Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko is about a young girl who is sent to live with her father who had abandoned her at a young age. Seventeen-year-old Coley finds herself alone again after she loses her mother. She moves to rural Oregon to live with her father who abandoned her mother and her when Coley was young.
Coley is afraid to let anyone into her heart. However, when she crosses paths with Sonya, Coley feels immediately attracted to her. She worries that she isn’t worthy of being loved, as everyone she has ever cared about has left her. Coley is also afraid that Sonya might not be into her since Sonya has never been with a girl before. As Coley and Sonya spend more time together, Coley does feel a certain level of attraction from Sonya, but also feels hesitation from Sonya. Will Coley be able to open up her heart and love again, or will Sonya leave her like everyone else in her life has so far?
The book was an okay and straightforward read. There were no unexpected twists or turns. Both Coley and Sonya are two complicated characters who are desperate to feel and be in love but have different hangups when it comes to love. Coley is fragile and afraid to open up herself to love again while Sonya is afraid of being “different” and disappointing people she cares about. It was heartbreaking at times, watching two characters who seemed to love each other hurt each other and themselves in the process.
The book takes place in the early 2000s. It is told by alternating point of views but also includes snippets of LiveJournal and AIM conversations. I did enjoy reading the AIM conversations as it was very nostalgic. I felt after a while the LifeJournal entries were repetitive and didn’t really progress the story, especially towards the end. I wanted more closure after their fight and more narrative of what happened after that. If you like cozy queer romances or are a fan of Hayley Kiyoko then you might enjoy this book.
