Girlcrush: The #1 Sunday Times Bestseller

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Eartha finds fame online on Wonder Land, a social media app where users can create an online persona that represents their dream self, but she soon realises that being a viral sensation isn't as glamorous and exciting as it first seems. In 2018, she launched a petition to cancel Netflix's controversial fat-shaming series 'Insatiable', it gained over 300,000 signatures in a matter of days. The story became global news and she appeared on many news networks across the US and UK, as well as being interviewed for various publications including Huffington Post and Grazia. So it's no surprise there's plenty of hype around her debut novel Girlcrush, published on the 9 August and set to be one of the best books of 2022. Girlcrush tells the story of Eartha, who embarks on a journey of sexual exploration as an openly bisexual woman who becomes embroiled in a dangerous online world.

Some of the things I liked about this book were the discussions about the internet and the complexities of being bisexual, even within the very lgbtqia+ community, as the character describes either feeling like people judge her for being too gay or not gay enough. The distance between her online and offline self grows further and further apart until something dark happens that leads her into total self-destruction, forcing Eartha to make a choice; which version of herself should she kill off? Reid, Madeline (30 November 2018). "Class of 2019: Get to Know the Year's Rising Stars". PHOENIX Magazine . Retrieved 28 January 2020. Also, as someone who has gone viral on the internet many times myself, the statistics in this book are all wrong. Why does Eartha get sooooo many followers overnight in comparison to how many views and likes she gets on her video. It’s completely out of proportion and in reality, if anyone posted a sloppy drunken video being like “I hate men, I think I’m gay”, it would just be scrolled past. It isn’t inspirational, it’s normal, and wouldn’t garner anywhere near as much attention as Florence claims it would in this book. This author has tried to do something pretty wonderful; use their voice to promote feminism, queerness, bisexuality and show us that social media is detrimental to our health and well-being… and that the world is still controlled by men.This was my first Florence Given book. And it was amazing. I absolutely loved it. Our main character Eartha is in an unhappy relationship with a guy. At the beginning of the book she's learning more and more about her sexuality. Her best friend Rose (aka a legend) helps and supports her and is hands down my favorite character in this book. However the main part of the book is centered around Wonderland. It's a fictional social media platform in the book which is a bit similar to insta (but not quite). For some reason Eartha goes viral on that platform and we follow her on this new journey. The plot was also questionable imo, the "twist" at the end felt like it was inserted as an afterthought and didn't seem to fit with the first 3/4 of the book... Spelling errors irritated me. Maybe it was rushed out for publication or more suited for a younger audience (what is happening to me) Basically, Florence uses the “F” slur far too comfortably throughout the novel, when it wasn’t ever a word for queer women to reclaim. Phrases like “d**e daddy” and “a random butch in leather” have pissed people off, too. The general consensus seems to be that Florence – a bisexual woman – has massively reduced her lesbian characters down to stereotypes.

Young, Sarah (10 December 2020). "Chidera Eggerue accuses Florence Given of 'copying' her book: 'This is exactly how white supremacy works' ". The Independent . Retrieved 20 December 2020. Touted as a modern retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, the book focuses on Eartha's internal struggle finding her true self, and makes for a dark and thrilling read you won't be able to put down. British Podcast Awards 2022 – full winners list announced". Radio Today. 23 July 2022 . Retrieved 19 December 2022.This is not the queer affirming book it claims to be. This is a book doused in queer stereotypes and harmful language. As a bisexual woman I found it littered with biphobia and severe problems around identity, femininity, masculinity and many issues catered towards our non binary siblings too. My pussy opens up like a rosebud at the sensation of her touch.” Sorry, but this is a REAL line from the book. It sounds like a 30-year-old man trying to sext like a poet. Erst im Juni habe ich mein erstes Buch der Autorin gelesen, die dafür ja auch sehr gehyped wurde: "Frauen schulden dir gar nichts." "Girlcrush" wiederum hat online weniger Aufmerksamkeit bekommen. Das hängt wahrscheinlich unter anderem mit dem Genrewechsel zusammen, zumindest ist das meine Theorie. "Girlcrush" ist nämlich kein Sachbuch bzw. Ratgeber, sondern ein Roman. Und noch dazu nicht unbedingt der einfachste Roman, den ich je gelesen habe. Was jetzt für mich nicht unbedingt etwas Negatives ist, ist halt einfach nicht mehr für alle Menschen einfach so zugänglich.