Book Review: She Gets The Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

‘She Gets The Girl’ is a novel co-written by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott and was published in 2022. It follows two girls, Alex and Molly, in their first month of college. Despite being in the same classes, Alex and Molly are worlds apart, and when they meet at a house party on their first day, both make an impression.

Alex Blackwood hasn’t had an easy life, with her dad out of the picture, and her mum an alcoholic, leaving for college is both the escape she’s been dreaming of, and her worst nightmare. Her girlfriend of five months, Natalie, breaks up with her, declaring Alex is full of shit and can’t commit to her while she and her band the Cereal Killers tour, and Alex attends university in Pittsburgh. In a bid to prove herself, and win back Natalie’s love, Alex declares she will turn over a new leaf, plant roots, make friends and will not cheat on her girlfriend, no matter how many girls flirt with her. No, she only has eyes for Natalie.

Molly Parker is attending her local university with a sizeable chunk of her High School cohort, and like Alex, is determined to make a change, and attempt to improve her immense social anxiety, and act on her hopeless four-year crush on her former classmate, Cora Myers. After being saddled with a single room, significantly dashing her romanticised version of college, where she and her roommate become inseparable, Molly’s not sure what to do. Can she really be a new and improved version of herself if she’s trapped in the same habits that meant she pined over Cora for four years? After some encouraging words from her parents, and older brother, Molly goes to her first college party and meets Alex, who is conveniently hanging out with Cora. And after being humiliated in a game of never have I ever, she is desperate to prove herself to Cora as someone worth considering.

But what if the girls that they want aren’t the girls they deserve?

I loved this book, it was incredibly fun, and sweet, blending the obligatory university moments with greater, vaster scope of vulnerability. The desperate need to provide for your family, despite your distance, and the worries that burrow their way into Alex’s mind with every passing day echo how despite her confidence and bravado, she is just as scared as everyone else, just not necessarily about the same things. Meanwhile, Molly is navigating a world of anxiety, but also escaping her mother’s internalised racism, and slowly learning titbits about her culture. And in both instances, their new-found friend is there to support them.

Alex and Molly are a great example of the friends-to-lovers trope on a speed-run. Despite the general consensus of friends-to-lovers seeming to look at people who have been stifling romantic feelings for their friends for years, Alex and Molly end up spending an exceptional amount of time together in and out of class. Their friendship provides a stable foundation for a romance to blossom. Furthermore, I found it incredibly squeal-worthy to see when Alex and Molly are with their dream girls, neither is happy – never as happy as they were when they were together. I loved it! It was so rewarding!

I think Molly and Alex are a great example of a pair that level each other out – despite both liking security and control, Alex is more spontaneous, and wants to push herself out of her comfort zone, and does it with relative ease. Meanwhile, Molly provides the stability and security, the comfort and encouragement when Alex is feeling vulnerable or fragile – like encouraging her to change her major from pre-med, especially since she couldn’t handle the bloody mess of a college rugby match, to English, where she clearly knows her stuff, and has a passion for the subject.

I loved reading about how Molly envies Alex’s confidence, while Alex envies the relationship Molly has with her mother, despite its turbulent nature. One of my favourite scenes was when Molly’s mother went to pay for Molly’s clothes at the mall, and came back with the clothes Alex tried on, too, having bought them too. It was such a lovely moment, and one I keep thinking back upon, especially since it juxtaposes so clearly with how she is when she meets Cora for the first time.

I also adored the relationship Alex forges with her boss at the food truck, Jim. Jim is a figure that Alex idealises, not because of his attitude, but because he is the pinnacle of what she wants her mum to achieve: sobriety, decades on the wagon, and being able to reflect on his past and offer Alex a kind hand when she’s struggling. He acts as a surrogate parental figure to her, and their relationship is so lovely!

Although I’d argue the ending from Molly’s point of view could be considered rushed, because the narration goes from being deeper and observant, to quick overviews of the days she spends with Cora, that it speeds you toward the dramatic ending we all know is coming. Despite my saying that, it is only a small qualm with a lovely story.

I really enjoyed this book! It was an easy read to cruise through and had the rewarding ending that everyone anticipates. Yes, it conformed to tropes for the romance genre, a genre that is still incredibly cis-het, but they’re tropes because they’re good, and there isn’t even a fraction of the queer literature to consider this book overly tropey. It was just so fun! I’d definitely recommend it.