Girl Crushed

by Katie Heaney

Leah on the Offbeat meets We Are Okay in this pitch-perfect queer romance about falling in love and never quite falling out of it--heartbreak, unexpected new crushes, and all.

Before Quinn Ryan was in love with Jamie Rudawski, she loved Jamie Rudawski, who was her best friend. But when Jamie dumps Quinn a month before their senior year, Quinn is suddenly girlfriend-less and best friend-less.

Enter a new crush: Ruby Ocampo, the gorgeous and rich lead singer of the popular band Sweets, who's just broken up with her on-again, off-again boyfriend. Quinn's always only wanted to be with Jamie, but if Jamie no longer wants to be with her, why can't Quinn go all in on her crush on Ruby? But the closer Quinn grows to Ruby, the more she misses Jamie, and the more (she thinks) Jamie misses her. Who says your first love can't be your second love, too?

Katie Heaney is a full-time senior writer for The Cut, a former editor at BuzzFeed, and the author of the memoirs Never Have I Ever: My Life So Far without a Date and Would You Rather? Girl Crushed is her YA debut.

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Young Adult, Queer, Contemporary, Lesbian, Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2020

About the author

Katie Heaney is the author of Public Relations, Dear Emma, and Never Have I Ever, as well as the forthcoming memoir Would You Rather? (Penguin Random House, February 2018). Her writing has also appeared in New York magazine online, Cosmopolitan, The Atlantic, Racked, and The Hairpin, among other places. She lives in Brooklyn.

Reviews

[Tova]

If you identify as bisexual (as I do) then you are still bisexual in any of the following situations*:
- if you are dating someone who is the same gender as you
- if you are dating someone who is not the same gender as you
- if you are dating someone who is transgender
- if you are dating someone who is cis
- if you are dating someone who is nonbinary
- if you are dating someone who is genderqueer
- if you are dating someone who is genderfluid
- if you are dating someone who is pansexual
- if you are dating someone who is lesbian
- if you are dating someone who is straight
- if you are dating someone who is demisexual
- if you are dating someone who is asexual
- if you dated someone of the same gender in the past, but are now dating someone of the opposite gender
- if you dated someone of the opposite gender in the past, but are now dating someone of the same gender
- if you have a male lean
- if you have a female lean
- if you have no lean
- if you've never dated someone of the same gender
- if you've never dated anyone at all regardless of gender

Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise, if you want to identify as bi, then you identify as bi.
BIPHOBIA IS UNACCEPTABLE! We exist, and we are valid, as much as any other sexual identity.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk! <3

*- this list is not conclusive or exclusive

[cate · Rating 1 out of 5]

in this house, we say no to biphobia and biphobic authors.

[kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

i'm so sad i can't love this book. i really wanted to, but the overwhelming amount of biphobia is so disappointing. it's not outright (i.e. saying bi people don't exist) but its woven into every comment the MC makes about "straight girl this" and "straight girl that" because "i'm a lesbian i know when girls aren't straight" and never acknowledges the possibility those girls could be bisexual or any other sexuality other than straight.

you're still bisexual if you've only dated men.
you're still bisexual if you've only dated women.
you're still bisexual if you've never dated anyone.
you're bisexual if you date a cis, trans, nonbinary, etc. person.
you're still bisexual regardless of the sexuality of your partner.

i kept reading this book thinking these offhand comment made by the MC would get better and grow over time as she falls for a "straight girl" who isn't so straight after all, but nope. i'm angry i couldn't love this more because i relate to the MC's break up SO much. my first relationship and break up was so similar and i really connected with that but i can't get past the obvious biphobia in the book. i don't know what the authors intentions were with all these comments but it's really harmful and erases bisexual people.

[nitya · Rating 1 out of 5]

My review was deleted too but I’ll post another anyway.

Don’t support this biphobic author, and biphobia in general. The author’s “apology” is a joke, and there are way better books by bi authors that don’t promote awful stereotypes!

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello! I hate to engage with Goodreads “discourse” (the reviews written on this site barely qualify, let’s be real), but here we go: I’m a bisexual person who really enjoyed this book and didn’t find it to be biphobic in the slightest. It’s so disappointing to see folks pile on a book they didn’t even read. Katie Heaney writes wonderfully engaging memoir and fiction, and I’m sad for folks who aren’t going to give themselves the opportunity to read her work.

[Jen • Just One More Page · Rating 1 out of 5]

An openly biphobic author trying to write F/F? Yikes.

[Katie O · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I'm writing this review, after having put it off for like 2 weeks because SO MANY FEELINGS.

In the words of Kelly Kapoor.... "I've got a question: How dare you?"

I started Girl Crushed with crazy high expectations. I adore YA lit, and I adore representation, especially when it comes to positive and healthy F/F romantic relationships--which, correct me if I'm wrong, have been severely lacking almost every LGBTQ+ book I read. (No really, correct me if I'm wrong. I seriously need to find these books.)

The first 20-ish pages had me at "Okay...let's keep going..." And SOMEHOW I FINISHED THE ENTIRE BOOK. Mainly because I had no idea what biphobic sentiments were going to emerge from this book next, and I wanted to air everything out for readers who are considering reading this book.

If I were teaching a class on how to recognize big ol' biphobic red flags, Girl Crushed would be my main source. From Heaney's comment that the girl crush in question must be "bi at least" (p. 56) to what things straight people think about (p. 236), I was astounded by how Heaney treats her main bi character--in a book that's SUPPOSED to be about representation and love.

Poor Ruby. Her main love interest, AKA Heaney's MC, assumes that certain girls have to be straight, and has an unbelievable "look at me" complex and major self-image issues. Her comments about popular people and wishing she had "pictures for posterity" (p. 240) are totally ungrounded because in the entire book, NO ONE CARES. Literally no "popular kid" ever does her wrong, yet she's obsessed with how she presents to everyone, and Heaney NEVER addresses this or makes it seem like it needs to be addressed.

In the end, bi people are portrayed as non-committal, wishy-washy folk who flake out on "promising" relationships. In Heaney's world, bi people exist on a spectrum, where being bi is "at least" on the way to being legit queer.

**My quotes are drawn from the ARC of Girl Crushed and might (HOPEFULLY) be changed by the time this book hits the shelves.**

***I've seen so many reviews of this book that say they're reposts or were originally taken down from Goodreads. In what world is it not okay to call out misrepresentation and biphobic viewpoints?***

[sirius proserpine · Rating 1 out of 5]

bisexual people are valid even if they have never dated a man.
bisexual people are valid even if they have never dated a woman.
bisexual people are valid even if they have never dated a person of another gender identification.
bisexual people are valid even if they have a preference.
bisexual people are valid, and if you think otherwise you can come meet me in the fucking pit.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

My original comment was removed but it still stands that I will NOT be supporting this book.

[Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got an email saying my review was removed so I'll just repost it. I only wrote:

"I wonder if the girl in the story is as crushed as the author's career."

If whoever flagged it couldnt take that then they clearly never went to high school because that's tame af 😂 But im not here for phobia of any kind so I'd give it 0 stars if I could!

[mjraves · Rating 5 out of 5]

*takes deep breath* I don’t wanna talk about it yet, my heart still hurts too much

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was basically my ideal queer YA book. It dealt with some real issues and feelings (first breakup, dad stuff, college/future stress, and such a good depiction of anxiety), but it was still always delightful and often laugh-out-loud funny. There was just enough “what will happen” tension, romantically and otherwise, to keep me feeling like all I wanted to do was keep reading, but it was also nice and slice-of-life-y, and didn’t create big drama just for the sake of it.

I especially loved the gay coffeeshop storyline and the soccer stuff (so many great USWNT references! Perfect for a casual or intense, new or longtime women’s soccer fan, which is basically all of us after the 2019 World Cup, yes?).

The love story didn’t go where I expected, but I liked that! Even though there were technically ~love triangle~ moments, and questions of “who is she going to end up with??” it all felt very soft and awkward and genuine and real. I ended up feeling like I’d be ok/happy with any potential ending, which really goes to show that it was more about the emotional journey than the romance (although I think people will also be happy with the romantic arc!)

I love the newish trend in queer YA away from predictable romances that move in the standard order into slightly more complicated/imperfect stories and including bad or just not-right relationships and breakups as well! I feel like this is so helpful and important for teens going through that stuff. And also just more interesting than reading the same thing over and over! The ending here was extremely sweet and satisfying, but it still left room for uncertainty and fear, and I loved that.

Also, in general but especially with a bi love interest, this book does a wonderful job balancing the main character being a bit clueless/saying dumb stuff, in a way that felt super realistic, with her learning and coming to a great understanding. It makes total sense for the main character that she’s initially very stuck in her “there are only 2 gay girls in school” thought process, because coming out early and being loud about it was SUCH a big part of her story. But she comes to realize that there are other queer girls she didn’t know about, and learns to not necessarily assume everyone else is straight just because they didn’t do things her exact way. This was done so well and in such a nuanced way but with a clear message, and I loved it.

Anyway, this is extremely delightful, read it! It’s out April 7. I got an ARC (thanks!!) but that in no way influenced my review.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointment. The worst part about this book is that the book itself isn't THAT bad. It isn't great, but it's not a terrible addition to f/f queer YA. The issue lies instead with the author and her history or biphopic behavior. She has publicly stated that bi women who marry a man are actually straight and just asking for attention. She has tried to apologize but it was half assed and not authentic. She's basically a part of the very small portion of the queer community that shits on everyone who isn't gay or lesbian. SPOILER ALERT: ALL THE IDENTITIES WITHIN THE QUEER COMMUNITY ARE VALID AND AMAZING. THERE IS NOT LEVEL OF SUPERIORITY ASSOCIATED WITH BEING LESBIAN OR GAY.

I really want to not review this book at all and just send yall on your merry way in avoiding this one at all costs. But, I was given an ARC for netgalley and feel obligated to actually review the book.

Summary: Quinn and Jamie break up right before their senior year of high school. Quinn then sets her sights on Ruby (described as classic manic pixie dream girl who is assumed straight only because she has dated a boy). Quinn and Ruby become friends. Then more than friends. Ruby is depicted as kinda flaky and unable to make a commitment; turns out shes actually bi and yay lets show bi characters as commitment phobic and afraid of relationships. Cool. Jaime and Quinn actually get back together at the end because OBVIOUSLY lesbians are superior and can actually commit to love and relationships. Gross.

The best part of the whole book was the Triple Moon Coffee Shop owned by two older gay women (who once dated, but are just friends now) and all of the drama there. I really enjoyed Dee and Gaby and would love to have a queer space available to me that could make such a difference.

Overall, this book is average at best, but the terrible comments by the author have blacklisted her from any all of my future reading and I hope you'll do the same.

[decklededgess · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this wasn’t capital B biohobic but something felt off the entire time.
** edit: I take it back I just explained the issues with the book to a friend and this is Biphobic for SURE. Bi character isn’t able to commit, hasn’t loved anyone, super flaky and not emotive, mostly dates guys, assumed straight because she’s pretty and is seen dating guys so she’s obvi straight. Biphobic. End Of.**

Like it is evident that chapters were changed but I couldn’t pin point which ones. Ruby seemed like a really sweet girl but she got this weird manic pixie dream girl characterisation which really shouldn’t be a thing in sapphic books but there you go. This ideal pretty girl who is popular and cool and a little edgy and doesn’t express emotions according to the status quo and is a longtime object of the MC’s affections. They have a quick fling but the goal of that was for the MC to learn to trust the whims in life...Ruby to the T. Poor fucking girl she has so much life but the goddamn author just didn’t do her justice. Quinn was boring and far too fixated on high school dynamics. Jamie was just bland and wrong. Alexis being the gossip mill was somehow a good thing?? You’re going to make the school gossip someone who ISNT the cause of all drama????? Also what is this 2003? This isn’t the high school dynamic of the zoomers.

Anyways. I skimmed most of this book because it was so much useless detail but also I didn’t want to dedicate any time to this knowing it was by a biohobic author. Whatever.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

like drinking an iced vanilla latte at your favorite coffee shop, sitting across the table from your best friend. i wish i’d been able to read this at 15 years old, and i’m so grateful other people can. 3 cheers for katie heaney 🥰

[Isabel ✰ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Deep sigh. Another flop.

Girl Crushed is about a girl named Quinn navigating high school having just broken up with her girlfriend, applying to colleges, dealing with her parents' drama, trying to save her favorite coffee shop, and developing feelings for a new girl.

This book was a disappointment.

After being sent home due to COVID, I went on NetGalley and requested a bunch of cute looking romcoms as a little pick-me-up without checking how they were doing so far on Goodreads. But I saw the low rating this one has when I went to add it to my shelves, and I knew I had probably saddled myself with reading a book I wasn't going to like. Nonetheless, I do at least attempt to read all of the books I get approved for, so I sat down to read this morning with as much neutrality as I could muster given my pre-existing bias against the author.

The book was still a disappointment.

A mediocre story with no character development, no chemistry between the characters we're meant to be hoping will get together, and no interesting plot. Quinn's favorite coffee shop is struggling, so she raises a little bit of money and hopes it'll be enough, but who knows?, because the book ends abruptly without any form of epilogue or conclusion. Quinn has two love interests in the book who we are told she has chemistry with, but I never felt even a spark between any of them. She has gossipy, annoying friends, she's hypocritical and unkind to her ex. There was literally nothing I liked about this book, and while there was nothing I really hated about it either, I was so deeply unimpressed and uninterested that I certainly would have DNFed this if it hadn't been an ARC.

There are so, so many better romcoms (and queer romcoms!) out there, so save yourself the time and go for Tell Me How You Really Feel, Her Royal Highness, or any of the other great f/f stories available to you. Give this one a pass.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jaye Berry]

This author when bisexuals exist:

I'm not going to write a full review because first, reviews were getting deleted here? and this biphobic ass author doesn't deserve it but so funny how she couldn't hide her biphobia in this book. The book didn't outright say the author's wrong opinion but it might as well have. Every comment a character had, every vibe that was in here. Should have just saved time and said how she really felt lmao.

The way she portrays bis as on their way to being queer instead of you know, actually being queer is such a fucking joke. What does she think the b stands for in LGBT+!! Pls just look at all the top reviews. *sips tea*.

The story and romance wasn't even cute and I should have bounced when I was getting bad vibes in the beginning but nOoOoO I decided to listen to the whole damn thing.

[cactus]

Goodreads keeps removing my reviews saying why I Will Not be reading this book, so let me just state (for the 3rd time) that under no circumstances will I be reading this book, or anything by this author. I'm apparently not allowed to say why though.

[a · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish the MC being called out for basically acting like bisexuality doesn't exist and that if a girl dated a guy or didn't loudly proclaim their sexuality (in the way they dressed, looked, etc) meant they couldn't possibly be gay didn't happen until nearly 3/4 into the book.

[Hannah Orenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels so entirely authentic to the teenage experience — only injected with a few wiser emotions that created such a satisfying reading experience. It's easy to root for Quinn, her friends, her crush, and even her ex.

[Abi (The Knights Who Say Book)]

Well, I didn't mean to read this. When I saw the author's biphobic jokes and non-apology on twitter last year (apology now deleted — real mature), I decided I wouldn't be reading her upcoming book. Then many months passed and I requested it on netgalley without recognizing the author's name until I got 20% into it. So I played myself.

And honestly, I did like the book. It's pretty funny. It has realistic high school awkwardness and lot of sweet wlw content and so many wonderful female relationships, both romantic and platonic and between Quinn and her mom. It was clever and very readable, emotional but never dragged me down. I love Quinn and her friends; less so her love interests, but I appreciated that they were fallible people who sometimes disappointed her, just like real life. There are so few books out there that make me feel like my own relationships are normal and not worthless compared to the glossy, shiny romances you so often get in YA. But this book made me feel like romance can be imperfect, always is imperfect, but still wonderful.

But here's the thing: I have not and cannot forget that this author apparently thinks bi girls who dare to talk about being bisexual while dating a guy are being ~cringey and annoying,~ not until she actually apologizes and shows in some way that she learned and actually regrets what she said. You're writing for queer teens. So stop making fun of queer teens. All it's done is made the book inaccessible and Ruby's character inauthentic. When Ruby talks about being bi, it reads forced and performative and calculating. It's not a natural part of the book, it's just the author trying to shove in front of your face that actually she totally understand bisexuality now and definitely doesn't mock bi girls, see, she understands bi girl problems! Just don't ask her to actually apologize for making fun of them, that's definitely asking too much.

[dot ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

i'll have a side a "screw biphobic books and don't support biphobic authors" with my order please

[Ana Ramos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm gonna be honest and state the fact that I only read it by how much controversy cause to lgbtq+ community last year.


If I'm not wrong, the author rewrited most of the book after getting lots of reviews claiming that the story was somehow offending the bisexual community but since I got late to the tea, I can only speak about her corrected version.

In my personal opinion, I didn't felt at any moment that it was being offensive in any way towards lgbtq+ community or being biphobic at all. If the most, we see how we're sometimes to predjumental about how a gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc, looks by lots of stereotypes, and honestly we even see that inside lgbtq+ community, just stating facts


Now, let's get to story. We follow Quinn as she is starting her last year at high school and things couldn't be worse since she hasn't heard anything from her dream college and her so call best friend and also girlfriend just dumped her a month before her senior year so let's just say that things aren't going according to the plan.
But who would've guess that her all time crush just happens to be single and totally into make new 'female friendships'.

If you're not getting the 90's culture pop movies vibes by now, do you even watch tv at all? are you even alive?


I enjoyed a lot the romance that develops through the story and there were lots of moments that really got me, like when you like a girl and not knowing not only if she's into you but if she's into girls at all and c'mon we know our generation, we can't just simply expose our feelings because we know how hurt we can get by getting so exposed with the wrong person.
There were some phrases that were denying Ruby's sexuality or taking for granted her orientation and yes obviously that is biphobia but it didn't felt like the book was being biphobic it was more about how our protagonist dealt with this predjudges and struggled to trust her beliefs. And I really get that, not only happens with straight people but unfortunately those are comments you can even found at people that forms part of the lgbtq+ community.
So you may be asking, if I liked this book so much why is it a 3 star and not a five, and well some of my problems is that it became really boring to read at some points and although it really make me smile and gave me butterflies I didn't like how it all ended and overall the message under that end wasn't at all what I was expecting and ruined most of the story to me.


Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

[Danielle Vondrak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! As a bi lady who wasn’t out in high school and lived in a very conservative place, this book perfectly captured what it felt like to crush on seemingly straight girls that you thought would never be into you. This book was honest. I felt it confronted assumptions that people, including myself, can have about others’ sexuality. I also felt it held a very loving mirror up to members of the queer community who have written off the bi community, treated us as if we aren’t “gay enough”. I felt Quinn’s perspective change and grow, which could be a reflection of Heaney’s own growth. I very deeply related to Ruby, who didn’t want to commit to high school relationships. Growing up in a marriage-obsessed culture, I repelled the idea of commitment and relationships (later finding out I’m polyamorous and am in a happy, open relationship). Finally, I love the way this book shed light on different types of relationships, as Quinn put it “the unnamed and not unimportant thing we’d been to each other”. Sometimes there aren’t words to describe a relationship, but that does not devalue it. This book was fun, thrilling, tender and a joy to read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quinn thought everything was coming up roses until her girlfriend-slash-best-friend, Jamie, dumps her under the assumption they'll break up after graduation. Conflicted and heartbroken, Quinn needs to navigate the idea and reality of a future without Jamie and her together, while also finding herself drawn to her classmate Ruby, an aloof musician-- whom Quinn thought was straight, but it seems like Ruby might be into her, too. Girl Crushed is a senior year of bittersweet growth not just for Quinn, but all her peers, floating on hope but realizing it's okay to be unsure what the future holds.

[currentlyreadingbynat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me just preface by saying that I am writing this review only on the basis of the book itself, rather than any previous comments by the author which
I do not agree with.

I really enjoyed this; I thought it was an excellent queer YA novel. I liked that it didn't touch on the typical coming out storyline, but rather first love
and college stresses. I absolutely loved Quinn as a MC and the numerous USWNT references. I follow a few of the US soccer players and l loved seeing Quinn as a future Ashlyn Harris.

[aer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - 3.0. Let me just start by saying, as a Bi woman, I didn't find anything biphobic about this book. The main character referred to several girls they knew as 'former straight girls' or just assumed most girls were straight but there was a nice scene where bisexuality was discussed and it was fine? The scene I'm referring to has Ruby finding a list of straight girls she and Jamie liked and she's like... I'm not straight. Quinn accepts this and is mortified. Quinn takes a pen and crosses out the word 'straight'. Both characters are satisfied and I was too? All the reviews are REALLY up in arms about the rampant biphobia and I'm one of the first people to get all riled up and offended but I didn't find anything offensive about this one.

Here's what wasn't great though. Quinn Ryan cried about every 10 pages, was dramatic, self-absorbed, selfish and desperate. Jamie was so painfully boring and the way they interacted with each other made me question why they were even together because they didn't even seem to like each other? Everything Jamie did annoyed Quinn and vice versa. They never made sense to me. Ruby was also just a 'cool girl' and didn't have a ton of substance to her.

All in all, this was a pretty meh book but not one boycotting over biphobia unless you've read it and decide for yourself. For me, the hardcover version had no business being 340 pages long, and it was at times hard to get through because I didn't like Quinn very much. BUT I DID IT. Should you? You decide!

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wondered at first why I was approved for a digital galley of Girl Crushed, as YA publicists tend to get far too many requests and can be selective etc.
Anyway, now I know. It’s because if you’re a bisexual reader hoping for an f/f rom-com, this book will slap you in the face over and over until you give up and either stop reading f/f for a while or find some way to have hope again that maybe that next f/f romance will not erase or actively hate on your identity.

I was excited, I wanted to love this book. I did not.

[bambi · Rating 3 out of 5]

R͎e͎a͎d͎ ͎d͎a͎t͎e͎:͎ August 1 - August 4 2023
R͎a͎t͎i͎n͎g͎:͎ 3 stars
O͎w͎n͎e͎d͎ ͎s͎i͎n͎c͎e͎: June 17th 2023
P͎u͎r͎c͎h͎a͎s͎e͎d͎ ͎a͎t͎:͎ Dollar Tree
P͎r͎i͎c͎e͎:͎ $1.25

[Renae McBrian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't have time for biphobic asshole authors and their bullshit biphobic, poorly written books.