Like so many other sapphics, the Girls Like Girls music video means a lot to me. While I was starting to question if I liked girls, the Girls Like Girls music video popped up in my YouTube recommendations. It really resonated with me. At this point I believe the only sapphic representation I had ever seen was Susan and Carol in Friends and Dorothy and Ruby kissing on Once Upon a Time. I kept coming back to it. It was the first time I saw a project devoted to a sapphic narrative. The likes and comments were my first glimpse into the sapphic community and how large it is. (Fun fact: Stefanie Scott, who plays Coley, is still my celebrity crush.) 

When I found out Girls Like Girls was being turned into a novel, I was thrilled, but I was also a bit nervous. I’ve read my share of celebrity memoirs, and the writing is usually not great, to say the least. Unfortunately, those nerves were justified. I loved the story this book told, but it was so poorly written. I had a difficult time viewing Coley and Sonia from the music video and Coley and Sonia from the book as the same people. The music video felt more mature. The acting and cinematography were great, and while it’s appropriate for a younger audience, no one would see an adult watching it and judge them or say “that’s for kids.” The book, on the other hand, felt like a Disney Channel original movie. Sure, they smoke and curse and talk about sex, but their dialogue is cartoonish and juvenile. The writing took the beautiful story from the music video and made it feel like just another corny high school drama. 

I did love learning more about these characters and I am glad to have a full story about them. I know that Hayley Kiyoko has been wanting for years to make a Girls Like Girls movie, and I really hope she does. If the music video is any indication, she is an incredibly talented director, and I would absolutely love to see this story portrayed in a medium where Hayley can do it justice.