Thank you so much for the chance to read Graffiti Girls early. Was a decent read, struggled in the beginning, but eneded up loving it!

Graffiti Girls by Elissa Soave is a novel that combines two of my favourite tropes. Friendship and Coming of Age. When a novel has these features it becomes like cat nip to me. Graffiti Girls did not disappoint.

Following the lives of four friends into an adulthood that none of them imagined we watch the four protagonists – Amy, Carole, Lenore and Susan – try to find themselves in a patriarchal society. Through cloak and dagger campaigning these women reflect of the cards that they have been dealt in life and decide to set out their own paths for the future.

Like a modern day First Wives Club you cannot help but root for these for women and hope that the men that wronged them get their comeuppance.

An absolutely great story if you love books which feature strong female friendships.

Graffiti Girls by Ellisa Soave is available now.

4 high school friends now navigating life in their 40s all have had enough with how; as women, they have been treated all their lives and their feminine rage is at the top of the charts.

I truly loved the activism and deepening their friendship by trying to raise awareness as a collective. There were several moments with comments through-out the book that felt slightly like radical feminism but I trusted Elissa Soave in their story telling and overall enjoyed the general consensus of the story.

Adored the girl/womanhood and the continuous efforts of women supporting women. Elissa’s writing was wonderful as well, I’d definitely recommend this and will look forward to reading Elissa’s other title “Ginger & Me”

Semi enjoyed this story of 4 women of a certain age, and how they feel overlooked and over worked and lots of other overs as well.
While it's enjoyable it feels a little outdated, even the issues that are totally relevant feel a bit rushed and not fully recognised.
Very mixed feelings as you can see. Enjoyed the friendship of the women but too many issues raised and unresolved.
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review

Graffiti Girls is a warm, quietly empowering novel that balances a feel-good tone with important themes of feminism, women’s voices, and the right to be heard. Elissa Soave creates a cast of relatable, resilient women whose lives intersect in meaningful and often surprising ways. The story captures everyday moments with honesty and humour, allowing space for serious undertones without becoming heavy-handed.

What makes this book stand out is how it celebrates the strength in ordinary women – their friendships, their struggles, and their refusal to be silenced. There’s a gentle but firm message about ownership of space, identity, and voice, all wrapped up in a pacey, enjoyable read.

It’s not revolutionary, but it doesn’t need to be. Graffiti Girls is a satisfying, empowering novel with heart – perfect for readers looking for something light yet thoughtful

This is a vibrant and empowering novel that bursts with feminist spirit and the enduring power of female friendship. The story follows Amy, Susan, Carole, and Lenore, four women in their forties who have been best friends since their school days. Feeling overlooked and undervalued as they navigate midlife, they decide to take a stand against everyday sexism and ageism by launching a匿名 "graffiti" campaign in their Scottish hometown.

As a woman of a certain age I felt the message behind the book of becoming invisible and not being listened. I'm not sure I'd take to graffiti but loved the courage of them to go after what they wanted and believed in.

I enjoyed this book. It is a about 4 women who have had difficulty in life on general particularly with they way women are perceived.

The woman are in their 40's and as woman in my forties i felt the y came across as older at first (until it was mentioned)

The book takes a while for something to happen and to be honest not a lot happens regarding "graffiti girls" but we are told abput other aspects of life. Anyway, Iit wasn't my favourite but Ienjoyed it.

* Mini spoiler * there may be a part some people need a trigger warning for, although it doesn't continue.

Graffiti Girls- wow! Such inspiring, motivational read for all the women to reflect on their lives and place within society. As much a I do not condone vandalism, the message that women have worth, needs to be somehow carried across.

Amy, Carole, Lenore and Susan have been friends since school. All of them follow a different trajectory in life but they still meet regularly. Being fed up with the way they are treated in society, they decide to take a stand by covering the town with graffiti xpressing women's rights. Months later, they all learn from this and their lives change for the better. Great read and the audiobook was amazing with the authentic Scottish accent. Thank you @Netgalley and @Harpercollins for introducing me to Elissa Soave.

It's almost scary how much I can relate to this book as a woman over 40. I felt like I was reading about my own friend group the whole time. Graffiti Girls almost had that bildungsroman vibe that I love, except that the characters were coming of age into a new chapter of life as adult women rather than teens. Soave did a great job of capturing that feminist rage that permeates women who have been giving it their all, placed their dreams aside for the good for the family, and have been left with nothing but frustration after years of being taken for granted. I passed this book along to my girl friends as soon as I finished.

I thoroughly enjoyed Graffiti Girls, especially as I'm a woman of a certain age and could relate to the characters so well.

Amy, Lenore, Carole and Susan have been friends since their school days. Now in their forties, they're living very different lives, but all experiencing some level of dissatisfaction, whether it be at work or in their personal lives.

Amy has always been the most outspoken of the group and she has an idea. A way to vent their frustrations.

And so the graffiti girls start their campaign of spray painting slogans onto buildings around their town. It gets people talking and overhearing snippets of conversation, they realise they have started a movement.

But it has a more profound effect on them personally. They let go of their hangups and find a new sense of confidence and self-belief. They call out inequalities at work and at home and find their too long silenced voices.

Uplifting, empowering and most certainly feel good, Graffiti Girls is a reminder to stop making yourself small and to live boldly and unapologetically.

I went in to this book thinking it would be similar to the writings of Kirsten Miller. It’s perhaps a bit unfair to already hold expectations, particularly with a new author, but I think this was what drew me to the story in the first place. However, I struggled to engage with the narrative and didn’t warm to the writing style.

Rather than chapters, this is divided into parts and they are all very long! This doesn’t help when you want to reach a natural narrative break. Furthermore, there are flashbacks within the chapters and I thought this could have easily created their own sections. Instead, each part felt a bit never-ending and I was frustrated by this structure.

I thought the first half of the book moved quite slowly and then I became familiar with the format as the Graffiti Girls all have an axe to grind. This book is all about female suppression and Lenore, Susan, Amy and Carole have all found themselves recently wronged by the other sex. Unable to vent their frustrations and feeling their voices are silenced, the four women turn to spray painting significant buildings in the area, showing that women will not be dominated any more. As such, each part starts by introducing the character’s current circumstances (usually with a fair amount of unnecessary padding), followed by a flashback to their past, concluding with the act of vandalism. This made the story too predictable for my liking.

Not only this, it seems like all the good guys have gone in this story! I feel like this is hyperbolic, but I was frustrated by how one-sided this made Soave’s narrative. I don’t wish to believe we live in a society where all men are misogynistic rats and the decent ones are so few and far between, you rarely find them. I would have preferred Soave to have re-addressed this because, perhaps naively, I think this story gives men a bad reputation. Yes, I completely agree in equality in the workplace and in the home, but what about those examples of good behaviours?

As a result, I thought the book a bit of a downer that lacked optimism. Yes, the characters themselves evolve and they admit that their law-breaking has actually changed the way they view life. In this sense, I really enjoyed watching them move from the underdog to strong, more independent women. However, the memories that resurface and the repeated references to how men have stopped their opportunities meant I thought this was more dominant than the positive messages in the novel.

Overall, I liked the feisty nature of the women and how they grow to stand up for themselves. There are some sensitive subjects addressed in this story that feed in to the characters but I would have preferred if the author had portrayed a more balanced society to show that not all men should be the enemy.

With thanks to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book and loved the characters. It was unexpectedly funny but with an important message. I love the real town feel of the friendship and daily life. How many of our friends might have similar traumas in their younger lives, hidden in shame and suffered alone. Elissa Soave has managed to introduce serious issues in a non-contrived and meaningful way to give a fun read with a bit of lighthearted rom-com and a serious message. Four sound stars from me

A novel that takes midlife challenges as its launchpad is a brave one – and one you open the pages to Graffiti Girls, you soon realise that you are in for a treat, as this is a highly engaging and captivating read. We have not one, but four main characters by the names of Amy, Carole, Lenore and Susan who have been friends since school and are now solidly in their forties, juggling family life and careers that have gone stale, negotiating the gossip that is rife in their small Scottish town, and combatting the physical challenges of getting older. They soon decide to take charge of their lives again – but what will the consequences of their undercover rebellion be? This novel is bold, humorous and truthful all at the same time – highly recommended! My thanks go to NetGalley and to the publishers as the digital ARC I was gifted allowed me to read Grafitti Girls and to compose this unbiased review.

When friends will do anything for you
—
It’s said that your best friends will drop whatever they’re doing and help you, no matter what it is: moving house, taking you to hospital, moving a dead body… In Soave’s uplifting ode to female friendship, Amy, Lenore, Susan and Carole keep finding their lives out of step with their hopes and dreams, until one day Amy’s had enough, and she suggests that they take some radical action and, as the title suggests, show the world that they matter, that their voices need to be heard, and all through the medium of graffiti. As they find new targets for their ire, they also find that life can get better, but that you have to speak up for yourself.

There was a moment when I thought that the book would take off, but it stays firmly rooted in the relationships between these four friends, which is not a bad place to be; a lost chance but the book explores their relationships thoroughly, and everyone gets a happy ending. I never felt that its setting was important which is a shame as it could have demonstrated a stark contrast between a benign (or even humdrum) place and the shock of graffiti, but that’s just a garnish to a book that would make a great book club read.

Sorry , this book is not really for me. I did like the female friendship aspect. These women have an ongoing friendship from their schooldays despite being totally different types. Where I did have problems with, is the attitudes towardsthe women in the book, which is the point to some extent. It does however, feel very old fashioned here and some of the friends seem to be the source of the problems (not involving the men in childcare, doing everything for a teenager) . I also wasn't convinced about their solution.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARc

This is a pleasant story of four friends who fed up to be abused and belittled by men decide to exact revenge by spraying graffiti on the buildings of the people who have wronged them.

Lacks some humph hence the 3 stars, but it’s pleasant enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for letting me review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Best friends since school and now in their forties, Amy, Lenore, Susan and Carole are all feeling a bit fed up with their lives. Their big dreams haven’t quite turned out as planned and there seems to be one common element that has stood in the way - men. When they decide to take matters into their own hands and make a statement to the community, the Graffiti Girls are born. This is a story of strong female friendships, family dynamics and a big call out for women everywhere to believe in themselves and stand up to the powers that be. A lighthearted, uplifting read with some lovely characters that get its message across in an original way.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review.

Really enjoyed this book and the story it shared. The dynamics of friendship with the highs and the lows plus where they want to put things to right!

I loved this book. It’s totally different from other books, and I love that it’s set in Scotland with realistic Scottish women who are the best of friends.

The friendship between the four girls is at the heart of of this novel and they go on a rather unconventional way about finding themselves and getting to a happy place. The title may be a clue how they get there. But you need to read it to find out what they do. You’ll be cheering for them all the way.