This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

Three girls. One band. One last chance to find their way back to each other.

This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow is a heartfelt YA contemporary novel about friendship, first love, music, and rebuilding the relationships that once meant everything.

Dia, Jules, and Hanna used to be inseparable. Together, they formed a band and dreamed of making music long after high school. But life—and a painful falling-out—pulled them apart. Now their friendship is fractured, the band is over, and each girl is dealing with struggles of her own.

When a music competition offers them an opportunity too good to ignore, the three former best friends consider getting the band back together. But making music again means confronting everything that happened between them—and figuring out whether the connection they once shared can survive who they have become.

Warm, emotional, and beautifully character-driven, This Is What It Feels Like explores the complicated ways friendships change, the courage it takes to begin again, and the different kinds of love that can shape our lives.

Perfect for readers who love: YA contemporary fiction, female friendship, music and bands, second chances, LGBTQ+ representation, complicated relationships, and emotional coming-of-age stories.