Most YA novels have a pretty big focus on romance, and believe me, I understand why. The teen years are a time when having crushes on people and falling in love is top of mind. However, Girls of July is different in a way that was really refreshing to me.

Girls of July is about four girls who are all very different, but who all end up spending the month of July in a cabin in the Adirondack Mountains. Spider wants to stay there for the summer with her grandma Ruth, but the only way they can do it is if they get some other girls to rent out rooms for the month of July. That’s where Britta, drama queen, Meredith, girl with a perfect GPA, and Kate, a soon-to-be debutante, come in. Britta finds the ad for the cabin online, and suggests that Meredith come with her to get in some relaxation time, even though they barely know each other. Kate’s father finds the ad online and suggests it to her as a way to get her out of their small town before a political scandal will make him and their family fodder for gossip. And Spider has an autoimmune disorder called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which she’s trying to hide.

They all have secrets, but over the course of the summer, they’ll get closer that they ever thought was possible. If you’re looking for a great book about a group of girls finding out who they are and developing bonds that will last a lifetime, then I highly recommend you pick up Girls of July. Whether you read it in the month of July, during the summer, or the coldest days of winter, it’ll warm your heart to the value of girls and female friendships.