Emma Cline’s THE GUEST meets Haley Jakobson’s OLD ENOUGH in this vibrant and intoxicating queer Jewish coming-of-age debut, set in 1990s San Francisco, about a young woman who finds herself torn between her fraught relationships with her childhood best friend and first love, and with an older lesbian she works for.
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.
But 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 Hannah. And Hannah too is intrigued by Chris—her attention, her messiness, her pain—and the chance to escape the leering men at The Chez Paree. Desperate to stay in San Francisco, but away from the club, Hannah proposes an escort arrangement with Chris.
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 becomes of San Francisco 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.
Praise for GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS:
“Shoshana von Blanckensee has crafted a stunning debut full of heartache and hope. I loved this book.” —Michelle Tea, author of Knocking Myself Up
“Shoshana von Blanckensee’s first novel is luminous, insightful, tender, and hot.” —Andrea Lawlor, recipient of the 2020 Whiting Award for Fiction
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.
Shoshana is represented by Alexandra D’Amico and Amanda Orozco.