She Gets the Girl

At the ripe old age of sixteen whole years, I can’t say I’ve read every single book there is to read. I’ve read the standard rite-of-passage-y, coming of age stories, sure. I’ve met everyone from Percy Jackson to Holden Caulfield to Bella Swan, and some spaces in between, and while they’re all relatable in their own special ways, there’s always something holding them back from being my ultimate favorite.This book granted me that one thing.As a teen, there’s a lot of pressure to be exactly who everyone else wants you to be. You’re always comparing yourself to others, despite how different each of you are, and that’s the universal truth. Every teen is a slave to that.Between the hormones and mood swings, between grades and jobs, these expectations and relationships are sometimes the only thing holding us down. We find comfort in that, and as we find out more about ourselves, we begin to realize that we don’t want to be like that, hence why adolescence is regarded as such a rough point in life.For me, that realization came the form of romantic relationships. All of my girl friends are out there dating my boy friends. It took me a while, but I realized that I didn’t want that. I didn’t want a boyfriend. Soon enough, coincidentally through one of my books (thanks, Uncle Rick!), I would be introduced to the concepts of sexuality and different preferences.I began to resent the stories with their heterosexual main characters and heterosexual subplots. The idea they enforced that the only way was… well, straight. I stopped reading for leisure. My storytelling obsession would be occupied by kid’s shows and video games, where things like that would remain more or less ambiguous.So, particularly lonely and slowly getting over an unrequited friendship-turned-crush, I started looking for anything to read that might appeal to my broken little lesbian heart. It was a process, and I came up with a few different titles. If sapphic teen romance novels are few and far between, sapphic books written by sapphic authors are even fewer.Now that I’m done writing an entire novel of my own backstory, here’s what I actually think of the book:When I finally fell upon “She Gets the Girl,” I didn’t have high expectations. Now that I’d found what I’d wanted, I was afraid that it wouldn’t be any good, and that I’d be right where I started my search.And then I was introduced to Alex Blackwood and Molly Parker.Holy shit.Alex appealed to me especially at first. She took the tortured-ness and attachment issues reminiscent of so many male love interests that I’d read, and put them into the sarcastic reality of the female world. Instead of tall, dark and handsome, she was sarcastic, hot and bittersweet.And then there was Molly.Good lord, I wasn’t sure I’d ever find a character like her. Everything from her relationship with her mother, to the rose-tinted glasses with which she saw Cora, to her nervous demeanor and seemingly friendless past. Buried beneath the humor of Molly’s awkwardness was a certain amount of truth to me. Even the dressing-like-a-grandpa comment made by Alex reminded me of an experience with my own friends.TL;DR :“She Gets the Girl” has opened up a whole new world of novels for me. I found it relatable, fulfilling, heartbreaking, heartwarming, and most of all, heartfelt. I’m no literary critic, but I give it five stars. Perfectly paced, excellently executed, and effortlessly entertaining. Satisfying closure in the end, and doesn’t leave you yearning for a sequel.Truly written by people like me, for people like me.Could’ve used an epilogue, though ;)

I love that they both are growing up in such different ways and find an incredibly beautiful friendship. It’s well written and funny, and even though there are real world issues in it, it makes your heart feel light

I’m absolutely in love with this book!!! The descriptions and writing style are hands down one of the best I’ve read to date. There’s plenty of descriptions without being too overdone. The characters are so well written and relatable! As the book goes on you can feel as if you know these characters as real people. Funny, cute, cozy, heartwarming, and just wonderful! This will probably be my favorite read of 2024 and it’s only February 💕

Molly is off to college to chase her dream of being in a relationship with Cora, her high school crush. Alex is seeking a path to a career and security. She is a bit of a player and offers to help Molly get the girl. A wonderful story where they both may get the girl.

All the feels! It's just feel good book about young love. Must read if you love romance and lbgtq+ books

It's worth celebrating the rise of the rom-com novels in LGBTQIAP+ YA novels and the shift away from stories solely focused on trauma; this shows room for a wider variety stories of teens. SHE GETS THE GIRL by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick is a smart romantic comedy with two characters who are richly written. Both Alex and Molly have flaws and room to grow--and their progress is not simple or easy. They both make mistakes, sliding into old behaviors more than once. I especially appreciated the depiction of class through Alex's story. Alex has regarded college as her escape from her alcoholic mother--and ending up like her mother--but now that she's starting her first year, what now? She's still struggling to pay her way while covering expenses for her mother and life isn't easy for Alex. One standout scene is when Alex's friends tell her she shouldn't pursue pre-med, that she should "do what she loves," but this feels impossible to Alex. She needs to make money with her degree; "doing what she loves" is not affordable to her.Even though it becomes quite clear how the book will end, the characters are so engrossing, they manage to make the reading journey enjoyable. I also appreciated that the authors circumvented some cliches and avoided the expected "big moments" of most rom-coms.

I stayed up way too late reading this book.Alex and Molly are polar opposites, except they're not. I described this book as a My Fair Lady type to a friend, and she said she doesn't like it when the Eliza gets with the Higgins, because you should go with the person who gets you slippers instead of the one who makes you get his.This is a story about thinking you want one thing and actually getting another. It's about feeling more comfortable as yourself and about damage. I liked this book a lot.

I really did enjoy this. I think it’s so sweet and cute. I would read it again for a really cute pick-me-up. I would recommend it, but I did find it predictable.

Arrived fast, and the book came in a bubble mailer and wasn’t damaged. The book itself is really great! It a perfect addition to my bookshelf and I loved reading the story. I’ll be rereading this for sure. Loved it!

Sou apaixonada nessa história, simplesmente muito boa, se vc ta em duvida se compra ou não eu recomendo que compre, o preço é bom e é uma história incrível, muito boa pra quem quer ler um romance sáfico leve e slow burn que foca bastante do desenvolvimento pessoal dos personagens

El libro es bellísimo, cuidaron muchos detalles en la portada y estética del libro. Llegó sin ningún golpe, doblez o rasguño, así que 10/10

Amazing book loved it

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce roman très frais mais qui sait être touchant également, je ne suis pourtant pas romance de base mais celui ci m'a conquis