What do readers think of Long Island Girls by Gabrielle Korn? Write your own review.

Coming-of-age story spanning two decades about acceptance of sexuality and the tangled nature of first love and later relationships.

Susan is seventeen when the book opens. She’s with her friend, Katie, at an indie concert when she meet Eliza who triggers an awareness of the nature of her sexuality. Fast forward five years when Susan is now in the indie music industry and living in Brooklyn when she sees a very different Eliza again for a fleeting moment in the train. Their next encounter is five years later on Tinder where they match up, experience a weekend of intense pleasure and when Eliza ends things with Susan. This affects Susan greatly and for the next six years her experiences in relationships and career are seriously impacted as she can’t move forward. When they meet again in early COVID, Susan is forced to face her reality - what have they meant to each other these past fifteen years.

This is a character-driven story. I enjoyed the characters especially when Susan interacts with her friends, especially Katie. We see Susan grow and be supported as she navigates the indie music world. When the denouement unfolds with Eliza and Susan finally recognizes that reality is not the same as the fantasy, I sighed - I was just so glad she finally let the illusion go.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this ARC.