Hello Girls by Brittany Cavallaro and Emily Henry
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis: Best friends are forged by fire. For Winona Olsen and Lucille Pryce, that fire happened the night they met outside the police station—both deciding whether to turn their families in.
Winona has been starving for life in the seemingly perfect home that she shares with her seemingly perfect father, celebrity weatherman Stormy Olsen. No one knows that he locks the pantry door to control her eating and leaves bruises where no one can see them.
Lucille has been suffocating beneath the needs of her mother and her drug-dealing brother, wondering if there’s more out there for her than disappearing waitress tips and generations of barely getting by.
One harrowing night, Winona and Lucille realize they can’t wait until graduation to start their new lives. They need out. Now. All they need is three grand, fast. And really, a stolen convertible to take them from Michigan to Las Vegas can’t hurt.
My Thoughts
I read this books in starts and stops. It took me about a week to read the first half, but I blew through the last in one sitting. I'm honestly not sure if this is because of the pacing of the novel or because of how hectic my schedule is right now. Overall, I really enjoyed it! I loved Lucille and Winona's relationship and watching them develop over their journey was very fun.
My biggest complaint, however, has to do with their friendship. It's not a huge deal, and I think for the most part it's handled pretty well, but I felt like there was a tiny bit of queer baiting with the two of them. It would be one thing if they weren't very, obviously in love with one another (staring at each other as they sleep, waxing poetic about one another's hair) but they are and so I was very disappointed by the lack of a conclusion (or really any development) in that arc. I wanted just a bit more to happen between them, but they never address their feelings.
Other than that, I felt like their relationship was very healthy (though it was obviously born out of some terrible circumstances) and their adventure was awesome. I'm a sucker for road trip novels, and morally gray protagonists and this really scratched both of those itches.
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone looking for their next quick, fun read!
Have any of you guys read Hello Girls? What did you think?