March 2026 – Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

In honour of Edmonton post-secondary institutions celebrating Pride Weeks this month, I thought we’d kick off BookSmack’s first Book of the Month with a sapphic bestseller! 🏳️‍🌈

For those familiar with Hayley Kiyoko (aka Lesbian Jesus), you have probably heard the title before. 10 years ago, Hayley released the “Girls Like Girls” music video, which has continued to gain popularity. As powerful as the lyrics and music are, it’s the video’s earnest display of young sapphic love that continues to reach the hearts of viewers.

8 years later, Kiyoko took the music video’s script and turned it into a full-length novel. The result is a beautiful, messy, and captivating romance between Coley and Sonya. Beyond the characters’ journey of acceptance and love, Girls Like Girls is also an ode to navigating grief, identity, and self-love – themes that hit home all too well in the current world.

The book is not the most poetic or well-paced of plots, and it at times definitely reads like the YA book it’s marketed as.
That said, it is a short, comfortable read. Most importantly, at its heart, Girls Like Girls is a celebration of queer discovery, love and acceptance – all of which the world needs a lot more of right now.

It’s also going to be a movie soon!

Here is the original music video where it all began:

Which title would be your book of the month?