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Girlcrush
GIRLCRUSH
is a dark feminist comedy by bestselling author Florence Given.
In Given's debut novel, we follow Eartha on a wild, weird and seductive modern-day exploration as she commences life as an openly bisexual woman whilst also becoming a viral sensation on Wonder Land, a social media app where people project their dream selves online.
But as her online self and her offline self become more and more distanced, trauma from her past comes back to haunt and destroy her present.
Eartha must make a choice: which version of herself should she kill off?
In Given's debut novel, we follow Eartha on a wild, weird and seductive modern-day exploration as she commences life as an openly bisexual woman whilst also becoming a viral sensation on Wonder Land, a social media app where people project their dream selves online.
But as her online self and her offline self become more and more distanced, trauma from her past comes back to haunt and destroy her present.
Eartha must make a choice: which version of herself should she kill off?
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 9, 2022
376 people are currently reading
5545 people want to read
About the author
Florence Given
9 books1,666 followersFlorence Given is a London based artist and writer.
In 2018, she launched a petition to cancel Netflix's controversial fat-shaming series 'Insatiable', it gained over 300,000 signatures in a matter of days. The story became global news and she appeared on many news networks across the US and UK, as well as being interviewed for various publications including Huffington Post and Grazia.
A London-based artist and writer, Florence addresses social issues with unique and playful illustrations. She grew up in Plymouth and attended London College of Fashion. Boasting over 193k followers on Instagram, her work confronts oppressive attitudes towards women and their bodies, and she uses her platform to raise awareness of issues surrounding sexuality, consent, race and gender.
Florence designed the merchandise for Rita Ora's Girls Tour in May 2018, curated her first exhibition 'Girls Interrupted, and designed a limited-edition t-shirt for the fashion brand WEEKDAY. Alongside the tee (which featured the slogan "WOMEN DON'T OWE YOU PRETTY"), the entire collection sold out in under an hour.
In 2018, she launched a petition to cancel Netflix's controversial fat-shaming series 'Insatiable', it gained over 300,000 signatures in a matter of days. The story became global news and she appeared on many news networks across the US and UK, as well as being interviewed for various publications including Huffington Post and Grazia.
A London-based artist and writer, Florence addresses social issues with unique and playful illustrations. She grew up in Plymouth and attended London College of Fashion. Boasting over 193k followers on Instagram, her work confronts oppressive attitudes towards women and their bodies, and she uses her platform to raise awareness of issues surrounding sexuality, consent, race and gender.
Florence designed the merchandise for Rita Ora's Girls Tour in May 2018, curated her first exhibition 'Girls Interrupted, and designed a limited-edition t-shirt for the fashion brand WEEKDAY. Alongside the tee (which featured the slogan "WOMEN DON'T OWE YOU PRETTY"), the entire collection sold out in under an hour.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,029 reviews
December 1, 2022
I decided to read this book because I wanted a lighthearted, queer summer read and I was really disappointed from page 1. I wouldn't usually write a long, negative review but I can't stop thinking about this mess. I don't recommend you read the novel but if you do CN for bullying, family abuse, SA, biphobia, homophobia, general mishandling of the queer experience.
The main character Eartha is in her mid 20s in 2030 and somehow a VOICE OF A GENERATION for drunkenly announcing that she is bisexual on social media (wow?). She's been friends with Rose (a non binary lesbian who has slept with every woman in the city) since high school. They didn't even need to come out as gay or non-binary because "the way they would recline into chairs with their legs wide open did that for them". I actually don't have words for how much I hate this line and how detrimental it is for non-binary people who aren't androgynous looking people who take up space like men so I'm just going to leave it there for you to reflect on.
Even with a two dimensional non-binary-who-was-clearly-written-as-a-butch-lesbian-and-changed-at-the-last-minute best friend Eartha is completely naïve to everything queer (I'm guessing she hasn't listened to Rose speak for their entire friendship). For example, after coming out Eartha learns that scissoring isn't a thing, why people who sleep with women cut their nails short and what a gender neutral bathroom is. At 25!!! In 2030!!!
I know this is meant to be a story about a messy character, but you're given no reason at all to care about this selfish, awful woman from the start of the novel.
There are parts of this book that were so ridiculous that it made me angry (why had she never heard of an INCEL? I know that biphobia is a thing but why are people acting like it's so ALIEN?).
The only part of this book that felt genuine was Eartha's experiences with the darker side of social media. The pain that Florence clearly went through at the hands of theslumflower's followers was awful to read through Eartha's experience (let's all agree not to comment/message people on social media and tell them to k*** themselves? maybe?).
It's all fine though because (SPOILERS) in the last chapter of the book, Eartha posted such an epic rant about the head of Wonderland (the metaverse) that she somehow destroyed the company and maybe capitalism altogether. She didn't redeem herself or take any accountability for her awful behaviour though, it just ended. You didn't even find out if she apologised for being a dick to Rose #justiceforrose.
I'm going to end this very chaotic review with my least favourite quote that will always haunt me:
(Eartha is eating halloumi, talking to her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend)
'Mmmmm salty and delicious" I say, 'Now this is how cum should taste!'
The main character Eartha is in her mid 20s in 2030 and somehow a VOICE OF A GENERATION for drunkenly announcing that she is bisexual on social media (wow?). She's been friends with Rose (a non binary lesbian who has slept with every woman in the city) since high school. They didn't even need to come out as gay or non-binary because "the way they would recline into chairs with their legs wide open did that for them". I actually don't have words for how much I hate this line and how detrimental it is for non-binary people who aren't androgynous looking people who take up space like men so I'm just going to leave it there for you to reflect on.
Even with a two dimensional non-binary-who-was-clearly-written-as-a-butch-lesbian-and-changed-at-the-last-minute best friend Eartha is completely naïve to everything queer (I'm guessing she hasn't listened to Rose speak for their entire friendship). For example, after coming out Eartha learns that scissoring isn't a thing, why people who sleep with women cut their nails short and what a gender neutral bathroom is. At 25!!! In 2030!!!
I know this is meant to be a story about a messy character, but you're given no reason at all to care about this selfish, awful woman from the start of the novel.
There are parts of this book that were so ridiculous that it made me angry (why had she never heard of an INCEL? I know that biphobia is a thing but why are people acting like it's so ALIEN?).
The only part of this book that felt genuine was Eartha's experiences with the darker side of social media. The pain that Florence clearly went through at the hands of theslumflower's followers was awful to read through Eartha's experience (let's all agree not to comment/message people on social media and tell them to k*** themselves? maybe?).
It's all fine though because (SPOILERS) in the last chapter of the book, Eartha posted such an epic rant about the head of Wonderland (the metaverse) that she somehow destroyed the company and maybe capitalism altogether. She didn't redeem herself or take any accountability for her awful behaviour though, it just ended. You didn't even find out if she apologised for being a dick to Rose #justiceforrose.
I'm going to end this very chaotic review with my least favourite quote that will always haunt me:
(Eartha is eating halloumi, talking to her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend)
'Mmmmm salty and delicious" I say, 'Now this is how cum should taste!'
August 24, 2022
yes, i read the notorious livetweet thread instead of reading the actual book (if you can call it that) itself. i am absolutely fine with that. in fact, i think i could have gone my entire life without being aware of this book's existence and been fine with it. alas, i decided not to know peace.
the first thing that genuinely beggars belief is that people's first criticism of this book is that it is 'problematic,' over the fact that it is just absolutely horrendous writing. like, beyond terribly written prose, to the point that i genuinely cannot believe that any publisher picked this up and said "this isn't completely embarrassing for us to produce and endorse." maybe that was the point? hate-reading generates income and all that, which is unfortunate because i've clearly fallen into their trap. what is even more unfortunate is that people actually don't think this reads like a wattpad fanfiction with too many jarring in-text author's notes interrupting the actual narrative, except these 'author's notes' take the form of eartha's inner monologue, considering she is a very obvious self-insert of florence given herself. (author's note: also, the protagonist's name is actually eartha. are you fucking serious). despite being a self-insert character who makes collages for the internet and is the 'voice of a generation' (lol) eartha is also surrounded by graffiti'd given-isms such as 'maybe it's a girl crush, maybe you're queer,' a slogan popularised by given on her own instagram and to which eartha replies 'now THAT'S fucking cool.' these moments are exponentially more masturbatory than the scenes where eartha is once again talking about her vibrator, to the point where i had the overwhelming urge to eat my own spine. it is both a literal and figurative wankfest.
circling back to the text's moral value though, i think even having the good grace to afford it the label of 'problematic' or whatever (vague and redundant term though it is) is a waste of time, and actually affords the book far more credence than it is worth by engaging with it as a piece of instructive literature rather than the absolute steaming bin fire it actually is. you can't enter into a genuine good-faith dialogue about a text which is written off the back of a vapid instagram brand rather than any sort of literary merit or drive to tell a story. you just can't. which is why it's frustrating to me that people are responding to this like "the characters were all queerphobic stereotypes (except eartha, obvs; it wasn't hard to flesh her out since she is actually a real person), however interesting exploration of how men are a plague on this earth but bisexuals with boyfriends are valid, 3*" because what exactly were you expecting? why are we still, in big 2022, treating florence given like she is some sort of authority on anything or that she has anything interesting or new to say? if she was setting out to write the next big thing in lgbt lit, it's the straightest piece of queer fiction i have ever seen, and reads as if she has never actually met a queer person who isn't another cis white bisexual woman. conversely, if she wanted to write something about how she was ~cancelled~ then she could have written a personal essay since she is incapable of separating her own authorial voice and personal experiences from that of her protagonist (not necessarily always a problem, if it's done well). instead she chose violence and decided to dip her toe in fiction, because someone forgot to remind her that writing is, like, a skill. i think it would have actually been less painful for all of us it if her cancellation had turned her into a reactionary right-wing grifter who writes thinkpieces for the telegraph. at least then they wouldn't be framed as "revolutionary" or "subversive" or whatever.
obviously this review is exactly what the grand overarching message of the book was supposedly talking about, but this is one message of many others which get lost within the mess of the narrative, and said message was very conveniently shoehorned in about half/two-thirds of the way through, as is any modicum of resemblance to jekyll and hyde. it really does feel like they came up with this description of the text through a random internet generator and then mashed together the bones of a narrative to fit around it, which, like, ok? something something queering the writing process, i guess. it also feels very much like /someone/ was about to miss their deadline, hence the hilariously abrupt ending of 'wonderland existed 2018-2030,' which feels very, 'and it was all a dream.' besides, caroline calloway was the original hot girlie to miss her book deadline. you're not slick. overall, it's so bad i wanna give you a zero, but that's not possible, so i give you....... a one (purely for the sentence 'I open the fridge with my phone wedged between my cheek and shoulder, shoving raspberries onto the tips of my fingers like little hats. I feel nothing.')
the first thing that genuinely beggars belief is that people's first criticism of this book is that it is 'problematic,' over the fact that it is just absolutely horrendous writing. like, beyond terribly written prose, to the point that i genuinely cannot believe that any publisher picked this up and said "this isn't completely embarrassing for us to produce and endorse." maybe that was the point? hate-reading generates income and all that, which is unfortunate because i've clearly fallen into their trap. what is even more unfortunate is that people actually don't think this reads like a wattpad fanfiction with too many jarring in-text author's notes interrupting the actual narrative, except these 'author's notes' take the form of eartha's inner monologue, considering she is a very obvious self-insert of florence given herself. (author's note: also, the protagonist's name is actually eartha. are you fucking serious). despite being a self-insert character who makes collages for the internet and is the 'voice of a generation' (lol) eartha is also surrounded by graffiti'd given-isms such as 'maybe it's a girl crush, maybe you're queer,' a slogan popularised by given on her own instagram and to which eartha replies 'now THAT'S fucking cool.' these moments are exponentially more masturbatory than the scenes where eartha is once again talking about her vibrator, to the point where i had the overwhelming urge to eat my own spine. it is both a literal and figurative wankfest.
circling back to the text's moral value though, i think even having the good grace to afford it the label of 'problematic' or whatever (vague and redundant term though it is) is a waste of time, and actually affords the book far more credence than it is worth by engaging with it as a piece of instructive literature rather than the absolute steaming bin fire it actually is. you can't enter into a genuine good-faith dialogue about a text which is written off the back of a vapid instagram brand rather than any sort of literary merit or drive to tell a story. you just can't. which is why it's frustrating to me that people are responding to this like "the characters were all queerphobic stereotypes (except eartha, obvs; it wasn't hard to flesh her out since she is actually a real person), however interesting exploration of how men are a plague on this earth but bisexuals with boyfriends are valid, 3*" because what exactly were you expecting? why are we still, in big 2022, treating florence given like she is some sort of authority on anything or that she has anything interesting or new to say? if she was setting out to write the next big thing in lgbt lit, it's the straightest piece of queer fiction i have ever seen, and reads as if she has never actually met a queer person who isn't another cis white bisexual woman. conversely, if she wanted to write something about how she was ~cancelled~ then she could have written a personal essay since she is incapable of separating her own authorial voice and personal experiences from that of her protagonist (not necessarily always a problem, if it's done well). instead she chose violence and decided to dip her toe in fiction, because someone forgot to remind her that writing is, like, a skill. i think it would have actually been less painful for all of us it if her cancellation had turned her into a reactionary right-wing grifter who writes thinkpieces for the telegraph. at least then they wouldn't be framed as "revolutionary" or "subversive" or whatever.
obviously this review is exactly what the grand overarching message of the book was supposedly talking about, but this is one message of many others which get lost within the mess of the narrative, and said message was very conveniently shoehorned in about half/two-thirds of the way through, as is any modicum of resemblance to jekyll and hyde. it really does feel like they came up with this description of the text through a random internet generator and then mashed together the bones of a narrative to fit around it, which, like, ok? something something queering the writing process, i guess. it also feels very much like /someone/ was about to miss their deadline, hence the hilariously abrupt ending of 'wonderland existed 2018-2030,' which feels very, 'and it was all a dream.' besides, caroline calloway was the original hot girlie to miss her book deadline. you're not slick. overall, it's so bad i wanna give you a zero, but that's not possible, so i give you....... a one (purely for the sentence 'I open the fridge with my phone wedged between my cheek and shoulder, shoving raspberries onto the tips of my fingers like little hats. I feel nothing.')
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2022
read it through a twitter livetweet which absolutely counts since it's the only way i could've gotten through this trash fire
January 30, 2023
Maturing is realising that florence given is not the enemy, and infighting within the left won’t save us!!
November 8, 2022
I absolutely love Florence Given and her book Women Don't Owe You Pretty was incredible, I was really looking forward to this book but have sadly been left feeling quite flat and disappointed. At times I wondered if it was an autobiography, I've followed Florence for years and there were so many similarities between Eartha and her. I couldn't connect with any of the other characters though, I didn't feel any emotion towards them, and I didn't feel drawn into their storylines. I felt like it was trying too hard to be relevant and had the basis of a great storyline but just didn't quite get there. The ending for me was the most disappointing, wondering if she's set it up to write a sequel? But I just felt like there were so many loose ends that needed tied up and brought to some kind of conclusion, I was just left feeling flat and wondering why I was so excited to begin with. It's not all doom and gloom, I did devour the book in a few days, I laughed out loud at a couple of bits and I enjoyed Eartha as a character. But overall, I wouldn't recommend this book, unfortunately. Sorry, Florence! I am a massive fan but felt like I needed to be honest with this review.
February 27, 2023
Wow, this was ... crude! "Girlcrush" somehow attempts to attack the binary nature of the internet, a.k.a. the lack of nuance, by presenting stock characters going through the motions of web celebrity in a very didactic way. To mask the lessons (don't lose yourself in the fame game! commercial web services are, well, commercial! narcissism is real!), we get a not-so-provocative plot line revolving around gender and sexuality: Our narrator and protagonist Eartha dumps her unfaithful boyfriend and finally lives out her bisexuality, which becomes her shtick on the internet, a narrative to generate entertainment and thus income. She virtue signals the heck out of the metaverse (here called Wonderland) to get clout, until the mob starts dragging her...
This novel does not know what it wants to be: For a book about social media, what will happen and why the author crafts the story like that is way too apparent - we already know all that. It's too heavily reliant on clichés: The fame-hungry, but also naive young woman who chases likes and money, the manipulative manager, the Weinstein-esque male mastermind. As a novel about queerness, it is stuck in clichés as well: The story is full of lesbians who hate men and think that their personal freedom is rooted in the fact that they don't have sex with them. And then the sex scenes - let's just say Given is no Garth Greenwell or Carmen Maria Machado. The text wants to be explicit and punchy, but the ambition is just too apparent, and we all know what happens if you want to be cool really, really bad.
The language sounds very contemporary (for some reason, the whole thing is set in the near future - so everyone can live in the metaverse, like we now live on Goodreads? ;-)), but also tries rather hard. We get text massages and audio messages (which I liked, because Given incorporates digital communication in a realistic manner), and we also get parts (imagined by Eartha) written as a script that underlines the staged life as a social media persona.
It has to be said though that this is also a breezy, fast read, and the unlikeable protagonist carries the over-construed story pretty well. Given just wanted too much here, and she could not deliver on the narrative control it takes to make such an ambitious project work. The novel has the capabilities of a beach read, but wants to be sharp social commentary, and it does not come together, as it lacks stringency, smart plotting and aesthetic panache.
This novel does not know what it wants to be: For a book about social media, what will happen and why the author crafts the story like that is way too apparent - we already know all that. It's too heavily reliant on clichés: The fame-hungry, but also naive young woman who chases likes and money, the manipulative manager, the Weinstein-esque male mastermind. As a novel about queerness, it is stuck in clichés as well: The story is full of lesbians who hate men and think that their personal freedom is rooted in the fact that they don't have sex with them. And then the sex scenes - let's just say Given is no Garth Greenwell or Carmen Maria Machado. The text wants to be explicit and punchy, but the ambition is just too apparent, and we all know what happens if you want to be cool really, really bad.
The language sounds very contemporary (for some reason, the whole thing is set in the near future - so everyone can live in the metaverse, like we now live on Goodreads? ;-)), but also tries rather hard. We get text massages and audio messages (which I liked, because Given incorporates digital communication in a realistic manner), and we also get parts (imagined by Eartha) written as a script that underlines the staged life as a social media persona.
It has to be said though that this is also a breezy, fast read, and the unlikeable protagonist carries the over-construed story pretty well. Given just wanted too much here, and she could not deliver on the narrative control it takes to make such an ambitious project work. The novel has the capabilities of a beach read, but wants to be sharp social commentary, and it does not come together, as it lacks stringency, smart plotting and aesthetic panache.
September 17, 2022
What did I just read? I am so confused. What a bizarre story…and then the ending? Now I feel like I’m going crazy and don’t know what is real or not. And what was with the director parts?
Just no. Don’t waste your time. I read it for both of us to save you from the hours of your life you will never get back if you were planning to read it.
Just no. Don’t waste your time. I read it for both of us to save you from the hours of your life you will never get back if you were planning to read it.
August 26, 2022
I feel like the only way to talk about this book is by breaking it up between the first half and the second half because they are SO different.
I adored the first half of it. Couldn’t get enough of it. It was a hot mess and I loved that about it. Very raw, very relatable. I liked the flow of it. There are some “directors notes” which plays out more like a movie than a book (I listened on audiobook and finished with reading it - it worked well on audio but was confusing in the book). I definitely recommend the audiobook more.
I agree with other reviews that this book is marketed wrong. The heart of it is social media and it’s effects, with her bisexual awakening tacked on as a side story. I really wish her sexuality would have been woven into the second half to tie the book together. I felt like there wasn’t any closure with regards to relationships (Phaedra, Rose, her mom) in the end.
I did really enjoy it - I feel like it could have done more, but overall I enjoyed the ride
I adored the first half of it. Couldn’t get enough of it. It was a hot mess and I loved that about it. Very raw, very relatable. I liked the flow of it. There are some “directors notes” which plays out more like a movie than a book (I listened on audiobook and finished with reading it - it worked well on audio but was confusing in the book). I definitely recommend the audiobook more.
I agree with other reviews that this book is marketed wrong. The heart of it is social media and it’s effects, with her bisexual awakening tacked on as a side story. I really wish her sexuality would have been woven into the second half to tie the book together. I felt like there wasn’t any closure with regards to relationships (Phaedra, Rose, her mom) in the end.
I did really enjoy it - I feel like it could have done more, but overall I enjoyed the ride
August 15, 2022
i will never get my time or money back
September 25, 2022
it’s so bad that i wanna give you a zero but that’s not possible so i give you a one. this book went from pretending that a woman drunkenly uploading a video where she comes out as bisexual would be considered so revolutionary in the year of 2030 that she would immediately become a well-known influencer who gets called "the voice of a generation“. and then the next second this book is all about pretending that in the year of 2030 everyone is so progressive that the big struggle with being queer doesn’t stem from the fact that there are violently abusive bigoted people but rather queer women who cancel bisexual women for dating men. the fact that both of these plot lines co-exist in this book is so fucking laughable i can tell that nobody took the time of the day to read the first draft of this twice.
the fact that nobody would go viral and stay popular for long for coming out as bisexual aside- i actually think that this book has committed worse crimes; it’s terribly written and the epitome of white queer feminism. reading this book i almost forgot that homophobia was real because i was so caught up in a world where the greatest struggle of a bisexual woman is having crazy fans who will tell her that she’s a fake woke fraud because she kissed a man and didn’t post about asexuality on her social media. but then my mum came into my room and said some homophobic shit that made me cry (thank you for the reality check!).
it’s like florence given looked up struggles of bisexual women and instead of portraying them with any kind of complexity she turned them into a caricature that had me (a bisexual woman who understands the source of the problems she was trying to portray here) rolling my eyes. like there is literally a scene in this book where the main character makes out with a man and some random girl bursts into the room, films her and then yells at her how she is a fake queer woman (the internet later on agrees with her and cancels eartha lmao) and then the next second the dude eartha made out with tells her that he thinks that women having sex with each other is hot but that he doesn’t want anything to do with her if she would date women and is disgusted by her bisexuality. i can tell that florence given really thought that she was a genius for touching upon three issues bisexual women face at one when, in reality, she only turned them into a joke by exaggerating this scene to no end.
as i already said earlier, this book weirdly equated the struggle of not being seen as queer enough in your own community with the struggle of having to live in a society that is deeply violently and verbally homophobic. it does, in fact, not only equate those struggles but puts much more emphasis on how fucking terrible it is that people cancel bisexual women for dating men (which, yes, does suck but i‘d argue that in a society where people are killed, beat up, disowned etc etc for being queer, straight passing relationships/ hook ups are a privilege before people seeing you as less queer is an issue).
anyway! moving on from the terrible bisexual representation i once again wanna talk about the scene where eartha is at a gay club using british slang, asking for a fag and some queer women tells her that she’s right there and then the narrative puts emphasis on the fact that she’s butch and therefore can reclaim the f slur for gay men. i don’t think that i need to tell anyone why that scene is terrible (and cringey written on top of that!) but also butch lesbians haven’t been fighting to be recognized as queer women instead of "the man in the relationship“ since forever just for florence given to come along and use this stupid line that wasn’t funny at all. im so tired of this book and talking about this book literally goodbye i need to read something better
the fact that nobody would go viral and stay popular for long for coming out as bisexual aside- i actually think that this book has committed worse crimes; it’s terribly written and the epitome of white queer feminism. reading this book i almost forgot that homophobia was real because i was so caught up in a world where the greatest struggle of a bisexual woman is having crazy fans who will tell her that she’s a fake woke fraud because she kissed a man and didn’t post about asexuality on her social media. but then my mum came into my room and said some homophobic shit that made me cry (thank you for the reality check!).
it’s like florence given looked up struggles of bisexual women and instead of portraying them with any kind of complexity she turned them into a caricature that had me (a bisexual woman who understands the source of the problems she was trying to portray here) rolling my eyes. like there is literally a scene in this book where the main character makes out with a man and some random girl bursts into the room, films her and then yells at her how she is a fake queer woman (the internet later on agrees with her and cancels eartha lmao) and then the next second the dude eartha made out with tells her that he thinks that women having sex with each other is hot but that he doesn’t want anything to do with her if she would date women and is disgusted by her bisexuality. i can tell that florence given really thought that she was a genius for touching upon three issues bisexual women face at one when, in reality, she only turned them into a joke by exaggerating this scene to no end.
as i already said earlier, this book weirdly equated the struggle of not being seen as queer enough in your own community with the struggle of having to live in a society that is deeply violently and verbally homophobic. it does, in fact, not only equate those struggles but puts much more emphasis on how fucking terrible it is that people cancel bisexual women for dating men (which, yes, does suck but i‘d argue that in a society where people are killed, beat up, disowned etc etc for being queer, straight passing relationships/ hook ups are a privilege before people seeing you as less queer is an issue).
anyway! moving on from the terrible bisexual representation i once again wanna talk about the scene where eartha is at a gay club using british slang, asking for a fag and some queer women tells her that she’s right there and then the narrative puts emphasis on the fact that she’s butch and therefore can reclaim the f slur for gay men. i don’t think that i need to tell anyone why that scene is terrible (and cringey written on top of that!) but also butch lesbians haven’t been fighting to be recognized as queer women instead of "the man in the relationship“ since forever just for florence given to come along and use this stupid line that wasn’t funny at all. im so tired of this book and talking about this book literally goodbye i need to read something better
September 4, 2022
This book had so much promise but it didn't deliver as tried to have multiple plotlines and topics but sadly became so thin but can see what the author was trying but did like the dark satire on social media though.
August 18, 2022
I did not like this! There are lots of very valid, intelligent reasons that I did not! This book is an extremely superficial exploration of bisexuality, feminism, social media, 'cancel culture', and sexual assault. The bio-essentialism and queer stereotyping in here made me uncomfortable, and also I didn't find this book sexy at all. It also did not deliver on its taglines as 'twas not a hot, dark story, nor a Jekyll and Hyde retelling, nor a feminist dark comedy. I would not suggest reading this!!
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC for review purposes!
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC for review purposes!
August 16, 2022
This was not what I was expecting it would be...
Girlcrush is an exploration of the boundaries, or lack of boundaries, when it comes to the internet, more specifically from Wonderland, the stand-in for Instagram. It focuses on Eartha, a woman who is in a toxic relationship with a man and, after breaking up with him, ends up posting a sort of coming out video on her Wonderland account, which immediately goes viral. She shares bits of her life online, as she is discovering more about herself as a bisexual woman, but things eventually start going sideways. The book describes social media as curated lies and takes that idea to a whole other level in the second part of the book.
I’ve followed Florence Given’s account on my personal Instagram for quite a few years now and, to me, the first part of this novel felt almost like a fictionalized autobiography of her trajectory to fame on Instagram. However, the second part of the book took the story in a whole other direction.
Some of the things I liked about this book were the discussions about the internet and the complexities of being bisexual, even within the very lgbtqia+ community, as the character describes either feeling like people judge her for being too gay or not gay enough.
However, I’d say this book was a bit confused about what it wanted to do. It was almost like two books in one: the first book describing Eartha’s sexual awakening as a bisexual woman, breaking the cycle of abusive relationships in her family; while the second narrative focuses on her journey on social media and the perils of the internet. There were also these parts called the “director’s notes” where the narrator panned out a camera on Eartha, or the situation unfolding, which I didn’t think worked that well.
Overall, I mostly have a problem with how this book is being marketed. To me, there’s no comedy in this book, even dark comedy; it’s actually quite a hard and painful reality it depicts, especially in the second half of it.
Girlcrush is an exploration of the boundaries, or lack of boundaries, when it comes to the internet, more specifically from Wonderland, the stand-in for Instagram. It focuses on Eartha, a woman who is in a toxic relationship with a man and, after breaking up with him, ends up posting a sort of coming out video on her Wonderland account, which immediately goes viral. She shares bits of her life online, as she is discovering more about herself as a bisexual woman, but things eventually start going sideways. The book describes social media as curated lies and takes that idea to a whole other level in the second part of the book.
I’ve followed Florence Given’s account on my personal Instagram for quite a few years now and, to me, the first part of this novel felt almost like a fictionalized autobiography of her trajectory to fame on Instagram. However, the second part of the book took the story in a whole other direction.
Some of the things I liked about this book were the discussions about the internet and the complexities of being bisexual, even within the very lgbtqia+ community, as the character describes either feeling like people judge her for being too gay or not gay enough.
However, I’d say this book was a bit confused about what it wanted to do. It was almost like two books in one: the first book describing Eartha’s sexual awakening as a bisexual woman, breaking the cycle of abusive relationships in her family; while the second narrative focuses on her journey on social media and the perils of the internet. There were also these parts called the “director’s notes” where the narrator panned out a camera on Eartha, or the situation unfolding, which I didn’t think worked that well.
Overall, I mostly have a problem with how this book is being marketed. To me, there’s no comedy in this book, even dark comedy; it’s actually quite a hard and painful reality it depicts, especially in the second half of it.
December 3, 2022
“It’s coordinated mysogyny wrapped in a dazzling bow, using us as its mouthpiece to trick us all into thinking it’s validating”
This book is internalised homophobia and stereotyping wrapped in a dazzling bow, using us as its mouthpiece to trick us all into thinking it’s validating.
Ok *cracks knuckles*
This author has tried to do something pretty wonderful; use their voice to promote feminism, queerness, bisexuality and show us that social media is detrimental to our health and well-being… and that the world is still controlled by men.
What the author has succeeded to do is write a book of two halves. The second half succeeds in the message….. but you have to get through a very problematic, nay HARMFUL first half to get the message. And by then it’s lost.
This is not the queer affirming book it claims to be. This is a book doused in queer stereotypes and harmful language. As a bisexual woman I found it littered with biphobia and severe problems around identity, femininity, masculinity and many issues catered towards our non binary siblings too.
This not only hurts queer people who pick it up, making them feel invalidated and ridiculed… it also confirms that all the stereotypes about us in the queer community are correct…… it doesn’t help cis het people understand us at all. It lets them know that it’s ok to poke fun at the queer community. That it’s ok to use the word “fag” in a jokey way, that it’s ok to ask “so who’s the gay one?” (I.E. the man) in a same sex relationship.
I understand that some books include the above references to prove a point. To show that these words, phrases and stereotypes are wrong. This book has not done that. And for that I will never forgive it.
This could have been something special. Instead I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Ever.
This book is internalised homophobia and stereotyping wrapped in a dazzling bow, using us as its mouthpiece to trick us all into thinking it’s validating.
Ok *cracks knuckles*
This author has tried to do something pretty wonderful; use their voice to promote feminism, queerness, bisexuality and show us that social media is detrimental to our health and well-being… and that the world is still controlled by men.
What the author has succeeded to do is write a book of two halves. The second half succeeds in the message….. but you have to get through a very problematic, nay HARMFUL first half to get the message. And by then it’s lost.
This is not the queer affirming book it claims to be. This is a book doused in queer stereotypes and harmful language. As a bisexual woman I found it littered with biphobia and severe problems around identity, femininity, masculinity and many issues catered towards our non binary siblings too.
This not only hurts queer people who pick it up, making them feel invalidated and ridiculed… it also confirms that all the stereotypes about us in the queer community are correct…… it doesn’t help cis het people understand us at all. It lets them know that it’s ok to poke fun at the queer community. That it’s ok to use the word “fag” in a jokey way, that it’s ok to ask “so who’s the gay one?” (I.E. the man) in a same sex relationship.
I understand that some books include the above references to prove a point. To show that these words, phrases and stereotypes are wrong. This book has not done that. And for that I will never forgive it.
This could have been something special. Instead I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Ever.
September 1, 2022
I am so disappointed in this book. I expected big things, a fun, sexy story to chill out and read. But this was an absolute disaster of a book.
It was messy, the text message formatting in the book frustrated me and was hard to read. Every now and then there was "Directors Notes" sections which was so strange and added absolutely nothing to the book other than making it feel like a weird half script half book.
Don't even get me started on the plot. It was set in 2030 which made no sense and it was obvious that all of these little things were just because the author didn't want to use real life things like London or Instagram. It didn't feel futuristic at all other than turning the general population into mindless zombies glued to their phone. It tried so hard to be some big metaphor but it didn't manage to pull it off for me. Overall not a good read!
It was messy, the text message formatting in the book frustrated me and was hard to read. Every now and then there was "Directors Notes" sections which was so strange and added absolutely nothing to the book other than making it feel like a weird half script half book.
Don't even get me started on the plot. It was set in 2030 which made no sense and it was obvious that all of these little things were just because the author didn't want to use real life things like London or Instagram. It didn't feel futuristic at all other than turning the general population into mindless zombies glued to their phone. It tried so hard to be some big metaphor but it didn't manage to pull it off for me. Overall not a good read!
August 12, 2022
To be fair, I didn't so much read this book as read a long livetweet of it, but I am upset that I now know Florence Given exists and feel I am entitled to compensation.
August 18, 2022
One of the worst books I’ve ever read …
dnf
September 10, 2022the *wink wink* tone this book is going for is not working for me. also, given's writing style is very clunky, so much so that i am wondering how this was published in the 1st place (editor, where art thou?).
November 27, 2022
This could be considered a “hot” story if you’ve literally never read a sex scene in your life. The characters were bland and had little development. The storyline became repetitive and boring and I ended up completely skipping the last 40 pages because I couldn’t be bothered with Eartha and her flapping about. A friend said to me that was “a Florence Given fan fiction written by Florence Given” which is what the real tagline for this book should be. I thought this would be a fun summer read but it’s definitely aimed more at younger people who love and idolise influencers on Instagram or maybe someone who hasn’t picked up a book to read since being forced to read Of Mice and Men in GCSE English.
August 13, 2023
Erst im Juni habe ich mein erstes Buch der Autorin gelesen, die dafür ja auch sehr gehyped wurde: "Frauen schulden dir gar nichts." "Girlcrush" wiederum hat online weniger Aufmerksamkeit bekommen. Das hängt wahrscheinlich unter anderem mit dem Genrewechsel zusammen, zumindest ist das meine Theorie. "Girlcrush" ist nämlich kein Sachbuch bzw. Ratgeber, sondern ein Roman. Und noch dazu nicht unbedingt der einfachste Roman, den ich je gelesen habe. Was jetzt für mich nicht unbedingt etwas Negatives ist, ist halt einfach nicht mehr für alle Menschen einfach so zugänglich.
In diesem Roman geht es um Eartha. Sie ist eine bisexuelle Künstlerin, wohnt in einer grottigen Wohnung und hat gerade ihren Freund rausgeschmissen, weil er sie mit einer anderen Frau betrogen hat und dieser Frau auch noch ihr Lieblingsshirt geschenkt hat, das sie selbst designt hat. Jetzt, wo er endlich weg ist (die Trennung war lange überfällig, da sind Eartha und ich uns einig) schafft Eartha es, sich endlich als bi zu outen - und ihr Outing geht viral. Ganz Wonderland (DIE Social-Media-Seite in Earthas Welt) hat dieses Video gesehen und plötzlich wird Eartha als die Stimme ihrer Generation gesehen. Alle kennen sie, alle lieben sie, alle beobachten sie. Und Eartha muss am eigenen Leib erfahren, wie schnell sich Liebe in Hass und positiver Zuspruch in einen Shitstorm verwandeln kann.
Kleine Anmerkung gleich zu Beginn: Vielleicht wäre es hier angebracht gewesen, Triggerwarnungen im Buch zu platzieren. Das hier ist keine einfache, keine lustige Lektüre, zumindest über weite Teile nicht. Es geht hier um Gewalt in der Beziehung, um Depressionen und Missbrauch und Biphobie bzw. Bi-erasure und Queerphobia generell. Bi-erasure bezeichnet die Tendenz von Menschen und Medien, Bisexualität zu verdrängen und als nicht-existent darzustellen. Hier geschieht das zum Beispiel, wenn Eartha es wagt, einen Mann zu küssen. Denn wenn sie einen Mann küsst, dann bezeichnet sie sich offensichtlich ja nur als bi, um Aufmerksamkeit zu bekommen, oder? Also hat sie dafür wohl einen ordentlichen Shitstorm verdient, oder? Nein, Leute, deswegen hier ein kleiner Reminder, auch wenn ich nicht glaube, dass jemand von euch den wirklich braucht: Bisexuell bedeutet, dass eine Person nicht nur ein Geschlecht anziehend findet. Es bedeutet nicht, dass eine Person nie in einer Beziehung sein wird, die hetero auf die Außenwelt wirkt. Eine bi-Person kann daten, wen er:sie:they will und diese Person wird trotzdem bi bleiben. Außer, wenn diese Person entscheidet, dass sie sich nicht mehr als bi bezeichnen möchte. Sexuality is fluid und für manche Menschen ändert sich das im Laufe ihres Lebens. Das bedeutet dann aber nicht unbedingt, dass das vorherige Label falsch oder nur ein Übergangslabel war, sondern nur, dass dieses Label in dem Lebensabschnitt, in dem sich diese Person befindet, grade nicht mehr passt.
Die Geschichte war meiner Meinung nach keine einfache Lektüre. Ich musste das Buch immer wieder kurz zur Seite legen und tief durchatmen. Das war für mich unerwartet, da das Buch von außen und in den ersten Kapiteln gar nicht so ernst wirkt. Umso überraschter war ich, wie ernst und düster der Ton der Geschichte bald wurde. Wie gesagt: Triggerwarnungen wären hier definitiv angebracht gewesen, denn das ist sicher nicht für alle Menschen geeignet. Und selbst wenn ihr mit den Triggern kein Problem habt, ist es wohl gut, einfach zu wissen, dass das hier keine locker-flockige Lektüre ist, wie es auf den ersten Blick wohl wirken könnte.
Ich habe die Lektüre trotz der düsteren Stimmung genossen. Die Figuren sind spannend, das Setting ist interessant und ich fand es spannend, Earthas Weg zur Online-Persönlichkeit nachzuverfolgen. Influencer gibt es ja auch in unserer Welt und durch dieses Buch begegne ich Influencer:innen, die mir online angezeigt werden, inzwischen fast schon mit Mitleid. Ja, diese Leute sind berühmt und sehen eigentlich immer glücklich aus, aber dieses Leben wäre mein Albtraum. Ich würde auf keinen Fall wollen, dass mein Privatleben in meinem Beruf so eine große Rolle spielt. Ich würde nicht wollen, dass sich Menschen online eine Meinung zu meinem Aussehen, meiner Familie, meinen Partnern, meiner Wohnung oder meinen Freundschaften bilden. Sorry Leute, aber das geht euch alle nichts an. Ich gehe davon aus, dass ihr hier seid, um meine Meinung zu verschiedenen Büchern zu lesen und nicht, weil ihr wie Creeps darauf hofft, dass ihr hier mehr über mein Privatleben erfahrt.
Spannend fand ich die Entscheidung des Verlags, hier tatsächlich alles strikt durchzugendern. Machte für mich auch voll Sinn und passte zu Eartha, aus deren Sicht wir die Geschichte erzählt bekamen. Es passte so gut, dass mir erst im Nachhinein auffiel, dass das nicht so im englischen Original stehen kann. Die meisten Bezeichnungen sind im Englischen auch so schon genderneutral (zumindest meines Wissens nach), deswegen muss während der Übersetzung diese Entscheidung gefallen sein. Wie gesagt, ich fand das super spannend. Und es machte mir auch Lust, mal das Original in die Hand zu nehmen, um zu sehen, wie das denn dort geschrieben wurde und ob mir dort überhaupt irgendwas auffällt.
Interessant finde ich auch den Wechsel zwischen den verschiedenen Stilarten, wie er hier stattfand. Manche Stellen sind wie ein normaler Roman geschrieben, manche wie ein Drehbuch, vieles auch in Form von Postings mit den entsprechenden Kommentaren oder Chatverläufe. Ich mochte das, ist aber sicher nicht für alle was.
Den einzigen Abzug gibt es von meiner Seite dafür, dass das Buch gerade gegen Ende hin etwas unstrukturiert wirkte. Einerseits konnte ich das verstehen, da Eartha halt doch immer mehr den Bezug zur Realität verliert, andererseits gab es hier dann doch einige wichtige Szenen (vor allem eine), wo es vielleicht hilfreich gewesen wäre, wenn ich als Leserin schon auf den ersten Blick verstanden hätte, was denn da passiert ist.
Mein Fazit? Dieses Buch hat online nicht besonders viel Anklang gefunden, mir hat es aber gut gefallen. Man muss in einer bestimmten Stimmung sein, um dieses Buch zu mögen, ich hatte aber das Glück, dieses Buch in genau dem richtigen Moment gefunden zu haben.
In diesem Roman geht es um Eartha. Sie ist eine bisexuelle Künstlerin, wohnt in einer grottigen Wohnung und hat gerade ihren Freund rausgeschmissen, weil er sie mit einer anderen Frau betrogen hat und dieser Frau auch noch ihr Lieblingsshirt geschenkt hat, das sie selbst designt hat. Jetzt, wo er endlich weg ist (die Trennung war lange überfällig, da sind Eartha und ich uns einig) schafft Eartha es, sich endlich als bi zu outen - und ihr Outing geht viral. Ganz Wonderland (DIE Social-Media-Seite in Earthas Welt) hat dieses Video gesehen und plötzlich wird Eartha als die Stimme ihrer Generation gesehen. Alle kennen sie, alle lieben sie, alle beobachten sie. Und Eartha muss am eigenen Leib erfahren, wie schnell sich Liebe in Hass und positiver Zuspruch in einen Shitstorm verwandeln kann.
Kleine Anmerkung gleich zu Beginn: Vielleicht wäre es hier angebracht gewesen, Triggerwarnungen im Buch zu platzieren. Das hier ist keine einfache, keine lustige Lektüre, zumindest über weite Teile nicht. Es geht hier um Gewalt in der Beziehung, um Depressionen und Missbrauch und Biphobie bzw. Bi-erasure und Queerphobia generell. Bi-erasure bezeichnet die Tendenz von Menschen und Medien, Bisexualität zu verdrängen und als nicht-existent darzustellen. Hier geschieht das zum Beispiel, wenn Eartha es wagt, einen Mann zu küssen. Denn wenn sie einen Mann küsst, dann bezeichnet sie sich offensichtlich ja nur als bi, um Aufmerksamkeit zu bekommen, oder? Also hat sie dafür wohl einen ordentlichen Shitstorm verdient, oder? Nein, Leute, deswegen hier ein kleiner Reminder, auch wenn ich nicht glaube, dass jemand von euch den wirklich braucht: Bisexuell bedeutet, dass eine Person nicht nur ein Geschlecht anziehend findet. Es bedeutet nicht, dass eine Person nie in einer Beziehung sein wird, die hetero auf die Außenwelt wirkt. Eine bi-Person kann daten, wen er:sie:they will und diese Person wird trotzdem bi bleiben. Außer, wenn diese Person entscheidet, dass sie sich nicht mehr als bi bezeichnen möchte. Sexuality is fluid und für manche Menschen ändert sich das im Laufe ihres Lebens. Das bedeutet dann aber nicht unbedingt, dass das vorherige Label falsch oder nur ein Übergangslabel war, sondern nur, dass dieses Label in dem Lebensabschnitt, in dem sich diese Person befindet, grade nicht mehr passt.
Die Geschichte war meiner Meinung nach keine einfache Lektüre. Ich musste das Buch immer wieder kurz zur Seite legen und tief durchatmen. Das war für mich unerwartet, da das Buch von außen und in den ersten Kapiteln gar nicht so ernst wirkt. Umso überraschter war ich, wie ernst und düster der Ton der Geschichte bald wurde. Wie gesagt: Triggerwarnungen wären hier definitiv angebracht gewesen, denn das ist sicher nicht für alle Menschen geeignet. Und selbst wenn ihr mit den Triggern kein Problem habt, ist es wohl gut, einfach zu wissen, dass das hier keine locker-flockige Lektüre ist, wie es auf den ersten Blick wohl wirken könnte.
Ich habe die Lektüre trotz der düsteren Stimmung genossen. Die Figuren sind spannend, das Setting ist interessant und ich fand es spannend, Earthas Weg zur Online-Persönlichkeit nachzuverfolgen. Influencer gibt es ja auch in unserer Welt und durch dieses Buch begegne ich Influencer:innen, die mir online angezeigt werden, inzwischen fast schon mit Mitleid. Ja, diese Leute sind berühmt und sehen eigentlich immer glücklich aus, aber dieses Leben wäre mein Albtraum. Ich würde auf keinen Fall wollen, dass mein Privatleben in meinem Beruf so eine große Rolle spielt. Ich würde nicht wollen, dass sich Menschen online eine Meinung zu meinem Aussehen, meiner Familie, meinen Partnern, meiner Wohnung oder meinen Freundschaften bilden. Sorry Leute, aber das geht euch alle nichts an. Ich gehe davon aus, dass ihr hier seid, um meine Meinung zu verschiedenen Büchern zu lesen und nicht, weil ihr wie Creeps darauf hofft, dass ihr hier mehr über mein Privatleben erfahrt.
Spannend fand ich die Entscheidung des Verlags, hier tatsächlich alles strikt durchzugendern. Machte für mich auch voll Sinn und passte zu Eartha, aus deren Sicht wir die Geschichte erzählt bekamen. Es passte so gut, dass mir erst im Nachhinein auffiel, dass das nicht so im englischen Original stehen kann. Die meisten Bezeichnungen sind im Englischen auch so schon genderneutral (zumindest meines Wissens nach), deswegen muss während der Übersetzung diese Entscheidung gefallen sein. Wie gesagt, ich fand das super spannend. Und es machte mir auch Lust, mal das Original in die Hand zu nehmen, um zu sehen, wie das denn dort geschrieben wurde und ob mir dort überhaupt irgendwas auffällt.
Interessant finde ich auch den Wechsel zwischen den verschiedenen Stilarten, wie er hier stattfand. Manche Stellen sind wie ein normaler Roman geschrieben, manche wie ein Drehbuch, vieles auch in Form von Postings mit den entsprechenden Kommentaren oder Chatverläufe. Ich mochte das, ist aber sicher nicht für alle was.
Den einzigen Abzug gibt es von meiner Seite dafür, dass das Buch gerade gegen Ende hin etwas unstrukturiert wirkte. Einerseits konnte ich das verstehen, da Eartha halt doch immer mehr den Bezug zur Realität verliert, andererseits gab es hier dann doch einige wichtige Szenen (vor allem eine), wo es vielleicht hilfreich gewesen wäre, wenn ich als Leserin schon auf den ersten Blick verstanden hätte, was denn da passiert ist.
Mein Fazit? Dieses Buch hat online nicht besonders viel Anklang gefunden, mir hat es aber gut gefallen. Man muss in einer bestimmten Stimmung sein, um dieses Buch zu mögen, ich hatte aber das Glück, dieses Buch in genau dem richtigen Moment gefunden zu haben.
August 18, 2022
This entire book just reads so awfully. It's so poorly developed and thought out. At times it is offensively naive. Given shouldn't be a professional writer and this book is definitely evidence of that. I love a good fiction book about the LGBTQ+ community but this one has very much missed the mark. Avoid unless you want to be both amused by how badly this is written and disappointed in how much it doesn't live up to the hype.
June 8, 2023
oh my god this might be the worst book i’ve ever read and fortunately i have been taking notes throughout so i can relay all of my favourite parts in this review!!!!
first off i do want to say thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review ahead of its paperback release despite my numerous, negative tiktoks about given’s first book ‘women don’t owe you pretty’. although i think this book is particularly weak, i will say that i had a blast reading it because of how funny i found it.
there are many well-written and cohesive reviews already that discuss the serious issues within this novel, particularly surrounding the discussions of mental health, domestic abuse, and the exploration of queer and trans identities. i could not say anything in those reviews better myself and would urge you to read own voices thoughts on these topics, but instead i would like to take this opportunity to showcase some of my favourite quotes and plot holes.
1. one of the central characters in this book i assumed to be in her 40s. she’s a social media publicist, divorced & living in a cool apartment. tell me why she said she slept with jim morrison??? jim morrison died in 1971. this book is set in 2030. this would mean she’d have to be at least 80 years old in 2030 for this to have been true.
2. why does matt have a signed fleetwood mac album, he’s mid twenties in 2030. literally when would he have acquired this?
3. the main character is just a florence given self insert but in the most obvious way possible that it began to feel like she wanted to write a memoir but her publishers pushed her towards a novel instead. one of the articles written about eartha calls her the “voice of a generation” and the press release i received with this book called given the “voice of gen z” like could we not even change it up a little bit?
4. for a near future dystopian to work i actually need to understand the context of which it is taking place. there are zero descriptions of what wonderland is and what the difference is between social media in 2023 and this new, immersive universe.
5. page 7 contains the quote “they never even had to come out as gay or non-binary - the way they would recline into chairs with their legs wide open did that for them” and i haven’t stopped thinking about it since
6. how is eartha 25 years old and doesn’t know why sapphic women have short nails
7. why are there randomly third person director’s notes at the end of some chapters??? they’re never explained and they serve no purpose
despite all of this i am actually glad i read this book because at least now when my tiktok comments are flooded with florence given’s fans i can say that i was right all along
first off i do want to say thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review ahead of its paperback release despite my numerous, negative tiktoks about given’s first book ‘women don’t owe you pretty’. although i think this book is particularly weak, i will say that i had a blast reading it because of how funny i found it.
there are many well-written and cohesive reviews already that discuss the serious issues within this novel, particularly surrounding the discussions of mental health, domestic abuse, and the exploration of queer and trans identities. i could not say anything in those reviews better myself and would urge you to read own voices thoughts on these topics, but instead i would like to take this opportunity to showcase some of my favourite quotes and plot holes.
1. one of the central characters in this book i assumed to be in her 40s. she’s a social media publicist, divorced & living in a cool apartment. tell me why she said she slept with jim morrison??? jim morrison died in 1971. this book is set in 2030. this would mean she’d have to be at least 80 years old in 2030 for this to have been true.
2. why does matt have a signed fleetwood mac album, he’s mid twenties in 2030. literally when would he have acquired this?
3. the main character is just a florence given self insert but in the most obvious way possible that it began to feel like she wanted to write a memoir but her publishers pushed her towards a novel instead. one of the articles written about eartha calls her the “voice of a generation” and the press release i received with this book called given the “voice of gen z” like could we not even change it up a little bit?
4. for a near future dystopian to work i actually need to understand the context of which it is taking place. there are zero descriptions of what wonderland is and what the difference is between social media in 2023 and this new, immersive universe.
5. page 7 contains the quote “they never even had to come out as gay or non-binary - the way they would recline into chairs with their legs wide open did that for them” and i haven’t stopped thinking about it since
6. how is eartha 25 years old and doesn’t know why sapphic women have short nails
7. why are there randomly third person director’s notes at the end of some chapters??? they’re never explained and they serve no purpose
despite all of this i am actually glad i read this book because at least now when my tiktok comments are flooded with florence given’s fans i can say that i was right all along
November 4, 2023
*DNF
i tried a few times but i just couldn't finish this. everything about it is cringey and gives me the ick, idk, i had high hopes for it but it really disappointed me
i tried a few times but i just couldn't finish this. everything about it is cringey and gives me the ick, idk, i had high hopes for it but it really disappointed me
November 4, 2022
Oh no, I really wanted to like this, but I did not.
I'd gone into it wanting a light hearted, funny read, and I was ignoring the twitter hate. Unfortunately I found it amateur and there was zero character development - quite 2 dimensional. I couldn't really tell you the personality of the characters 🤔
If you follow florence online, it just sounds like a fictional version of her life and friends and experiences - maybe it was a cathartic exercise for FG. Would have liked something more imaginative / completely new as a piece of fiction! This could have been intentional but I am not sure it worked for me.
The plot was also questionable imo, the "twist" at the end felt like it was inserted as an afterthought and didn't seem to fit with the first 3/4 of the book... Spelling errors irritated me. Maybe it was rushed out for publication or more suited for a younger audience (what is happening to me)
That been said, least I managed to finish this one, never managed to finish WDOYP as I didn't rate it.
I'd gone into it wanting a light hearted, funny read, and I was ignoring the twitter hate. Unfortunately I found it amateur and there was zero character development - quite 2 dimensional. I couldn't really tell you the personality of the characters 🤔
If you follow florence online, it just sounds like a fictional version of her life and friends and experiences - maybe it was a cathartic exercise for FG. Would have liked something more imaginative / completely new as a piece of fiction! This could have been intentional but I am not sure it worked for me.
The plot was also questionable imo, the "twist" at the end felt like it was inserted as an afterthought and didn't seem to fit with the first 3/4 of the book... Spelling errors irritated me. Maybe it was rushed out for publication or more suited for a younger audience (what is happening to me)
That been said, least I managed to finish this one, never managed to finish WDOYP as I didn't rate it.
August 15, 2022
Although I appreciated the bi representation, it was quite messy and honestly just a bit depressing. I get what it was trying to do, and the issues it attempted to tackle are definitely important ones, but I didn’t feel they were handled as best as they could been at all. After reading this book I didn’t walk away particularly glad I read it if I’m honest, and I probably wouldn’t recommend it
March 10, 2023
The book started off pretty good, despite following binaries. Halfway in everything seemed a bit rushed, thoughts/storylines not completely finished, wishie washie.
Though i still enjoyed the read, it was quick and easy.
Though i still enjoyed the read, it was quick and easy.
August 21, 2022
I can see what Florence Given tried to do with this book but was ultimately left feeling disappointed. Lots of potential, poor execution.
I didn’t like the prose and the frequent use of caps lock but it didn’t bother me too much in the beginning as the first half was quite fun to read. Having followed Florence online for a while, Eartha almost felt biographical to me. Some parts of the book were very relatable and the issues raised are important ones but it is very apparent that this is the work of an author who has previously only written non-fiction.
I wasn’t prepared for how dark and depressing the second half would be. It felt almost entirely separate from the first half and it’s almost like Florence forgot about most of the characters (with the exception of Eartha of course). The ending was very anticlimactic and left many questions unanswered.
Having said that, Girlcrush did keep me engaged until the end - I found it hard to put down.
I didn’t like the prose and the frequent use of caps lock but it didn’t bother me too much in the beginning as the first half was quite fun to read. Having followed Florence online for a while, Eartha almost felt biographical to me. Some parts of the book were very relatable and the issues raised are important ones but it is very apparent that this is the work of an author who has previously only written non-fiction.
I wasn’t prepared for how dark and depressing the second half would be. It felt almost entirely separate from the first half and it’s almost like Florence forgot about most of the characters (with the exception of Eartha of course). The ending was very anticlimactic and left many questions unanswered.
Having said that, Girlcrush did keep me engaged until the end - I found it hard to put down.
August 25, 2022
The best way to describe this novel was that it felt underbaked. The story lacked nuance and context - it talked about Wonderland but didn't explain what it was, or how it worked, just dove in like we were expected to know what it was. It also felt like it was doing too much; it started out as a contemporary fiction that I could vibe with but switched right at the end to something dark. Which would have been fine if it was consistent all the way through, but it wasn't. Characters seemed to take centre stage and then disappear with only a few lines toward the end.
August 7, 2023
Incredibly badly written to the point of it being quite impressive. Over indulgent, cringe, nonsensical and the level of self-insertion is like nothing I’ve seen before. I feel for Florence and all the hate she experienced online, and the emotion and repercussions of that are powerful in this book, but this needed a very strict editor who wasn’t afraid or nervous to hurt an influencer’s feelings, because a LOT would have to be changed and deleted to make this feel like a book that deserved to be published traditionally rather than on Wattpad in 2013
July 13, 2025
I could see what the author was trying to do, but it fell flat.
It was an ‘enjoyable’ read, but WAY too many plotholes and a disappointing ending.
It was an ‘enjoyable’ read, but WAY too many plotholes and a disappointing ending.
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