Girls Girls Girls

A PANTS POD BOOK CLUB PICK

One of ELLE's Best Queer Books of 2025

"Jam-packed with queer angst and queer joy . . . and a truly incredible amount of heart. I devoured this novel." --Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Stop Me If You've Heard This One

"A teary-eyed love letter to the San Francisco that remains and to its establishments that are long-gone. But above all [Girls Girls Girls] tenderly tells the story of a vulnerable young queer person in an unfamiliar place, just trying to create a new version of home." --San Francisco Chronicle

It's the summer of '96 and best friends (and secret girlfriends) Hannah and Sam are driving across the country from Long Beach, New York, to the fabled queer paradise of San Francisco, free from the harsh gazes of their neighbors and the stifling demands of Hannah's devout Orthodox Jewish mother. In San Francisco, they will finally be together as a real couple, out in the open, around other queer people . . . even if the move means leaving behind Hannah's beloved Bubbe.

When the financial strains of West Coast living push the girls to start stripping at The Chez Paree--yet another secret Hannah must keep from her family--Hannah feels trapped. Sam wants her at the club, but Hannah hates stripping nearly as much as she hates disappointing Sam. Then Hannah meets Chris, an older butch lesbian, who is immediately taken with her. Desperate to stay in San Francisco and away from the leering men at the club, Hannah proposes an escort arrangement.

But as Hannah falls deeper into Chris' world and Sam starts to meet new queer friends, a rift forms between them. Without Sam, who is Hannah? And what does San Francisco mean to Hannah alone--a space rich with queer possibility or an intimidating, unfamiliar place just as lonely as the one she'd left behind? An achingly tender and resonant story of survival, first love, and growing up queer in the '90s, Girls Girls Girls is a piercing exploration of the choices we make in the thrilling and often confounding search for ourselves and home.

Author: Shoshana Von Blanckensee
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Published: 06/17/2025
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.30w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9780593718445


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/21/2025
Booklist 05/01/2025 pg. 27
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2025

About the Author
Shoshana von Blanckensee lives in Berkeley, California, with her partner and kids. She is an Oncology Nurse by day, and a writer by any available moment. Girls Girls Girls is her debut novel.