The Girls Will Be Okay (out now)

Seventeen-year-old Solveig has life figured out. She’s mostly recovered from her mother’s death three years ago, she’s an excellent student, she loves her Lutheran church and family, and she’s a straight ally of the queer community—or so she thinks. She and her two best friends, Sarah and Heidi, are even in the same fandom for the first time in years. Senior spring is shaping up to be a wonderful last hurrah, never mind her tension with her middle sister, Berit.

But then Solveig realizes she has a crush on Sarah. 

When Solveig’s obsession with and fear of her own feelings blow up both of her close friendships, her family—including Berit, who’s harboring a queer crush of her own—is the only place Solveig has left to turn. Can Solveig grow up enough to salvage her final semester of high school, or will she stay stuck in the rigid place she’s been since her mother died?

Buy the paperback here or the ebook here!

Praise for The Girls Will Be Okay

“The Girls Will Be Okay is a sweet slice-of-life friends-to-lovers story that fully encapsulates the excitement and trepidation of being on the precipice of adulthood—contending with personal identity, family, friendship, and love. The Girls Will Be Okay will resonate with high school students or those craving the nostalgia of their pre-college days, particularly those who love fandom, fic, and musical theater.” —E.L. Massey, author of Like Real People Do

“A warm and deeply-relatable character-driven story about a queer girl’s journey of self-discovery as she prepares for college.” —Z. R. Ellor, author of May the Best Man Win

“It can feel uncommon for characters to be both religious and liberal, but Peterson has written two leads who are. Solveig’s mother used to be the pastor of their (liberal) Lutheran church, and she was the one who led it to becoming queer-affirming almost two decades before the time the book is set. Solveig herself sings in the children’s choir and helps teach Sunday School, in addition to singing her heart out in church services. Sarah is observant as well, teaching Hebrew school and singing in her synagogue’s children’s choir. Later in the book, she invites Solveig to a seder. Their religious beliefs and their queer identities never come up as a point of conflict, nor should they have to. As someone who was raised ELCA (liberal) Lutheran, I found it refreshing to see religious characters who were like the people in my family.” —Twin Cities Geek

“One of the best things about this story is how smart these girls are. But they are smart in different ways and that comes out in an emotional fight that teaches the three friends a lot about themselves.” —Pioneer Press

“I loved this book from the first sentence. This coming-of-age story follows Solveig’s journey of falling for her best friend, coming out as bisexual, and working through her and her family’s grief over the death of her mother. It also features wonderfully nerdy high school drama (math league, fan fiction, college decisions), and main characters (Lutheran and Jewish) who actually love their religious traditions.” —Pastor Martha Schwehn Bardwell

Book Club Guides for The Girls Will Be Okay

Particularly because of its approach to religion and intergenerational family life, The Girls Will Be Okay lends itself to deep, enriching group discussion. Discussion guides are available here for four different types of groups: secular teen book clubs/class discussions, church youth groups, synagogue youth groups, and groups where parents and teens discuss the book together.