Girl Crush Vol. 1 hits like a quiet storm—gentle at first, and then suddenly you’re in deep, pulled under by the weight of emotions you didn’t see coming. It’s raw, personal, and feels a little too real at times—in the best way. This isn’t a polished romance with perfect timing and tidy resolutions. It’s awkward, intense, and honest. It’s everything first love feels like when you’re still figuring out who you are and what you’re allowed to want. I opened this expecting a cute story. I didn’t expect to feel so seen.
At its heart, Girl Crush is about a girl caught between the version of herself she shows the world and the version that’s quietly screaming for air. She’s surrounded by the pressure to conform—to date boys, to fit in, to stay in the lines. But then she shows up—the girl who’s confident, bold, and unapologetically herself. The girl who makes our protagonist question everything she thought she knew. Their connection isn’t loud or dramatic; it’s built in small glances, awkward silences, and moments that feel electric even when no one says a word.
What really hit me was how genuine the emotional landscape is. The shame, the longing, the fear of being different—all of it is written with this heartbreaking sincerity. You’re not just reading about a character coming to terms with who she is—you’re feeling it with her. The confusion and hope tangled together? It’s so well done, and it hits hard if you’ve ever lived it.
Also, to be absolutely clear—yes, this is yuri. This is a love story between two girls. It’s not just implied or subtext. It’s the central heartbeat of the story, and it’s handled with such care and vulnerability. There’s no fetishizing, no shortcuts. Just a slow-burning, deeply emotional exploration of what it means to fall in love with someone you’re not “supposed” to.
By the time I turned the final page, I was already missing it. I loved reading this. It made me ache, smile, and sit in quiet reflection. Girl Crush doesn’t try to be flashy. It doesn’t need to be. It’s real. And in a world that so often tries to sanitize queer love, this one lets it breathe. I can’t wait for Volume 2. I need to see where this goes—where she goes. Because if Volume 1 is any indication, her journey is only just beginning, and I’m 100% along for the ride.
What also struck me was how Girl Crush doesn’t shy away from showing the emotional toll of self-denial. There are moments where the main character tries to force herself back into the mold—tries to convince herself that her feelings are a phase, a mistake, something to be buried. And those moments are some of the hardest to read, because they ring so true. But those moments also make her quiet acts of courage stand out all the more. Every time she chooses honesty over fear, even in the smallest ways, it feels like a victory. A whisper that maybe—just maybe—she’s going to be okay.
And let’s not forget how well the atmosphere is handled. The world feels very real—high school cliques, late-night texts, awkward hallway run-ins, that feeling of being alone even when surrounded by people. The mundane is where this story thrives. There’s no need for dramatic declarations or magical realism. Just two girls, figuring out how they feel in a world that hasn’t made space for their kind of love yet. Girl Crush Vol. 1 doesn’t just tell a story—it captures an experience. And I’m all in for wherever it takes us next.
English