Girls Girls Girls

By: Shoshana von Blanckensee

Narrated by: Rachel F. Hirsch, Shoshana von Blanckensee

"Girls Girls Girls floored me. . . . It's completely extraordinary."—Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich

A vibrant queer Jewish debut "teeming with heart, angst, love, and self discovery" (Emily Austin) about a young woman who, caught between the expectations of others and her own evolving desires, is forced to make a series of fraught, life-altering decisions.

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.

©2025 Shoshana von Blanckensee (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of Debutiful's Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2025

One of LGBTQ Reads's Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Books of 2025

"With heartfelt introspection and refreshing self discovery, . . .von Blanckensee’s fast-paced debut sensitively portrays how the process of showing one’s authentic self is a return home. Readers may be taken by the novel’s exploration of what it means to '[b]egin and end. Then begin again.'"—Booklist

"von Blanckensee deftly explores Judaism, addiction, grief, queer desire, found families, generational trauma, and cultivating the courage to be yourself. This debut is a beautiful portrait of being young, queer, and free (or "frei," as Bubbe would say). Though steeped in nostalgia, this coming-of-age debut is timeless."—Kirkus Reviews

"[A] propulsive debut. . . .von Blanckensee pulls the reader in with this voice-driven and heartfelt narrative, and adds texture with gritty details of 1990s San Francisco. This delivers the goods."—Publishers Weekly