bbqs with smoky bonfires; evening treks to the local ice cream shop. Basically, the many blissful experiences that I associate with that one euphoric, seemingly weightless season of life as a teen (I being the operative word here; it goes without saying that this is entirely personal bias and not a reflection of the book's merits).
Instead, what I experienced was a low-grade existential crisis at the realization that I was reading about three girls constantly glued to their electronic devices from my own electronic device. It all felt a bit grim and mundane. Their daily activities consisted largely of taking selfies, playing Sims, and stalking social media.
But perhaps more significant was that I didn't particularly relate to the novel's portrayal of 'girlhood' or the characters. While I don't typically need to identify with a cast to become invested in a character-driven story, in this instance, I simply never found these girls or their arcs engaging enough to sustain my interest.
I read up to page 35 before deciding this probably wasn't the right book for me. I skimmed the rest to see if I was judging it too prematurely, and it did seem to improve slightly, featuring more peak summery moments like a trip to the county fair, a backyard party, and a late night swim. But those moments felt too scarce for me to justify continuing, and I had already checked out.
It's a beautifully written story that I imagine many others will love. It was poignant, and the author did a phenomenal job of capturing the chronic angst and emotional volatility so characteristic of a hormonal teen navigating big, confusing emotions. I also really appreciated the mother-daughter tension explored during that phase where you're trying to assert the freedom you feel entitled to while also trying to preserve a degree of emotional closeness.
So again, beautiful book, just not what I expected or what I was seeking in the moment.
June 25, 2026
Unlike the uninspired queer coming-of-age novel I’d finished the night before (THE SUMMER BOY), this one made me feel something. Got me in my feelings.
A sun-dappled story about the heartaches and heartstrings of first love, adolescence, girlhood, friendship, and peak summer vacation. Fifteen-year-old Mina’s world revolves around her two best friends, Margaret and Eleanor. The ease and carefreeness of friendship starts to get prickly once Mina realizes that she’s in love with Eleanor. ”Growing up, I had two best friends—Margaret, whom I had known my whole life, and Eleanor, with whom I was in love, though for years I had no reason to tell my feelings for one apart from my feelings for the other. Both were fervent.”
What I deeply admired and appreciated is how the execution was both high drama and low drama. What I mean is that it wasn’t littered with over-the-top plot twists or larger than life characterizations. But to these characters, every moment, big or small, feels extremely heightened because that’s how teenagers think. So much uncertainty, insecurities, posturing, and growing pains. Every minute thing is a big deal.
The beauty of this novel is the simplicity. Everything just felt so authentic without the author having to insert contrived plot lines. There was a natural progression to the rhythm of the story. We explore the different ways Mina interacts with her friends, even before her sexual interest in one of them; even though they’re a trio, there’s a subconscious way they treat each other as individuals. We look into Mina’s angsty relationship with her mother, but it’s actually done in a way that feels genuinely explored—like I get it, we’ve all felt this way about our parents, acknowledging that they had our best interest at heart but can’t help thinking we knew better. Effortlessly done.
Don’t know if this was the author’s intention, but this novel was totally nostalgia-coded. As an adult, I couldn’t help feeling thrust back into the growing pains of adolescence, but in a way that made my heart flutter. I legit loved GIRL’S GIRL, and I’m lowkey surprised by how much.
“I can be a mirror who loves you.”
Queer longing, adolescent angst, friendship shenanigans, first loves, sexual awakenings, a teenage daydream.
A sun-dappled story about the heartaches and heartstrings of first love, adolescence, girlhood, friendship, and peak summer vacation. Fifteen-year-old Mina’s world revolves around her two best friends, Margaret and Eleanor. The ease and carefreeness of friendship starts to get prickly once Mina realizes that she’s in love with Eleanor. ”Growing up, I had two best friends—Margaret, whom I had known my whole life, and Eleanor, with whom I was in love, though for years I had no reason to tell my feelings for one apart from my feelings for the other. Both were fervent.”
What I deeply admired and appreciated is how the execution was both high drama and low drama. What I mean is that it wasn’t littered with over-the-top plot twists or larger than life characterizations. But to these characters, every moment, big or small, feels extremely heightened because that’s how teenagers think. So much uncertainty, insecurities, posturing, and growing pains. Every minute thing is a big deal.
The beauty of this novel is the simplicity. Everything just felt so authentic without the author having to insert contrived plot lines. There was a natural progression to the rhythm of the story. We explore the different ways Mina interacts with her friends, even before her sexual interest in one of them; even though they’re a trio, there’s a subconscious way they treat each other as individuals. We look into Mina’s angsty relationship with her mother, but it’s actually done in a way that feels genuinely explored—like I get it, we’ve all felt this way about our parents, acknowledging that they had our best interest at heart but can’t help thinking we knew better. Effortlessly done.
Don’t know if this was the author’s intention, but this novel was totally nostalgia-coded. As an adult, I couldn’t help feeling thrust back into the growing pains of adolescence, but in a way that made my heart flutter. I legit loved GIRL’S GIRL, and I’m lowkey surprised by how much.
“I can be a mirror who loves you.”
Queer longing, adolescent angst, friendship shenanigans, first loves, sexual awakenings, a teenage daydream.
June 28, 2026
Absolutely obsessed. I can’t shut up about this book. Writing I wanted to sink my teeth into and a genuinely transportive setting. Characters I related to, and loathed, and everything in between. Also men had a collective five lines hahahahaha
June 6, 2026
Girl’s Girl brought me right back to being fifteen. The friendships, the first love, the changing relationships with the people who know you best. It felt incredibly authentic and relatable. I loved the sapphic romance and the girls discovering that, the nuanced mother-daughter relationship, and the way this book captured that one pivotal summer that changes everything :’) The suburban setting felt so familiar to me (suburban legends), and as a Sims-obsessed teenager, those references were the best to meeeeee.
Tender, nostalgic, full of heart, this is a coming-of-age story that reminded me just how transformative those teenage years can be. I love her writing and the descriptive setting! The details on feelings to paper. Happily will read more from Sonia!
Tender, nostalgic, full of heart, this is a coming-of-age story that reminded me just how transformative those teenage years can be. I love her writing and the descriptive setting! The details on feelings to paper. Happily will read more from Sonia!
June 9, 2026
4.5
A book where nothing happens but everything happens at the same time.
Set during a steamy summer in Ohio, a close group of three 15 year old girls have their friendship jolted when an unexpected kiss happens between two of them.
I loved the writing and related way too hard to the main characters.
A book where nothing happens but everything happens at the same time.
Set during a steamy summer in Ohio, a close group of three 15 year old girls have their friendship jolted when an unexpected kiss happens between two of them.
I loved the writing and related way too hard to the main characters.
Read
May 15, 2026This book is a love letter to girlhood. It perfectly captures how there is nothing as equally serious and unserious as being a teenager. It felt wildly nostalgic, bittersweet, and sharp.
One of my favorite parts of this book is how it feels sort of timeless. There are smartphones and social media, but the vibes are a fun mix of 90s/2000s and 2010s/present day. I also really appreciated that there’s not a single speck of homophobia in the story. Though there is plenty of angst, none of it really has to do with being queer. Finally, I also loved how visceral and intense the Midwestern summer described here felt. The heat, humidity, and storminess building and breaking all summer long. The story was very much about Mina and her friends, but in some ways I felt the setting was just as vividly portrayed. It really heightened the sense of claustrophobia present throughout the story.
I’m excited to see what this author does next! I’m not sure what I’d recommend for similar vibes… maybe “Dogs of Summer” by Andrea Abreu (intense/codependent friendship, great writing, but younger protagonists and much darker). Maybe “I Kissed Shara Wheeler” by Casey McQuiston (more enemies to lovers than friends to lovers, also more plotty than vibes-y).
Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the digital arc.
One of my favorite parts of this book is how it feels sort of timeless. There are smartphones and social media, but the vibes are a fun mix of 90s/2000s and 2010s/present day. I also really appreciated that there’s not a single speck of homophobia in the story. Though there is plenty of angst, none of it really has to do with being queer. Finally, I also loved how visceral and intense the Midwestern summer described here felt. The heat, humidity, and storminess building and breaking all summer long. The story was very much about Mina and her friends, but in some ways I felt the setting was just as vividly portrayed. It really heightened the sense of claustrophobia present throughout the story.
I’m excited to see what this author does next! I’m not sure what I’d recommend for similar vibes… maybe “Dogs of Summer” by Andrea Abreu (intense/codependent friendship, great writing, but younger protagonists and much darker). Maybe “I Kissed Shara Wheeler” by Casey McQuiston (more enemies to lovers than friends to lovers, also more plotty than vibes-y).
Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the digital arc.
June 21, 2026
This book was incredible!! I don’t think I’ve ever read something that captured so specifically what it felt like to be 14/15 without ever being reductive or small. If anything this book makes me want to take those memories and experiences more seriously as an adult because I forgot the intensity of them until reading this book
June 3, 2026
I had to force myself to finish this book. Am I maybe too old for a “nostalgic girlhood feeling” type of book?
It felt… exhausting? Irritating? Obnoxious? Not one of the three main characters was likable. The plot did not exist. And the narrator would slip off into these deep thoughts after having just described how they contoured their breasts for an hour???? I’m realizing that maybe this was the experience of *some* high school girls (so sorry ladies)… but NOT my own… and I would bet? Not most other girls. It’s just… a couple hundred pages of awful.
Sorry. Not happening for me.
I read this advanced copy as a gift from NetGalley and the publisher.
It felt… exhausting? Irritating? Obnoxious? Not one of the three main characters was likable. The plot did not exist. And the narrator would slip off into these deep thoughts after having just described how they contoured their breasts for an hour???? I’m realizing that maybe this was the experience of *some* high school girls (so sorry ladies)… but NOT my own… and I would bet? Not most other girls. It’s just… a couple hundred pages of awful.
Sorry. Not happening for me.
I read this advanced copy as a gift from NetGalley and the publisher.
June 2, 2026
Mina's friendship with Margaret and Eleanor is at the center of her world—until she starts to wonder whether she and Eleanor might become something more, and whether or not the friendship can survive it.
Margaret made my world large. Eleanor made it into a room only the two of us could enter. It was a room in which Eleanor kept her hand on the doorknob. (loc. 2109*)
Give me all the platonic friendship books, honestly—and yes, despite the fact that the major conflict of the book is a will-they-won't-they romantic relationship, this is fundamentally a platonic friendship book. Mina is as close as close can be with her friends, but it's not a friendship without its pitfalls and perils: For Mina, being fifteen means constantly weighing up how who will react to what; actions and consequences; being interesting enough but not too interesting, and willing enough but not a pushover; being fifteen means knowing who she is in her group but also starting to understand that that things can't stay the same forever...and that she doesn't want them to.
This is not a kind of friendship I ever had—intense ones, yes, but not this kind of simultaneous certainty and uncertainty, not this kind of constant calculation and evaluation and reevaluation. But other things: It genuinely hadn't occurred to me that teenage girls playing the Sims together (something I did back in the 90s!) was something that persists, albeit now with the Sims 4 instead of the OG Sims. I think that in particular really hit the nail on the head for me in terms of the way these girls are just on the cusp of something—growing up but not quite ready to let everything go.
The book is told over the course of a summer, though Mina is looking back from the relative wisdom of adulthood. That's one of few things that gave me some pause as I read; I think I would have preferred the perspective to stay a little closer to Mina at fifteen. Then again...maybe not. It would make for Mina being unusually perceptive. Maybe I just didn't necessarily want the last bit where we speed up to the present, whenever that happens to be, and get the barest taste of where things have gone since this one summer.
A high four stars. One for overthinkers who like a good coming-of-age friendship (and then some) story. I think I'll be (over)thinking this on and off for a while.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.
Margaret made my world large. Eleanor made it into a room only the two of us could enter. It was a room in which Eleanor kept her hand on the doorknob. (loc. 2109*)
Give me all the platonic friendship books, honestly—and yes, despite the fact that the major conflict of the book is a will-they-won't-they romantic relationship, this is fundamentally a platonic friendship book. Mina is as close as close can be with her friends, but it's not a friendship without its pitfalls and perils: For Mina, being fifteen means constantly weighing up how who will react to what; actions and consequences; being interesting enough but not too interesting, and willing enough but not a pushover; being fifteen means knowing who she is in her group but also starting to understand that that things can't stay the same forever...and that she doesn't want them to.
This is not a kind of friendship I ever had—intense ones, yes, but not this kind of simultaneous certainty and uncertainty, not this kind of constant calculation and evaluation and reevaluation. But other things: It genuinely hadn't occurred to me that teenage girls playing the Sims together (something I did back in the 90s!) was something that persists, albeit now with the Sims 4 instead of the OG Sims. I think that in particular really hit the nail on the head for me in terms of the way these girls are just on the cusp of something—growing up but not quite ready to let everything go.
The book is told over the course of a summer, though Mina is looking back from the relative wisdom of adulthood. That's one of few things that gave me some pause as I read; I think I would have preferred the perspective to stay a little closer to Mina at fifteen. Then again...maybe not. It would make for Mina being unusually perceptive. Maybe I just didn't necessarily want the last bit where we speed up to the present, whenever that happens to be, and get the barest taste of where things have gone since this one summer.
A high four stars. One for overthinkers who like a good coming-of-age friendship (and then some) story. I think I'll be (over)thinking this on and off for a while.
*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.
Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.
June 30, 2026
Un peu osef ? Certaines phrases étaient vraiment belles, mais rythme trop contemplatif pour moi. C’est dommage parce que un peu plus d’action et de temps passé avec les filles auraient vraiment rendu le tout plus punchy ! Et puis ça me fait toujours rire de voir ce à quoi certaines filles pensent à 15 ans alors que moi je faisais mes devoirs au CDI.
June 26, 2026
3.75/5
June 23, 2026
It’s such a special thing to be a teenage girl and love your friends and feel everything so intensely and figure out who you are !! I equally miss it so much and would literally never want to do it again
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