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Dream Girls
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Expected 3 Nov 26A love-drunk Shakespeare enthusiast and a disillusioned Instagram baker try to kill each other at a wedding. They're supposed to be best friends so how did they end up here? Part 10 Things I Hate About You, part My Brilliant Friend, part Lena Dunham's Girls, Dream Girls explores female friendships and asks whether they're the greatest comedies, tragedies and, above all, love stories of our lives.
Helena and Ruthie have been best friends since high school, where they bonded over Wuthering Heights, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and photographs of Joseph Stalin when he was young and hot. They dreamed of getting a sharehouse in the city and living adult lives of great passion, art and romance.
But as they drift into their late twenties, they are forced to contend with the idea that growing up might mean growing apart. Helena is pining for her ex-boyfriend while working at an elite boys' school rife with sexual harassment and oil paintings of ships. Meanwhile, Ruthie is pouring her marital despair into three-tiered funfetti cakes, seeking refuge from her family in solo Friday-night trips to Woolworths.
When an old school friend invites Helena and Ruthie to a glamorous forest wedding, they jump at the chance to reconnect. But finding their way back to each other, past unrealised dreams and younger selves, isn't as easy as they thought. Inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Dream Girls is a novel about love and friendship in absurd times.
'Dream Girls is a compelling and deep interrogation of intense female friendship. Goldstein writes with intelligence and verve, and with a forensically nuanced understanding of the sometimes-thin line between resentment and love. Interrogating pathos and pop culture, loneliness and desire, this novel has a moreish quality - I gobbled it up.' Madeleine Gray
'Jane Austen hits suburbia - Dream Girls is a sparkling anti-romance for our times.' Briohny Doyle
'Dream Girls completely charmed me. I laughed (and cringed!) and loved these characters. How wonderful to read a novel that is unapologetically for and about women and the fierceness of our friendships.' Emma Darragh
'Ingenious, delectable, compelling and very funny; the broken and (almost) unbearably flawed characters are like the perfect antidote to the slick young twenty-somethings of Sally Rooney. I loved Ruthie from the start and was urgently invested in Helen(a)'s evolution and redemption. And Shakespeare and Taylor Swift provide a perfect framework.' Jaclyn Moriarty
'Dream Girls is a beguiling triumph that made me want to pull all my girlfriends - and past versions of myself - into a big bear hug. This is for every woman who suspects - rightly so - that her girlfriends are the true loves of her life.' Naïma Brown
'Dream Girls is a novel about love and limerence, friendship and fantasy, and what happens when we mistake donkeys for angels. Hannah Goldstein spins a shimmering and timeless story firmly anchored in the present day. A deviously delightful debut.' Eleanor Limprecht
'A funny, yet deeply heartfelt, ode to female friendship. Dream Girls is a story told so richly it will make you feel nostalgic for an adolescence you never had.' Amy Taylor
'Painfully astute and laugh-out-loud funny - Goldstein paints modern girlhood in all its ugly glory. I need everyone to read this so I can talk about it forever.' Eleanor Kirk
Helena and Ruthie have been best friends since high school, where they bonded over Wuthering Heights, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and photographs of Joseph Stalin when he was young and hot. They dreamed of getting a sharehouse in the city and living adult lives of great passion, art and romance.
But as they drift into their late twenties, they are forced to contend with the idea that growing up might mean growing apart. Helena is pining for her ex-boyfriend while working at an elite boys' school rife with sexual harassment and oil paintings of ships. Meanwhile, Ruthie is pouring her marital despair into three-tiered funfetti cakes, seeking refuge from her family in solo Friday-night trips to Woolworths.
When an old school friend invites Helena and Ruthie to a glamorous forest wedding, they jump at the chance to reconnect. But finding their way back to each other, past unrealised dreams and younger selves, isn't as easy as they thought. Inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Dream Girls is a novel about love and friendship in absurd times.
'Dream Girls is a compelling and deep interrogation of intense female friendship. Goldstein writes with intelligence and verve, and with a forensically nuanced understanding of the sometimes-thin line between resentment and love. Interrogating pathos and pop culture, loneliness and desire, this novel has a moreish quality - I gobbled it up.' Madeleine Gray
'Jane Austen hits suburbia - Dream Girls is a sparkling anti-romance for our times.' Briohny Doyle
'Dream Girls completely charmed me. I laughed (and cringed!) and loved these characters. How wonderful to read a novel that is unapologetically for and about women and the fierceness of our friendships.' Emma Darragh
'Ingenious, delectable, compelling and very funny; the broken and (almost) unbearably flawed characters are like the perfect antidote to the slick young twenty-somethings of Sally Rooney. I loved Ruthie from the start and was urgently invested in Helen(a)'s evolution and redemption. And Shakespeare and Taylor Swift provide a perfect framework.' Jaclyn Moriarty
'Dream Girls is a beguiling triumph that made me want to pull all my girlfriends - and past versions of myself - into a big bear hug. This is for every woman who suspects - rightly so - that her girlfriends are the true loves of her life.' Naïma Brown
'Dream Girls is a novel about love and limerence, friendship and fantasy, and what happens when we mistake donkeys for angels. Hannah Goldstein spins a shimmering and timeless story firmly anchored in the present day. A deviously delightful debut.' Eleanor Limprecht
'A funny, yet deeply heartfelt, ode to female friendship. Dream Girls is a story told so richly it will make you feel nostalgic for an adolescence you never had.' Amy Taylor
'Painfully astute and laugh-out-loud funny - Goldstein paints modern girlhood in all its ugly glory. I need everyone to read this so I can talk about it forever.' Eleanor Kirk
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 3, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 20, 2026
Sydney, New South Wales. Helena and Ruthie attended the same primary and high school, they became friends out of necessity. Helena lived in a fictional world reading classics like Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet, a combination of love and tragedy. They spend sleepovers in Helena’s bedroom making plans to travel, share a flat and what to study in university.
Ruthie never confided in Helena how hard and complicated her life was at home, the chances of her going to university were slim and how lucky her friend was.
They drifted apart in their twenties, both had boyfriends and Helena became a teacher at an elite private school, a nightmare where the principal had the 'boys will be boys' attitude and couldn’t understand why she complained after a series of sexist incidents. Helena has just broken up from her long term partner, all she has left is a painting he bought her of Ophelia and she’s drowning in self-pity. Ruthie is married, has two children, makes cakes for extra money and is so desperate to leave the house she drives to Woolworths late on a Friday night to buy dishwasher tablets.
Ruthie and Helena are invited to Phoebe’s an old high school acquaintances glamorous forest wedding in Bryon Bay, they grab the chance to reconnect, but things don’t go as planned and they end up becoming the social media highlight of the night for all the wrong reasons.
I received a copy of Dream Girls by debut author Hannah Goldstein from NetGalley and Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review. The narrative is a warts and all look at two friends over decades, from their unrealistic teenage dreams and until they’re adult women in their early thirties.
Ruthie was my favourite character, despite all life threw at her she kept going and Helena was over the top, dramatic, annoying and obsessed with love. Four stars from me, I look forward to reading more by Ms Goldstein and I’m sure this is the first of many novels.
Ruthie never confided in Helena how hard and complicated her life was at home, the chances of her going to university were slim and how lucky her friend was.
They drifted apart in their twenties, both had boyfriends and Helena became a teacher at an elite private school, a nightmare where the principal had the 'boys will be boys' attitude and couldn’t understand why she complained after a series of sexist incidents. Helena has just broken up from her long term partner, all she has left is a painting he bought her of Ophelia and she’s drowning in self-pity. Ruthie is married, has two children, makes cakes for extra money and is so desperate to leave the house she drives to Woolworths late on a Friday night to buy dishwasher tablets.
Ruthie and Helena are invited to Phoebe’s an old high school acquaintances glamorous forest wedding in Bryon Bay, they grab the chance to reconnect, but things don’t go as planned and they end up becoming the social media highlight of the night for all the wrong reasons.
I received a copy of Dream Girls by debut author Hannah Goldstein from NetGalley and Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review. The narrative is a warts and all look at two friends over decades, from their unrealistic teenage dreams and until they’re adult women in their early thirties.
Ruthie was my favourite character, despite all life threw at her she kept going and Helena was over the top, dramatic, annoying and obsessed with love. Four stars from me, I look forward to reading more by Ms Goldstein and I’m sure this is the first of many novels.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Helena and Ruthie are forced into becoming friends in high school. They are both loners with no friends but neither actively seeks the other out. Eventually they begin to enjoy each other's company and bond over their love of romance novels, Shakespeare and true love. As their lives drift apart and are pulled back together in extraordinary circumstances, their dreams, ambitions and relationships threaten to keep putting pressure on their complicated friendship.
Having studied A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet at high school, I do wish I had a more comprehensive memory of Shakespeare and the plays, given so much of Helena's adult life revolved around the stage and her study of Shakespeare. She was a hard person to like by the end. She had such low self-worth, yet was obsessive, manipulative and narcissistic. While at times I felt sorry for her, she often put herself in the middle of these situations and I struggled to empathise with her.
I felt genuinely sorry for Ruthie. Her poorer upbringing was rarely acknowledged by Helena and I loved that she found a way to muddle through and make a decent life for herself. But they were both flawed and so toxic to one another. Their miscommunication and inability to understand one another only amplified everything in the novel (which did make for riveting reading at times!)
I enjoyed that it was set in Sydney, with little tidbits of London and Byron Bay sprinkled in. I don't think I fully appreciated just how bizarre their relationship was until they went to London and I started realising how unreliable a narrator Helena seemed to be. It was like a train wreck you just couldn't look away from. As unsettling and depressing as some of the content was, I appreciated what Goldstein was trying to do even though I didn't connect with the story throughout. I would describe it as an interesting read and would consider picking up Goldstein's next release.
Thank you Allen and Unwin for providing me with this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Expected publication is 3rd November, 2026.
Having studied A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet at high school, I do wish I had a more comprehensive memory of Shakespeare and the plays, given so much of Helena's adult life revolved around the stage and her study of Shakespeare. She was a hard person to like by the end. She had such low self-worth, yet was obsessive, manipulative and narcissistic. While at times I felt sorry for her, she often put herself in the middle of these situations and I struggled to empathise with her.
I felt genuinely sorry for Ruthie. Her poorer upbringing was rarely acknowledged by Helena and I loved that she found a way to muddle through and make a decent life for herself. But they were both flawed and so toxic to one another. Their miscommunication and inability to understand one another only amplified everything in the novel (which did make for riveting reading at times!)
I enjoyed that it was set in Sydney, with little tidbits of London and Byron Bay sprinkled in. I don't think I fully appreciated just how bizarre their relationship was until they went to London and I started realising how unreliable a narrator Helena seemed to be. It was like a train wreck you just couldn't look away from. As unsettling and depressing as some of the content was, I appreciated what Goldstein was trying to do even though I didn't connect with the story throughout. I would describe it as an interesting read and would consider picking up Goldstein's next release.
Thank you Allen and Unwin for providing me with this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Expected publication is 3rd November, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dream Girls by Hannah Goldstein ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I finished this novel after binge-reading it in less than 24 hours and realised it had completely taken me by surprise. I went in thinking I was reading a story about the friendship between two women. By the end, I realised it was about something much more complicated… and much more unsettling.
Dream Girls follows Helen(a) and Ruthie, who bond as teenagers over their shared love of Wuthering Heights and the fact that neither of them really has any other friends. We watch them become inseparable, make grand plans for their lives together and then, as life has a habit of doing, watch those plans fall spectacularly apart. Chaos ensues.
I loved that this was set in Sydney. As a Sydney girl myself, there’s something particularly satisfying about reading a novel where I can immediately picture the streets and places the characters are moving through.
But what I really loved was the slow reveal of who these women actually are. First, my understanding of Ruthie began to shift, and then came the dawning realisation of just how intense Helen(a) is, and that perhaps I hadn’t quite understood the story I was reading at all.
There is something deeply unsettling about gradually realising that the person telling you the story may be seeing the world in a very different way from everyone around her. The fact that it isn’t immediately apparent makes it all the more compelling.
Unsettling, yes. But also absolutely riveting.
And that was the point at which I realised I was not putting this book down until I knew exactly where it was going.
I received an advance copy of Dream Girls via NetGalley and Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review.
I can’t wait to see what Hannah Goldstein writes next.
I finished this novel after binge-reading it in less than 24 hours and realised it had completely taken me by surprise. I went in thinking I was reading a story about the friendship between two women. By the end, I realised it was about something much more complicated… and much more unsettling.
Dream Girls follows Helen(a) and Ruthie, who bond as teenagers over their shared love of Wuthering Heights and the fact that neither of them really has any other friends. We watch them become inseparable, make grand plans for their lives together and then, as life has a habit of doing, watch those plans fall spectacularly apart. Chaos ensues.
I loved that this was set in Sydney. As a Sydney girl myself, there’s something particularly satisfying about reading a novel where I can immediately picture the streets and places the characters are moving through.
But what I really loved was the slow reveal of who these women actually are. First, my understanding of Ruthie began to shift, and then came the dawning realisation of just how intense Helen(a) is, and that perhaps I hadn’t quite understood the story I was reading at all.
There is something deeply unsettling about gradually realising that the person telling you the story may be seeing the world in a very different way from everyone around her. The fact that it isn’t immediately apparent makes it all the more compelling.
Unsettling, yes. But also absolutely riveting.
And that was the point at which I realised I was not putting this book down until I knew exactly where it was going.
I received an advance copy of Dream Girls via NetGalley and Allen & Unwin in exchange for an honest review.
I can’t wait to see what Hannah Goldstein writes next.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
hankyou Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this read! Luckily for me, I got all the special treats left here as someone familiar with a Midsummer Nights Dream.
"Like two lovely berries moulded on one stem"
I always love a story where the primary focus is female friendship - and despite Helena's...quirks - "Never so lonely, never so in woe" - I really enjoyed my time with these two. Ruthie is one of those character's you just love and want only the best for. I found their story real, warm and relatable.
I found this a representation of female friendship that felt true - we may not always be on the same page, or even speaking, but we can always overcome. I can already think of a few people to personally recommend this one to and I look forward to hearing their thoughts.
I hope Hannah Goldstein has much success with this. :)
I really enjoyed this read! Luckily for me, I got all the special treats left here as someone familiar with a Midsummer Nights Dream.
"Like two lovely berries moulded on one stem"
I always love a story where the primary focus is female friendship - and despite Helena's...quirks - "Never so lonely, never so in woe" - I really enjoyed my time with these two. Ruthie is one of those character's you just love and want only the best for. I found their story real, warm and relatable.
I found this a representation of female friendship that felt true - we may not always be on the same page, or even speaking, but we can always overcome. I can already think of a few people to personally recommend this one to and I look forward to hearing their thoughts.
I hope Hannah Goldstein has much success with this. :)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3/5
Ah this book was a hard one, because what initially started as pity for Helena, turned into severe frustration everytime the book was from her POV. I understand the concept of living in a fantasy, but my goodness she was so ignorant and oblivious to her reality!!!!!
I loved Ruthie and her ability to make something for herself out of a difficult childhood and loved her brutal honesty to put Helena in her place.
There was certainly some positive character development from Helena in the end but mostly she was unlikeable and really difficult to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for this advanced readers copy!
Ah this book was a hard one, because what initially started as pity for Helena, turned into severe frustration everytime the book was from her POV. I understand the concept of living in a fantasy, but my goodness she was so ignorant and oblivious to her reality!!!!!
I loved Ruthie and her ability to make something for herself out of a difficult childhood and loved her brutal honesty to put Helena in her place.
There was certainly some positive character development from Helena in the end but mostly she was unlikeable and really difficult to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Allen and Unwin for this advanced readers copy!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is an excellent debut from Goldstein, and I already look forward to reading her next book. I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and thought her evocation of Helena’s narrative voice was particularly skilful. This was also a realistic portrayal of the complexities of (some female) friendship.
Goldstein also crafted convincing characters. Helena was so deliciously unhinged, narcissistic and pathetic, yet somehow so realistic. I found her interior world near-entirely believable. I had convinced myself early on that Ruthie would be revealed as a figment of Helena’s imagination (a ‘dream’) and was only slightly disappointed that this did not eventuate.
Goldstein also crafted convincing characters. Helena was so deliciously unhinged, narcissistic and pathetic, yet somehow so realistic. I found her interior world near-entirely believable. I had convinced myself early on that Ruthie would be revealed as a figment of Helena’s imagination (a ‘dream’) and was only slightly disappointed that this did not eventuate.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The premise of this book was so fun - part 10 things I hate about you, part My Brilliant Friend, part Girls is all tick tick tick for me! And while this book was certainly all of those things - it was literary. really funny and scandal galore - I felt so frustrated by the main character that it was a bit of a hard read for me. She was meant to be an unlikeable character I’m sure but her horrible behaviour toward her childhood friend
, Ruthie was painful at times! I did mostly enjoy my time with this story, I just wished I wasn’t so irritated with Helena! I would still recommend this and feel like it’s a book a lot of people will really love!
, Ruthie was painful at times! I did mostly enjoy my time with this story, I just wished I wasn’t so irritated with Helena! I would still recommend this and feel like it’s a book a lot of people will really love!
September 6, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for this ARC.
A great debut from an Australian author! It’s an engaging story that did a great job at slowly unravelling the truth behind Helena and Ruthie’s actions
The characters are very complex and distinct. I couldn’t stand Helena by the end of the book in the best way, you get a completely different perception of her as the plot unfolds and you see her from different perspectives. Ruthie, I loved, and was rooting for her the whole way through.
It’s a great depiction of female friendship where it comes and goes in waves over the course of growing up. And the Midsummer Night’s Dream references were a great touch.
Looking forward to reading more from Hannah Goldstein
A great debut from an Australian author! It’s an engaging story that did a great job at slowly unravelling the truth behind Helena and Ruthie’s actions
The characters are very complex and distinct. I couldn’t stand Helena by the end of the book in the best way, you get a completely different perception of her as the plot unfolds and you see her from different perspectives. Ruthie, I loved, and was rooting for her the whole way through.
It’s a great depiction of female friendship where it comes and goes in waves over the course of growing up. And the Midsummer Night’s Dream references were a great touch.
Looking forward to reading more from Hannah Goldstein
August 24, 2026
I was lucky enough to get a unreleased copy of this book and absolutely adored it. I was hooked from the first line. The writing and storyline were amazing. I love the complexity of the characters as they navigate life, love and friendships. I was always reaching for it and it left me wanting more. A must read for a girl in her 20’s!!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Very lucky to secure a pre read of Dream Girls!!! Butttt I loved how at home I felt in this novel as it’s based in my home town. An amazing exploration of female friendships. I was reminded how significant friendship are and how much work they require to maintain- almost more than a relationship. Sometimes your soul mate isn’t romantic! Loved it!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy from my author friend. I really liked it. I enjoyed the “coming of age” teenage years moving into adulthood and that it was set in Sydney. I loved their friendship and the complications involved. I also enjoyed the teaching insight into the behaviour of the boys at a wealthy private school. I highly recommend it! I can’t wait to read your next book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews