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I'm the Girl
The new groundbreaking queer thriller from New York Times bestselling and Edgar-award Winning author Courtney Summers.
When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley's older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.
A spiritual successor to the 2018 breakout hit, Sadie, I'm the Girl is a masterfully written, bold, and unflinching account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?
When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley's older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.
A spiritual successor to the 2018 breakout hit, Sadie, I'm the Girl is a masterfully written, bold, and unflinching account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?
344 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2022
About the author
Courtney Summers
14 books7,594 followersCOURTNEY SUMMERS is an uncompromising writer¹ known for a history of risky artistic choices² and pushing boundaries³ with novels that are not for the faint of heart.⁴ She has received over 20 starred reviews and numerous awards and honors, including the Edgar and ITW Thriller Awards.
¹ Quill & Quire ² Kirkus Reviews
³ Shelf Awareness ⁴ The New York Times
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¹ Quill & Quire ² Kirkus Reviews
³ Shelf Awareness ⁴ The New York Times
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,448 reviews
July 15, 2022
Uncomfortable with hard-to-read topics, but beautifully written.
I’m the Girl is about a 16-year-old girl who dreams of escaping poverty and sees her beauty as a way out. When she discovers the body of a 13-year-old girl, she is lured into a world filled with wealth, privilege, and power, at the risk of losing herself.
Narrated solely by Georgie, her character is raw and painfully naive. I didn’t completely like her, but I understood her desire for her dream. She is beautiful and conscious of the power of her beauty, but she doesn’t fully understand her power, nor does she understand desire. Her focus and awareness of her beauty grew redundant and frustrating to read, but at the same time, there is a purpose behind Summer’s focus on this aspect of Georgie’s character.
This is book is one giant trigger warning: with grooming and sexual assault at the forefront. I can’t say I enjoyed reading this, but it is provocative and timely. There is a nod to Sadie, and Georgie is an interesting character. Overall, while this wasn’t a fun reading experience, I am glad I read I'm The Girl.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I’m the Girl is about a 16-year-old girl who dreams of escaping poverty and sees her beauty as a way out. When she discovers the body of a 13-year-old girl, she is lured into a world filled with wealth, privilege, and power, at the risk of losing herself.
Narrated solely by Georgie, her character is raw and painfully naive. I didn’t completely like her, but I understood her desire for her dream. She is beautiful and conscious of the power of her beauty, but she doesn’t fully understand her power, nor does she understand desire. Her focus and awareness of her beauty grew redundant and frustrating to read, but at the same time, there is a purpose behind Summer’s focus on this aspect of Georgie’s character.
This is book is one giant trigger warning: with grooming and sexual assault at the forefront. I can’t say I enjoyed reading this, but it is provocative and timely. There is a nod to Sadie, and Georgie is an interesting character. Overall, while this wasn’t a fun reading experience, I am glad I read I'm The Girl.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
September 25, 2022
Happy book birthday 🥳
This gripping, addictive, riveting cutthroat wild ride makes you numb for hours! You keep giving empty looks, staying speechless as the whirlwind thoughts occupy your mind!
Another bold, depressing story is coming from Courtney Summers hit you like a sucker punch! Her words make you dizzy, disturbed, flabbergasted, shocked!
This book is telling the ugly realistic Aspera world ruling entire town, wrapping law enforcement around its finger. This is the real, bleak, ruthless, vicious world where only money, power and beauty rule!
Georgia Savis wants to be a part of this world by acting her dead mother’s wishes: she wants to be privileged Asperan girl. She wants to be adored. She wants to glow! She wants to feel the pure love!
But her mother’s words keep repeating in her head: “it’s better to know who you are than who you think you’re meant to be.”
Georgia’s life changes when she gets attacked, left in the middle of the road after she’s found 13 years old Ashley James, raped and brutally killed. The same people committed the murder might be her attackers who not only hit her with their car, they also stole her bike, left her unconscious. And she keeps telling the victim’s father Justin James who is the sheriff and her elder sister Nora: she didn’t see the faces of the perpetrators.
She’s lucky enough to be found and taken care by Chloe-Matthew Hayese who perfectly sit on the throne of Aspera Empire, giving Georgia a summer job that help paying the debts after stealing from her brother.
She thinks if she behaves and earns trusts of Hayeses, the sky is the limit.
But there are still unanswered questions out there: who killed Ashley James? Who stole her intimate photos she planned to use for her modeling career? What secrets are hidden behind the closed doors of Aspera?
Georgia is complex, flawed, struggling character who is way too much naive, allured by the pure beauty, lost, loveless, sad, lonely. Only thing she wants to be cherished, loved unconditionally, kissed, held! You get every right to get angry of her obtuseness, naivety. She created a dreamy world in her head and Aspera is the kingdom of the fairytale she’s written. But when the harsh reality collided into her dreams, only thing she is forced to do is waking up from that dreamy world and accept frightening nightmares of her own life!
This book is thought provoking, sad, intriguing!
I loved the bitter ending! Absolutely another heartbreaking, well executed, impeccably written book from Ms. Summers!
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
This gripping, addictive, riveting cutthroat wild ride makes you numb for hours! You keep giving empty looks, staying speechless as the whirlwind thoughts occupy your mind!
Another bold, depressing story is coming from Courtney Summers hit you like a sucker punch! Her words make you dizzy, disturbed, flabbergasted, shocked!
This book is telling the ugly realistic Aspera world ruling entire town, wrapping law enforcement around its finger. This is the real, bleak, ruthless, vicious world where only money, power and beauty rule!
Georgia Savis wants to be a part of this world by acting her dead mother’s wishes: she wants to be privileged Asperan girl. She wants to be adored. She wants to glow! She wants to feel the pure love!
But her mother’s words keep repeating in her head: “it’s better to know who you are than who you think you’re meant to be.”
Georgia’s life changes when she gets attacked, left in the middle of the road after she’s found 13 years old Ashley James, raped and brutally killed. The same people committed the murder might be her attackers who not only hit her with their car, they also stole her bike, left her unconscious. And she keeps telling the victim’s father Justin James who is the sheriff and her elder sister Nora: she didn’t see the faces of the perpetrators.
She’s lucky enough to be found and taken care by Chloe-Matthew Hayese who perfectly sit on the throne of Aspera Empire, giving Georgia a summer job that help paying the debts after stealing from her brother.
She thinks if she behaves and earns trusts of Hayeses, the sky is the limit.
But there are still unanswered questions out there: who killed Ashley James? Who stole her intimate photos she planned to use for her modeling career? What secrets are hidden behind the closed doors of Aspera?
Georgia is complex, flawed, struggling character who is way too much naive, allured by the pure beauty, lost, loveless, sad, lonely. Only thing she wants to be cherished, loved unconditionally, kissed, held! You get every right to get angry of her obtuseness, naivety. She created a dreamy world in her head and Aspera is the kingdom of the fairytale she’s written. But when the harsh reality collided into her dreams, only thing she is forced to do is waking up from that dreamy world and accept frightening nightmares of her own life!
This book is thought provoking, sad, intriguing!
I loved the bitter ending! Absolutely another heartbreaking, well executed, impeccably written book from Ms. Summers!
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
April 24, 2023
i am incontrovertibly vain.
i like to cover up this trait of mine with various charming eccentricities, such as self-deprecating humor, existential ennui, and a general hatred for every single aspect of the universe up to and including Me...but it is there.
how else could i be so present on this website, doing nothing but spouting opinions as the populace cries for mercy?
and so i am able to understand, empathize with, relate to, and using various other synonyms comprehend this book.
i, too, am often so impressed by my own ideas that i forget to do anything at all.
and similarly, i liked what this book was trying to do. if only it didn't spend so much time metaphorically gazing at its own synopsis in the mirror and found time to actually pull it off.
this is, ostensibly, a YA mystery/thriller involving a girl with a dead mom (of course) who begins working at the mysterious (read: literally never described and profoundly unrealistic) glorified country club in her town. it intends to use the whole, you know, plot as a means of commentating on stuff like Feminism and What It Means To Be A Girl and Pretty Privilege (or reverse pretty privilege). also, it's sapphic.
all of this stuff is fun and sounds interesting, but unfortunately we never really get there.
on top of all that, the pacing is just all wrong. part one feels like it should be one third of the book (background! character establishing! etc.!) and instead we're well past the 65% mark by the time we start hitting the big leagues. the plot, the climax, the Significance...all of it just felt off.
bottom line: this feels like the tiktok version of itself. kind of obvious, very self-indulgent, and above all shallow and disappointing.
------------------
currently-reading updates
love to receive an advance copy of a book and then forget i have it until it is no longer advance
(thank you to netgalley for it. and sorry)
------------------
tbr review
if i don't read at least one (1) good thriller this summer i'm going to explode
i like to cover up this trait of mine with various charming eccentricities, such as self-deprecating humor, existential ennui, and a general hatred for every single aspect of the universe up to and including Me...but it is there.
how else could i be so present on this website, doing nothing but spouting opinions as the populace cries for mercy?
and so i am able to understand, empathize with, relate to, and using various other synonyms comprehend this book.
i, too, am often so impressed by my own ideas that i forget to do anything at all.
and similarly, i liked what this book was trying to do. if only it didn't spend so much time metaphorically gazing at its own synopsis in the mirror and found time to actually pull it off.
this is, ostensibly, a YA mystery/thriller involving a girl with a dead mom (of course) who begins working at the mysterious (read: literally never described and profoundly unrealistic) glorified country club in her town. it intends to use the whole, you know, plot as a means of commentating on stuff like Feminism and What It Means To Be A Girl and Pretty Privilege (or reverse pretty privilege). also, it's sapphic.
all of this stuff is fun and sounds interesting, but unfortunately we never really get there.
on top of all that, the pacing is just all wrong. part one feels like it should be one third of the book (background! character establishing! etc.!) and instead we're well past the 65% mark by the time we start hitting the big leagues. the plot, the climax, the Significance...all of it just felt off.
bottom line: this feels like the tiktok version of itself. kind of obvious, very self-indulgent, and above all shallow and disappointing.
------------------
currently-reading updates
love to receive an advance copy of a book and then forget i have it until it is no longer advance
(thank you to netgalley for it. and sorry)
------------------
tbr review
if i don't read at least one (1) good thriller this summer i'm going to explode
September 15, 2022
3.50 Stars. Super impressed by the writing but I wasn’t as wowed by the story as I was hoping to be. Ever since the book Sadie came out, I have been keeping my eye out for a Courtney Summers book to read. I’m not normally big on reading books that have a bunch of trigger warnings, but when a book in some ways mirrors the Jeffrey Epstein case, I’m not surprised it has tough to read subjects like sexual assault, grooming, and physical abuse. In this case I was up for the tough read because not only do I love YA, but because this book was promoted as a ‘queer thriller’ and I’ll say yes to those two words being together just about any time.
I found Summers’ writing style to be pretty unique and I loved it. I don’t know how to explain it any better but to say that she would go from almost explaining a scene, to putting you right into the scene with the characters. I don’t know if there is a technical term for her type of writing, but it’s different and I thought it was great. It took me a minute to get used to it but once I did, I was hooked and it made the book so easy to read even getting passed the awful parts.
While the trigger warnings were not as bad as I expected, they were still tough. One really bothered me and when it started I should have skimmed/skipped and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t. I don’t think Summers’ needed to add as much detail as a little less would have made the point. Anyway, I’m going to mention it encase people want to be able to skim/skip it so just skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know. The main character, who is only 16 and also queer and not interested in guys, is manipulated by the powerful older man character into sex. It was the worst part of the book for me to read, and I think it was supposed to be. But the tough scenes do not end there, I just think because of the details it was the worst. This is YA, but if it can turn my 40 year-old stomach, I would suggest this more for high school age teens or for a younger audience maybe this is the kind of book parents should read/discuss with them.
I don’t know if you would call it a romance, but there is a sapphic relationship between the main character and one of the main-secondary characters, which was one of my favorite parts of the book. Both of these characters have a lot of baggage and wounds that need healing and these common circumstances bring them together. While I would not call it enemies to lovers but more like dislike to like, but watching nothing turn into friendships, that turns into feelings, that turns into something even stronger, I thought was one of the most powerful parts of the book. Eventually, they went beyond a teenage romance because these two need each other to really keep going.
While I talked about what I liked, and some of the tougher parts, that is where it kind of ends for me. As I mentioned above, the words ‘queer thriller’ was a big reason why I read this book. While I was happy about the queer part, the thriller part was really lacking. While there were one or two scenes that had a tiny bit of excitement, that is really it and to say I got any ‘thrills’ would just be a lie. The mystery part had so much potential that I was following it and I had my suspects lined up, but then that just kind of fizzed out. For a book that is so beautifully written, I found the mystery wrap-up to be oddly convoluted and unfortunately a letdown. And to be completely honest, I don’t know if the whole plot of the book every really went anywhere. I don’t know if I really got the whole point of the book except for some scenes that mirror famous rapists like Harvey and Epstein. Had this book come out before #MeToo, I think it would have shocked me to me core (in a good way), but after reading books like She Said and hearing the real accounts of Harvey’s survivors, I don’t think this book gave me the emotional punch I needed to wow me.
TLDR: In the end it was Courtney Summers’ writing that I fell in love with more than the book’s content. I can’t wait to read Sadie as I just want more of her unique and beautiful writing style. While this is a tough book to read trigger warning wise, that was not what didn’t work as well for me. I was prepared for a hard read, it was more that I was missing the thrills that I expected from a thriller and I thought the mystery plot was too convoluted in the end. I did really enjoy the sapphic relationship between the main character and a main- secondary one. It was a dislike to like, friends to something more, and it was so nice to watch something sweet develop in a book that was pretty depressing at times. This was not the wow book I was hoping for, but boy can Courtney Summers write!
An ARC was given to me for an honest review.
I found Summers’ writing style to be pretty unique and I loved it. I don’t know how to explain it any better but to say that she would go from almost explaining a scene, to putting you right into the scene with the characters. I don’t know if there is a technical term for her type of writing, but it’s different and I thought it was great. It took me a minute to get used to it but once I did, I was hooked and it made the book so easy to read even getting passed the awful parts.
While the trigger warnings were not as bad as I expected, they were still tough. One really bothered me and when it started I should have skimmed/skipped and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t. I don’t think Summers’ needed to add as much detail as a little less would have made the point. Anyway, I’m going to mention it encase people want to be able to skim/skip it so just skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know. The main character, who is only 16 and also queer and not interested in guys, is manipulated by the powerful older man character into sex. It was the worst part of the book for me to read, and I think it was supposed to be. But the tough scenes do not end there, I just think because of the details it was the worst. This is YA, but if it can turn my 40 year-old stomach, I would suggest this more for high school age teens or for a younger audience maybe this is the kind of book parents should read/discuss with them.
I don’t know if you would call it a romance, but there is a sapphic relationship between the main character and one of the main-secondary characters, which was one of my favorite parts of the book. Both of these characters have a lot of baggage and wounds that need healing and these common circumstances bring them together. While I would not call it enemies to lovers but more like dislike to like, but watching nothing turn into friendships, that turns into feelings, that turns into something even stronger, I thought was one of the most powerful parts of the book. Eventually, they went beyond a teenage romance because these two need each other to really keep going.
While I talked about what I liked, and some of the tougher parts, that is where it kind of ends for me. As I mentioned above, the words ‘queer thriller’ was a big reason why I read this book. While I was happy about the queer part, the thriller part was really lacking. While there were one or two scenes that had a tiny bit of excitement, that is really it and to say I got any ‘thrills’ would just be a lie. The mystery part had so much potential that I was following it and I had my suspects lined up, but then that just kind of fizzed out. For a book that is so beautifully written, I found the mystery wrap-up to be oddly convoluted and unfortunately a letdown. And to be completely honest, I don’t know if the whole plot of the book every really went anywhere. I don’t know if I really got the whole point of the book except for some scenes that mirror famous rapists like Harvey and Epstein. Had this book come out before #MeToo, I think it would have shocked me to me core (in a good way), but after reading books like She Said and hearing the real accounts of Harvey’s survivors, I don’t think this book gave me the emotional punch I needed to wow me.
TLDR: In the end it was Courtney Summers’ writing that I fell in love with more than the book’s content. I can’t wait to read Sadie as I just want more of her unique and beautiful writing style. While this is a tough book to read trigger warning wise, that was not what didn’t work as well for me. I was prepared for a hard read, it was more that I was missing the thrills that I expected from a thriller and I thought the mystery plot was too convoluted in the end. I did really enjoy the sapphic relationship between the main character and a main- secondary one. It was a dislike to like, friends to something more, and it was so nice to watch something sweet develop in a book that was pretty depressing at times. This was not the wow book I was hoping for, but boy can Courtney Summers write!
An ARC was given to me for an honest review.
February 1, 2024
I can preface this with saying that I am unfamiliar with Courtney Summers as an author. I don't know if this is particularly characteristic of her or not, but this book is bleak... Also I received an ARC via NetGalley.
The book's description is a bit misleading - it made it seem like more of a murder mystery. I wish it had been. Instead what I got was a depressing foray into power and privilege and one girl so desperate to get it that she bypasses all logic. This review is also nothing but SPOILERS. If you choose to look away, I understand.
Georgia Avis is a child of a poor single mother who recently passed of terminal cancer. Her mother worked at this exclusive resort called Aspera which lies on the outskirts of town. Aspera is known for its elite clientele and extravagance. There was some sort of falling out with Georgia's mother and the heads of Aspera near the end of her life. All her life, Georgia's mother tells her that she isn't good enough to work there and that caused some minor malfunction in Georgia's brain where she saw it as a challenge. How she never figured out what was happening to the "Aspera girls" until the end is kind of baffling. She doesn't come across as painfully naive, more willfully ignorant because it fits the narrative she tells herself.
The story is told a little disjointedly. What we come to find out is that she steals 4k from her older brother (who stepped in to raise her after her mother's death) because some guy at a mall tells her she is beautiful and that she could be a model. So she steals the money and goes to a "private photographer" to take some headshots. Well, he convinces her to take nudes. Red flag number 1. She's totally underage. So as she is heading off towards home with her totally inappropriate photos, a car hits her, on purpose. The person gets out, takes her bike and steals her photos. She never sees their face. She eventually gets up to drag herself home and discovers the body of Ashley James, the 13yo daughter of the sheriff. Ashley was drugged and raped and it seems as though the person who tried to run over Georgia is connected, though I'm not quite sure why everyone leaps to that conclusion since the body is discovered en route to Aspera which seems to have a decent number of people coming and going.
The history of Georgia and the James family is complex. her mom knew that the sheriff was on the take for Aspera, so she wanted to keep her daughter away from the family, so when Georgia is 13 and Nora (the older James sister) invites her to a birthday party, Georgia's mom tells Nora to stay away from Georgia. Apparently, Nora had a crush on Georgia and Georgia had reciprocal feelings though she didn't realize them for what they were at the time. So 13 yo Georgia runs off in a tantrum and eventually, she is recovered by Matthew Hayes, the proprietor of Aspera. He tells Georgia that she is beautiful and should come work at Aspera when she gets older. Red flag number 2. Dude is an adult telling his employee's 13 yo daughter that she is beautiful and apparently that's all she needs to come work at Aspera. But does Georgia see it that way? No, because she's dumb. This starts the years of anger and resentment between her and mom. Well, mom obviously knows what goes on at Aspera because she works there (in what capacity is never fully fleshed out - we're told she was a cleaning lady, but that seems pretty weak tbh) so she tries her hardest to keep Georgia from ever wanting to go there. It backfires, because... raising daughters is effin hard.
So after the discovery of Ashley's body, Sheriff James takes to drinking a little too hard and Nora James starts lurking around Georgia, trying to find out what she knows and how much. Nora and Georgia's tenuous friendship eventually develops into a relationship and Georgia starts working at Aspera to repay the 4k she stole from her brother. She starts out working concierge, but what she really wants to do is be an Aspra girl and work on the Executive level tending to some rich a-hole's every need (because apparently in her mind that is the height of what she thinks she can achieve..?) She ends up getting incredibly close to Matthew Hayes and his wife Cleo and Cleo takes her under her wing. Cleo is odd from the get-go. She comes across as very detached, which when we find out her story, I get. But Georgia, who is desperate for a mother figure, sees Cleo as this angel come to set her life right.
Georgia's working, Sheriff James is lurking, Nora is really struggling with the loss of her sister. She goes on the hunt for the killers and finds some pretty damning evidence in regards to where her sister was when she disappeared. Of course, the evidence points to Aspera. But then Nora discovers that her dad was planning on shipping Ashley off to reform camp so she learns that Ashley was probably trying to run away. So she blames her dad for Ashley's death. The sheriff keeps collecting random evidence and showing up drunk and scary so he's painted as a bad guy from the beginning. Again, if Georgia wasn't so self-centered, she probably would have seen it for what it was: a grieving father falling apart trying to solve his daughter's murder. But, no, she sees it as erratic and feels afraid for her life. The interesting thing is, she already inherently understands that he won't face consequences for turning up drunk everywhere and being menacing, so she already understands that law officers are on a different power dynamic. Anyway, the final straw is when he shows up at Georgia's house, vaguely drunk and wounded and babbles about the power structure of the book. Well, he's sitting there with one of Georgia's naked photos. So, everything kind of happens all at once. Georgia draws the conclusion that he was the one who hit her with the car and tries to run to her room (to lock herself in...? What? How is that logical in any way? Running toward her brother's job or hell even a public place makes more sense than that but whatever..) Sheriff James lunges for her (because alcohol inhibits people's logical response) and knocks her out, just as her brother comes slamming in to save the day and the sheriff runs away... and turns up 2 days later dead to an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, a note saying "I'm sorry," and Georgia's missing bike. Georgia goes to his house looking for her dirty pix and instead finds some evidence in the house linking a coworker to Ashley's disappearance.
So the conclusion everyone comes to is that Sheriff James was sexually abusing his youngest daughter, killed her, dropped her in the woods, hit a random teenager with his car, and swerved back to steal her bike and some dirty photos. Nora drops off the face of the earth with this revelation (poor fuckin kid) and Georgia, taking matters into her own hands (so to speak) propositions Matthew Hayes on the hope that she can get promoted to the Executive floor at Aspera. So he has sex with her and (haha) doesn't promote her. Who saw it coming? Everyone who has ever thought sleeping with your boss is a good way to get ahead and followed through.
When everything starts unraveling is when the necklace that Cleo gave Georgia as a gift is revealed to have belonged to Ashley first. Let me make it clear, there are a lot of additional reasons for what is going on, but there's no way I'm going into it. Georgia goes to talk to Cleo and ends up snooping through the Hayes house AGAIN and finds her nude pics in Matthew's nightstand drawer. Gross. So Georgia tries to escape and comes across a half-dead Aspera girl who begs her for help and Georgia just kind of brushes it off and watches as a work colleague takes the poor half-dead girl back up to the Executive floor. She is sent to wait for Matthew to return and basically ends up with him seeing her nudes (that she took from the house) and basically realizes that he was the murderer (kind of.) Apparently, Ashley OD'd in an Executive suite so the Aspera crowd dropped her body in the woods. What was she doing in the ExecutiveSuite you ask? Being drugged and raped. So then Matthew basically rapes Georgia and Cleo comes in to explain that this is what women who are beautiful are doomed to live. As fucktoys of wealthy and privileged men. So Georgia is basically like, "Did my mother work a night like this?" and Cleo says, "Oh every night is like this."
Georgia goes home like nothing happened and her brother finally talks about what happened with their mom (she wanted to go public with some incriminating evidence against Aspera but apparently lacked the will.) And Georgia thinks she might just go back to Aspera to be a rich man's blowup doll. But then Nora turns up and does this whole, "If this is the way the world is, I do not fucking accept it." And that is apparently the other thought that Georgia needed to hear. So she decides not to go back.
That's it. No one faces any consequences. I have three glaring problems with this book.
1. Georgia is supposed to be a lesbian, but for some reason, it's really important for her to be seen as beautiful in the eyes of men. I would get it if she had daddy issues, but there is never anything to indicate that in the least. And initially, I thought it was only handsome men who she cared about, but no, the guy at the mall who called her beautiful is described as a creepy jerk.
2. Georgia's queerness seems like a plot device to be honest. It's the reason why she says she shouldn't be fired for an indiscretion with an Executive member. Because she likes girls, so she wasn't attracted to him, so what she does in that way didn't happen... like, what? That's kind of like people in monogamous relationships saying it's not cheating if it's with a member of the same sex because they are hetero. And that's the reason why Matthew can also take what he needs from her because she's not attracted to him... like, what the fuck kind of backward-ass logic is that?
3. I feel like this book is supposed to be some kind of social commentary on power structure and the fact that the wealthy elite can do what they want and never receive a consequence, but shouldn't a book have something NEW to say in order for it to be commentary? Like at that point there is no commentary, it is simply expository. We know the wealthy elite do what they want, and that police and judicial systems are set up to serve and protect their needs - for heaven's sake, all you have to do is pick up a newspaper. I mean, I get that Cleo and Matthew are supposed to be a thinly veiled Epstein and Maxwell, but again, this book doesn't really tell me anything new or really offer anything other than welp this is how it is and your queerness will not protect you if you are hot and have a vagina. And obviously, it doesn't even stop there - we know that men have also suffered sexual abuse at the hands of powerful and wealthy men. The "call to action" at the end of the book was directionless and vague. If this is the way the world is, do you accept it? What the fuck does that mean? No, I don't fucking accept it, but what should I do? Drop off-grid and be a survivalist? Vote democrat? Lead a riot against Wall Street? Become a serial killer like Aileen Wourhos? There are so many options to fix this problem!
The book's description is a bit misleading - it made it seem like more of a murder mystery. I wish it had been. Instead what I got was a depressing foray into power and privilege and one girl so desperate to get it that she bypasses all logic. This review is also nothing but SPOILERS. If you choose to look away, I understand.
Georgia Avis is a child of a poor single mother who recently passed of terminal cancer. Her mother worked at this exclusive resort called Aspera which lies on the outskirts of town. Aspera is known for its elite clientele and extravagance. There was some sort of falling out with Georgia's mother and the heads of Aspera near the end of her life. All her life, Georgia's mother tells her that she isn't good enough to work there and that caused some minor malfunction in Georgia's brain where she saw it as a challenge. How she never figured out what was happening to the "Aspera girls" until the end is kind of baffling. She doesn't come across as painfully naive, more willfully ignorant because it fits the narrative she tells herself.
The story is told a little disjointedly. What we come to find out is that she steals 4k from her older brother (who stepped in to raise her after her mother's death) because some guy at a mall tells her she is beautiful and that she could be a model. So she steals the money and goes to a "private photographer" to take some headshots. Well, he convinces her to take nudes. Red flag number 1. She's totally underage. So as she is heading off towards home with her totally inappropriate photos, a car hits her, on purpose. The person gets out, takes her bike and steals her photos. She never sees their face. She eventually gets up to drag herself home and discovers the body of Ashley James, the 13yo daughter of the sheriff. Ashley was drugged and raped and it seems as though the person who tried to run over Georgia is connected, though I'm not quite sure why everyone leaps to that conclusion since the body is discovered en route to Aspera which seems to have a decent number of people coming and going.
The history of Georgia and the James family is complex. her mom knew that the sheriff was on the take for Aspera, so she wanted to keep her daughter away from the family, so when Georgia is 13 and Nora (the older James sister) invites her to a birthday party, Georgia's mom tells Nora to stay away from Georgia. Apparently, Nora had a crush on Georgia and Georgia had reciprocal feelings though she didn't realize them for what they were at the time. So 13 yo Georgia runs off in a tantrum and eventually, she is recovered by Matthew Hayes, the proprietor of Aspera. He tells Georgia that she is beautiful and should come work at Aspera when she gets older. Red flag number 2. Dude is an adult telling his employee's 13 yo daughter that she is beautiful and apparently that's all she needs to come work at Aspera. But does Georgia see it that way? No, because she's dumb. This starts the years of anger and resentment between her and mom. Well, mom obviously knows what goes on at Aspera because she works there (in what capacity is never fully fleshed out - we're told she was a cleaning lady, but that seems pretty weak tbh) so she tries her hardest to keep Georgia from ever wanting to go there. It backfires, because... raising daughters is effin hard.
So after the discovery of Ashley's body, Sheriff James takes to drinking a little too hard and Nora James starts lurking around Georgia, trying to find out what she knows and how much. Nora and Georgia's tenuous friendship eventually develops into a relationship and Georgia starts working at Aspera to repay the 4k she stole from her brother. She starts out working concierge, but what she really wants to do is be an Aspra girl and work on the Executive level tending to some rich a-hole's every need (because apparently in her mind that is the height of what she thinks she can achieve..?) She ends up getting incredibly close to Matthew Hayes and his wife Cleo and Cleo takes her under her wing. Cleo is odd from the get-go. She comes across as very detached, which when we find out her story, I get. But Georgia, who is desperate for a mother figure, sees Cleo as this angel come to set her life right.
Georgia's working, Sheriff James is lurking, Nora is really struggling with the loss of her sister. She goes on the hunt for the killers and finds some pretty damning evidence in regards to where her sister was when she disappeared. Of course, the evidence points to Aspera. But then Nora discovers that her dad was planning on shipping Ashley off to reform camp so she learns that Ashley was probably trying to run away. So she blames her dad for Ashley's death. The sheriff keeps collecting random evidence and showing up drunk and scary so he's painted as a bad guy from the beginning. Again, if Georgia wasn't so self-centered, she probably would have seen it for what it was: a grieving father falling apart trying to solve his daughter's murder. But, no, she sees it as erratic and feels afraid for her life. The interesting thing is, she already inherently understands that he won't face consequences for turning up drunk everywhere and being menacing, so she already understands that law officers are on a different power dynamic. Anyway, the final straw is when he shows up at Georgia's house, vaguely drunk and wounded and babbles about the power structure of the book. Well, he's sitting there with one of Georgia's naked photos. So, everything kind of happens all at once. Georgia draws the conclusion that he was the one who hit her with the car and tries to run to her room (to lock herself in...? What? How is that logical in any way? Running toward her brother's job or hell even a public place makes more sense than that but whatever..) Sheriff James lunges for her (because alcohol inhibits people's logical response) and knocks her out, just as her brother comes slamming in to save the day and the sheriff runs away... and turns up 2 days later dead to an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, a note saying "I'm sorry," and Georgia's missing bike. Georgia goes to his house looking for her dirty pix and instead finds some evidence in the house linking a coworker to Ashley's disappearance.
So the conclusion everyone comes to is that Sheriff James was sexually abusing his youngest daughter, killed her, dropped her in the woods, hit a random teenager with his car, and swerved back to steal her bike and some dirty photos. Nora drops off the face of the earth with this revelation (poor fuckin kid) and Georgia, taking matters into her own hands (so to speak) propositions Matthew Hayes on the hope that she can get promoted to the Executive floor at Aspera. So he has sex with her and (haha) doesn't promote her. Who saw it coming? Everyone who has ever thought sleeping with your boss is a good way to get ahead and followed through.
When everything starts unraveling is when the necklace that Cleo gave Georgia as a gift is revealed to have belonged to Ashley first. Let me make it clear, there are a lot of additional reasons for what is going on, but there's no way I'm going into it. Georgia goes to talk to Cleo and ends up snooping through the Hayes house AGAIN and finds her nude pics in Matthew's nightstand drawer. Gross. So Georgia tries to escape and comes across a half-dead Aspera girl who begs her for help and Georgia just kind of brushes it off and watches as a work colleague takes the poor half-dead girl back up to the Executive floor. She is sent to wait for Matthew to return and basically ends up with him seeing her nudes (that she took from the house) and basically realizes that he was the murderer (kind of.) Apparently, Ashley OD'd in an Executive suite so the Aspera crowd dropped her body in the woods. What was she doing in the ExecutiveSuite you ask? Being drugged and raped. So then Matthew basically rapes Georgia and Cleo comes in to explain that this is what women who are beautiful are doomed to live. As fucktoys of wealthy and privileged men. So Georgia is basically like, "Did my mother work a night like this?" and Cleo says, "Oh every night is like this."
Georgia goes home like nothing happened and her brother finally talks about what happened with their mom (she wanted to go public with some incriminating evidence against Aspera but apparently lacked the will.) And Georgia thinks she might just go back to Aspera to be a rich man's blowup doll. But then Nora turns up and does this whole, "If this is the way the world is, I do not fucking accept it." And that is apparently the other thought that Georgia needed to hear. So she decides not to go back.
That's it. No one faces any consequences. I have three glaring problems with this book.
1. Georgia is supposed to be a lesbian, but for some reason, it's really important for her to be seen as beautiful in the eyes of men. I would get it if she had daddy issues, but there is never anything to indicate that in the least. And initially, I thought it was only handsome men who she cared about, but no, the guy at the mall who called her beautiful is described as a creepy jerk.
2. Georgia's queerness seems like a plot device to be honest. It's the reason why she says she shouldn't be fired for an indiscretion with an Executive member. Because she likes girls, so she wasn't attracted to him, so what she does in that way didn't happen... like, what? That's kind of like people in monogamous relationships saying it's not cheating if it's with a member of the same sex because they are hetero. And that's the reason why Matthew can also take what he needs from her because she's not attracted to him... like, what the fuck kind of backward-ass logic is that?
3. I feel like this book is supposed to be some kind of social commentary on power structure and the fact that the wealthy elite can do what they want and never receive a consequence, but shouldn't a book have something NEW to say in order for it to be commentary? Like at that point there is no commentary, it is simply expository. We know the wealthy elite do what they want, and that police and judicial systems are set up to serve and protect their needs - for heaven's sake, all you have to do is pick up a newspaper. I mean, I get that Cleo and Matthew are supposed to be a thinly veiled Epstein and Maxwell, but again, this book doesn't really tell me anything new or really offer anything other than welp this is how it is and your queerness will not protect you if you are hot and have a vagina. And obviously, it doesn't even stop there - we know that men have also suffered sexual abuse at the hands of powerful and wealthy men. The "call to action" at the end of the book was directionless and vague. If this is the way the world is, do you accept it? What the fuck does that mean? No, I don't fucking accept it, but what should I do? Drop off-grid and be a survivalist? Vote democrat? Lead a riot against Wall Street? Become a serial killer like Aileen Wourhos? There are so many options to fix this problem!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2022
Courtney Summers has a knack for writing uncomfortable and heartbreaking books about young women. She does not shy away from exposing readers to the harsh realities of life and dares you to not look away but to face things head on.
Sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovered the body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James. She along with Ashley's older sister, Nora, try to find the killer. But are they biting off more than they can chew?
Georgia wants what most people want - to fit in and to be loved. She wants to be appreciated for her beauty. She wants to be a member of her town's elite. She wants to fit into the world of privilege. But membership has a price. So many times, while reading I wanted to give Georgia a hug and some sound advice that I am pretty sure would go ignored.
I'm the Girl shows innocence and innocence lost. It shows how the powerful and the wealthy wield their power. How predators’ prey on others. This book also shows how growing up is hard to do.
This book is not a happy go lucky book. It deals with difficult subjects and situations. It shows how naïveté is no match for the ugliness in others. This book is both raw, gripping and evokes emotion.
I had both the book and the audiobook and felt the narrator did a great job with this book.
This book may be a trigger for some due to the subject matter.
This was raw, heartbreaking, gripping, well written and evoked emotion.
Thank you to Macmillan audio, St. Martin’s Press – Wednesday books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovered the body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James. She along with Ashley's older sister, Nora, try to find the killer. But are they biting off more than they can chew?
Georgia wants what most people want - to fit in and to be loved. She wants to be appreciated for her beauty. She wants to be a member of her town's elite. She wants to fit into the world of privilege. But membership has a price. So many times, while reading I wanted to give Georgia a hug and some sound advice that I am pretty sure would go ignored.
I'm the Girl shows innocence and innocence lost. It shows how the powerful and the wealthy wield their power. How predators’ prey on others. This book also shows how growing up is hard to do.
This book is not a happy go lucky book. It deals with difficult subjects and situations. It shows how naïveté is no match for the ugliness in others. This book is both raw, gripping and evokes emotion.
I had both the book and the audiobook and felt the narrator did a great job with this book.
This book may be a trigger for some due to the subject matter.
This was raw, heartbreaking, gripping, well written and evoked emotion.
Thank you to Macmillan audio, St. Martin’s Press – Wednesday books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
September 8, 2022
3.5 stars
This is a deeply affecting book covering some difficult subjects: the desperation of poverty, grooming, sexual assault and abuse, the book mirrors the Jeffrey Epstein case in more ways than one.
On the surface it is the story of Georgia, who discovers the murdered body of a young teen girl. She joins forces with Nora, the sister of the girl, to try to find out what happened. But there is more to the tale. Georgia, who is sixteen, lives with her older brother after their mother died from cancer. Georgia is beautiful, and has long held dreams of being an Aspera Girl, the gorgeous young women who work at a wealthy exclusive resort. When she grasps an opportunity to work there, it is more than she bargained for, yet the fulfillment of all of her aspirations as well.
It is a difficult book to read and to listen to as an audiobook, because what happens to Georgia is both subtle and glaringly obvious at the same time. As an adult reader, I just wanted to jump in and rescue her from this life that she sees as perfect from the outside, yet is anything but when it comes to reality.
The parts for me that were a little too clunky were that the narrative wasn't straightforward and it wasn't linear, especially toward the end. I had some difficulty following what happened in the end and how it exactly wrapped up. This is the exact thing that happened to me with Sadie, and I may just have to skip this author's books in the future because of it.
Overall, this is a brutally raw story, but it is important in its message, especially for the teen audience it is meant for. It definitely draws emotion to the surface, breaking your heart and making you furious all at the same time.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
This is a deeply affecting book covering some difficult subjects: the desperation of poverty, grooming, sexual assault and abuse, the book mirrors the Jeffrey Epstein case in more ways than one.
On the surface it is the story of Georgia, who discovers the murdered body of a young teen girl. She joins forces with Nora, the sister of the girl, to try to find out what happened. But there is more to the tale. Georgia, who is sixteen, lives with her older brother after their mother died from cancer. Georgia is beautiful, and has long held dreams of being an Aspera Girl, the gorgeous young women who work at a wealthy exclusive resort. When she grasps an opportunity to work there, it is more than she bargained for, yet the fulfillment of all of her aspirations as well.
It is a difficult book to read and to listen to as an audiobook, because what happens to Georgia is both subtle and glaringly obvious at the same time. As an adult reader, I just wanted to jump in and rescue her from this life that she sees as perfect from the outside, yet is anything but when it comes to reality.
The parts for me that were a little too clunky were that the narrative wasn't straightforward and it wasn't linear, especially toward the end. I had some difficulty following what happened in the end and how it exactly wrapped up. This is the exact thing that happened to me with Sadie, and I may just have to skip this author's books in the future because of it.
Overall, this is a brutally raw story, but it is important in its message, especially for the teen audience it is meant for. It definitely draws emotion to the surface, breaking your heart and making you furious all at the same time.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
August 4, 2022
I seem to be in the minority here, but... this one did NOT click for me like Sadie did. I had high expectations, but this one had me questioning my memory of how much I did enjoy Sadie... it was that bad.
Courtney Summers is hailed as the expert writer of angry, unlikable girls. That (and the creative format) really drew me in with her previous works. But either she did her job too well in I'm the Girl, or the runaway plot was too distracting for me to really connect with Georgia. (I think it was a bit of both.)
NOTE, check the trigger warnings on this one dear god it gets intense and graphic ok here we go:
I'll avoid specific spoilers here, but I had three main issues.
1. For a book that focuses on sexism and the patriarchy and women looking for ways to take back control, Georgia spent the entire book as a girl that bad things happened to. She didn't get much character growth of her own, and when she did, it took the backseat to the absolutely batshit insane and overwhelming plot.
2. The entire plot is driven by my last favorite trope: everyone is super secretive about a super simple piece of information that they have no reason NOT to tell the MC besides *drama.* Like.... no spoilers, but the things Georgia's family knew about Aspera should have been explicitly told to her well before the book even started.
3. The plot was SO disjointed it was like riding a bike on fire down a hill etc etc. For the first few chapters I honestly thought I missed a chapter and was really confused by the flashbacks and timeline throughout - they didn't create an air of mystery, they were just annoying.
Tldr; I described this to my friend as "A stereotypically pretty girl who is vaguely poor and very naive is put through the Trauma Porn gauntlet. She has a relationship with another stereotypically pretty girl that feels like it was written by a straight person"* and I stand by that.
*(Sorry, not assuming anything about the authors sexuality but genuinely it felt like something out of a CW show in the episodes before one or both of them die. Super problematic connotations about queer identity too that are frequent, unrelenting, and never addressed?? Anyone else feel this way or was it just me??)
**Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review**
Courtney Summers is hailed as the expert writer of angry, unlikable girls. That (and the creative format) really drew me in with her previous works. But either she did her job too well in I'm the Girl, or the runaway plot was too distracting for me to really connect with Georgia. (I think it was a bit of both.)
NOTE, check the trigger warnings on this one dear god it gets intense and graphic ok here we go:
I'll avoid specific spoilers here, but I had three main issues.
1. For a book that focuses on sexism and the patriarchy and women looking for ways to take back control, Georgia spent the entire book as a girl that bad things happened to. She didn't get much character growth of her own, and when she did, it took the backseat to the absolutely batshit insane and overwhelming plot.
2. The entire plot is driven by my last favorite trope: everyone is super secretive about a super simple piece of information that they have no reason NOT to tell the MC besides *drama.* Like.... no spoilers, but the things Georgia's family knew about Aspera should have been explicitly told to her well before the book even started.
3. The plot was SO disjointed it was like riding a bike on fire down a hill etc etc. For the first few chapters I honestly thought I missed a chapter and was really confused by the flashbacks and timeline throughout - they didn't create an air of mystery, they were just annoying.
Tldr; I described this to my friend as "A stereotypically pretty girl who is vaguely poor and very naive is put through the Trauma Porn gauntlet. She has a relationship with another stereotypically pretty girl that feels like it was written by a straight person"* and I stand by that.
*(Sorry, not assuming anything about the authors sexuality but genuinely it felt like something out of a CW show in the episodes before one or both of them die. Super problematic connotations about queer identity too that are frequent, unrelenting, and never addressed?? Anyone else feel this way or was it just me??)
**Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review**
April 5, 2022
This one was REALLY good. I was hooked the whole time. I tried to predict what happened and who did what, but it kept having twists and made me clueless. I enjoyed the premise and the main character is absolutely my favorite. The ending was phenomenal! There are major trigger warnings (rape, dead bodies, etc) but it was a great and thrilling read. I truly enjoyed this book, would highly recommend everyone check it out!
I received this ARC was given to me to review from the publishers and NetGalley. All comments above are solely my true opinion after reading this book.
I received this ARC was given to me to review from the publishers and NetGalley. All comments above are solely my true opinion after reading this book.
August 1, 2022
Sadie would make my top five favorite books of all time. So I'm devastated that this was not only a disappointment, but by the end I was genuinely hating it. This is gonna be a long one, I have all the things to rant about.
The book opens up with us learning that 16-year-old Georgia stole her brothers money to pay for "headshots"nude photos by a man in the mall who told her she could be a model. She's riding her bike, gets hit by a car, then discovers the body of Nora's little sister on the side of the road. Georgia then gets a summer job at Aspera (a resort her mom worked at that has a lot of secrecy around it and why her mom never wanted her to work there.)
Georgia and Nora don't "team up". More like bad things keep happening to Georgia and she gleans vague pieces of information and Nora gives her rides home from Aspera and they kiss sometimes.
Character development was one of the biggest issues for me. Georgia is horrifically taken advantage of from page 1 and continues to be taken advantage of up until the very end. I feel like there was no justice for any of the girls victimized in this book, it just happened. Emphasis on the no consequences part of the synopsis.
The whole question is do we accept the fact that wealthy people (men) can do whatever they want to whoever they want with no consequences? 1. No, I don't accept. I want to see everyone at Aspera lit on fire. 2. OBVIOUSLY no one accepts things the way they are. Especially in recent years with #metoo and many women coming out and speaking out against men in power. Why is it still a question if this behavior is acceptable???!!!!
Often the writing and plot felt directionless and vague to the point I was confused on the details. The ending was so abrupt. Summers leaves a lot of information about the mystery for the reader to infer on their own but we get to read a detailed scene of a grown man talking his way into sex with a 16 year old. Why? Just why?
I was left with a lot of questions about why characters made the choices they did and mainly what was the point? I know Courtney Summers can write a top tier emotional dark contemporary, but this completely missed the mark with me :(
thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review!
The book opens up with us learning that 16-year-old Georgia stole her brothers money to pay for "headshots"
Georgia and Nora don't "team up". More like bad things keep happening to Georgia and she gleans vague pieces of information and Nora gives her rides home from Aspera and they kiss sometimes.
Character development was one of the biggest issues for me. Georgia is horrifically taken advantage of from page 1 and continues to be taken advantage of up until the very end. I feel like there was no justice for any of the girls victimized in this book, it just happened. Emphasis on the no consequences part of the synopsis.
The whole question is do we accept the fact that wealthy people (men) can do whatever they want to whoever they want with no consequences? 1. No, I don't accept. I want to see everyone at Aspera lit on fire. 2. OBVIOUSLY no one accepts things the way they are. Especially in recent years with #metoo and many women coming out and speaking out against men in power. Why is it still a question if this behavior is acceptable???!!!!
Often the writing and plot felt directionless and vague to the point I was confused on the details. The ending was so abrupt. Summers leaves a lot of information about the mystery for the reader to infer on their own but we get to read a detailed scene of a grown man talking his way into sex with a 16 year old. Why? Just why?
I was left with a lot of questions about why characters made the choices they did and mainly what was the point? I know Courtney Summers can write a top tier emotional dark contemporary, but this completely missed the mark with me :(
thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review!
Want to read
January 12, 2022courtney summers really said
September 20, 2022
CW: rape, child sexual assault, grooming, incest, self harm, victim shaming, death of a loved one, terminal illness
October 18, 2022
Ok, I have to say the blurb for this book is the technically accurate but also misleading blurb I have ever read. I expected a cute story where two teenagers team up to solve a murder and also fall in love. What I got was a whole lot of sexual abuse/grooming and abuse of power. So many trigger warnings were needed. The writing was phenomenal and the story was good, for all that it was difficult to read at times. The story is told from the perspective of Georgia, a 16 year old girl who is hit by a car and then as she stumbles for help she finds the dead body of a 13 year old. These events led her to become closer with the 13 year old’s sister as they try to figure out what happened, but they also lead her to Aspera. Aspera is a retreat for the rich and powerful and Georgia knows her power lies in her beauty and she plans on using it to help her get out of poverty and get the life she deserves.
April 29, 2022
I’m the Girl, a mystery/thriller, was a solid 4 star book.
The book centers around teen Georgia Avis, whose life changes forever when she discovers the dead body of thirteen-year old Ashley along the side of the road and then is hit by a car, near the wealthy Aspera resort. Along with Ashley’s sister, Nora, Georgia sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding Ashley’s murder, while all the while, desperate to become an “Asperan Girl”.
I’m the Girl was an extremely fast paced book-dealing with murder, assault, relationships, and class issues. There is a lot going on in this book and it’s definitely worth the read; it had me hooked from the very beginning. Full of interesting and well-developed characters, both good and bad-I highly recommend this book to fans of mystery/thriller books. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book centers around teen Georgia Avis, whose life changes forever when she discovers the dead body of thirteen-year old Ashley along the side of the road and then is hit by a car, near the wealthy Aspera resort. Along with Ashley’s sister, Nora, Georgia sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding Ashley’s murder, while all the while, desperate to become an “Asperan Girl”.
I’m the Girl was an extremely fast paced book-dealing with murder, assault, relationships, and class issues. There is a lot going on in this book and it’s definitely worth the read; it had me hooked from the very beginning. Full of interesting and well-developed characters, both good and bad-I highly recommend this book to fans of mystery/thriller books. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 16, 2023
Gut wrenching, heartbreaking and devastating describe the latest YA thriller by Courtney Summers. While Georgia Avis searches for the killer of thirteen- year- old Ashley James, she quickly finds much more than she bargained for. No one is to be trusted in this compelling story where a young girl seeks acceptance and inclusion from the wealthy and powerful. Parts of the book were difficult to read while forcing us to take a closer look at the under belly of prestige and privilege. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my copy of this emotional and thought provoking book.
August 19, 2022
This is a hard one to review. I'm the Girl (quite graphically) tackles the issue of wealthy people grooming and preying on pretty teen girls from impoverished backgrounds.
It's one of a couple books recently that is clearly drawing on the Jeffrey Epstein case, including a woman involved in recruiting and grooming the girls. Topically, this is important and relevant. What I appreciate about this approach is how it portrays the nuance of what the process is like for teen girls who are exploring their own sexuality in ways that are and AREN'T safe. And how they might not understand the difference.
The difference is power- a peer doesn't hold undue power over them while an adult does and is preying on their inexperience and naivete. In this case, the main character is a lesbian, which further muddies the waters in how she thinks about men being interested in her. We actually get two quite explicit scenes back to back, clearly intended to demonstrate the difference in both power and desire, regardless of supposed "consent" (not that a 16-year-old can actually consent to this with an adult). One scene involves the result of grooming by an adult with power over her, the other is an actually consensual encounter with her girlfriend. The contrast is stark, but the progression is realistically drawn which might be very uncomfortable for some readers. I do think it's effective for what Summers is trying to do thematically.
Now as a NOVEL with a mystery plot, this book is less successful. The pacing is weird, the reveals aren't always well explained, there are conveniences that don't entirely make sense, and a lot of things are less surprising than I think they're intended to be. But maybe that's because as an adult reader, it's obvious how incredibly naive the main character is. But this is a very real problem, and it's true that there are people with privilege who get away with this kind of thing.
And, much like how I have felt about other books by Summers, I think it's important for teenagers to have access to books like this even if they are explicit and mature at times. Because protecting them from these books isn't always protecting them from things like this happening in real life. I think a criticism of this will be that it's too much for teenagers and shouldn't be YA, but I don't agree. I think the novel is clearly written from a teenage perspective and with their real feelings in mind. It doesn't feel didactic or like it's infantilizing the burgeoning sexuality of teen girls- just trying to draw some lines between where that sexuality can be explored safely and where it is being exploited in harmful, predatory ways. There is a huge amount of value to that. The narrator of the audiobook nails the voice of a teen girl in this place in life. Excellently done.
I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
It's one of a couple books recently that is clearly drawing on the Jeffrey Epstein case, including a woman involved in recruiting and grooming the girls. Topically, this is important and relevant. What I appreciate about this approach is how it portrays the nuance of what the process is like for teen girls who are exploring their own sexuality in ways that are and AREN'T safe. And how they might not understand the difference.
The difference is power- a peer doesn't hold undue power over them while an adult does and is preying on their inexperience and naivete. In this case, the main character is a lesbian, which further muddies the waters in how she thinks about men being interested in her. We actually get two quite explicit scenes back to back, clearly intended to demonstrate the difference in both power and desire, regardless of supposed "consent" (not that a 16-year-old can actually consent to this with an adult). One scene involves the result of grooming by an adult with power over her, the other is an actually consensual encounter with her girlfriend. The contrast is stark, but the progression is realistically drawn which might be very uncomfortable for some readers. I do think it's effective for what Summers is trying to do thematically.
Now as a NOVEL with a mystery plot, this book is less successful. The pacing is weird, the reveals aren't always well explained, there are conveniences that don't entirely make sense, and a lot of things are less surprising than I think they're intended to be. But maybe that's because as an adult reader, it's obvious how incredibly naive the main character is. But this is a very real problem, and it's true that there are people with privilege who get away with this kind of thing.
And, much like how I have felt about other books by Summers, I think it's important for teenagers to have access to books like this even if they are explicit and mature at times. Because protecting them from these books isn't always protecting them from things like this happening in real life. I think a criticism of this will be that it's too much for teenagers and shouldn't be YA, but I don't agree. I think the novel is clearly written from a teenage perspective and with their real feelings in mind. It doesn't feel didactic or like it's infantilizing the burgeoning sexuality of teen girls- just trying to draw some lines between where that sexuality can be explored safely and where it is being exploited in harmful, predatory ways. There is a huge amount of value to that. The narrator of the audiobook nails the voice of a teen girl in this place in life. Excellently done.
I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
September 14, 2022
After a pretty lackluster reading weekend, I pulled out the big guns and delved into I'M THE GIRL hoping that Summers, with (as it's coined) her spiritual-successor to SADIE, which I loved, would break me out of the funk. But instead it just gave me a different one.
This was so hard to read, which is understandable and probably the point, but where I can respect some of what the author was doing and saying and forcing the reader to consider, I don't know if it succeeded where it was meant to. Or at least it didn't for me.
I'M THE GIRL delves into the concept of grooming, of manipulation, of powerful people enforcing their rules and their wants on others, but everything around it just felt disjointed and shaky. Being in Georgia's head was an awful place to be, with her self-worth and dreams tied up in belonging to this place where she misguidedly believes she can become something, which was tied into believing her worth was skin deep, and it just spiralled in and out of this vicious cycle. She was incredibly naive, incredibly needy, out of touch, and lost. She was constantly in situations she shouldn't have been in, never quite seeming to learn from them, and you could blame some of that on the knowledge she didn't have, secrets held out of reach by those around her, as well as the manipulation of others. It was painful.
And while all this is going on, there's also a dead girl, the sister of a not-friend, more an acquaintance, and Georgia gets sorta tangled up in both because she discovers the body and because she finds herself roped into to helping determine what happened -- I wouldn't quite say she's investigating things, the way the synopsis would have you believe, but there are a few side quests -- and I liked that, unlike SADIE, Georgia is only tangentially connected to the death. She's watching the devastation happen from the outside looking in, much the way she feels held back from the glamourous and prestigious world she wants to belong. But in that same drama, I almost feel there were too many added elements (maybe just one) that muddied the waters.
Maybe, on the whole, when combined with the romance, it was just too many things. And yet, despite this, what it also wasn't, was a thriller. It also wasn't anything like SADIE so if, like me, you were looking to recapture that feeling? Maybe just go for a reread.
I think this review is a little messy but so was the book. Or, at least, it just wasn't for me. And that's fine. I think fans of the author will likely appreciate this, the same way they appreciate her other works, because she's consistent in shining a light on these dark areas. And that's a good thing, don't get me wrong. But it won't always make for an enjoyable read, which makes sense, but equally it might not always made for a good read. Whereas my struggles with THE PROJECT had to do with the characters, not the plot, when it comes to I'M THE GIRL I would say this one is definitely the characters but also the plot. Again, in concept, I am so down with this particular narrative. I just wish it had played out differently. But. I will continue to pick up this author.. at least for now.
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
This was so hard to read, which is understandable and probably the point, but where I can respect some of what the author was doing and saying and forcing the reader to consider, I don't know if it succeeded where it was meant to. Or at least it didn't for me.
I'M THE GIRL delves into the concept of grooming, of manipulation, of powerful people enforcing their rules and their wants on others, but everything around it just felt disjointed and shaky. Being in Georgia's head was an awful place to be, with her self-worth and dreams tied up in belonging to this place where she misguidedly believes she can become something, which was tied into believing her worth was skin deep, and it just spiralled in and out of this vicious cycle. She was incredibly naive, incredibly needy, out of touch, and lost. She was constantly in situations she shouldn't have been in, never quite seeming to learn from them, and you could blame some of that on the knowledge she didn't have, secrets held out of reach by those around her, as well as the manipulation of others. It was painful.
And while all this is going on, there's also a dead girl, the sister of a not-friend, more an acquaintance, and Georgia gets sorta tangled up in both because she discovers the body and because she finds herself roped into to helping determine what happened -- I wouldn't quite say she's investigating things, the way the synopsis would have you believe, but there are a few side quests -- and I liked that, unlike SADIE, Georgia is only tangentially connected to the death. She's watching the devastation happen from the outside looking in, much the way she feels held back from the glamourous and prestigious world she wants to belong. But in that same drama, I almost feel there were too many added elements (maybe just one) that muddied the waters.
Maybe, on the whole, when combined with the romance, it was just too many things. And yet, despite this, what it also wasn't, was a thriller. It also wasn't anything like SADIE so if, like me, you were looking to recapture that feeling? Maybe just go for a reread.
I think this review is a little messy but so was the book. Or, at least, it just wasn't for me. And that's fine. I think fans of the author will likely appreciate this, the same way they appreciate her other works, because she's consistent in shining a light on these dark areas. And that's a good thing, don't get me wrong. But it won't always make for an enjoyable read, which makes sense, but equally it might not always made for a good read. Whereas my struggles with THE PROJECT had to do with the characters, not the plot, when it comes to I'M THE GIRL I would say this one is definitely the characters but also the plot. Again, in concept, I am so down with this particular narrative. I just wish it had played out differently. But. I will continue to pick up this author.. at least for now.
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
December 21, 2022
At sixteen, Georgia Avis has big dreams, but she's held back by a life of poverty. While walking alongside the road, she discovers the body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, the daughter of the local sheriff. Georgia is hit by a car during everything, and her memories of the incident are jumbled. But she teams up with Ashley's older sister, Nora, to try to figure out what happened. All trails seem to lead to Aspera, a beautiful resort where Georgia's late mother once worked.
Ugh, I feel terrible as I love Courtney Summers, but this one just didn't work for me. Her writing is as lyrical and gorgeous as ever, but I didn't care for the plot, which dragged and had a lot of issues. I really enjoyed the writing in this book, that there was a queer relationship between Georgia and Nora, and that it featured a mystery to solve. The rest of it... not so much.
Unfortunately, the relationship between Nora and Georgia has no depth. It's thrown at us, but we see no development with them, or really any other characters in the book. I wanted to care about them--and everyone else--but it was hard. Georgia honestly came across as frustrating beyond words. Her decisions made me want to scream. Aspera--this strange, fancy resort--and its owners--loom over Georgia's life. She's obsessed with it, but we are never sure why, and her focus on working there is borderline insanity. So many of the problems in this book could have been avoided if everyone would have just been honest with each other from the beginning (including Georgia's family)--this is a huge pet peeve of mine in literature.
GIRL bills itself as a cautionary story about the power of the wealthy and the power males hold over women, but it adds nothing new. If it's focused on sexism and patriarchy, Georgia does not seem to want to fight those things--if anything, she lets things happen to her and spends a lot of time caring what the men around her think of her. Again-this just adds to the confusing angle of Georgia and Nora's relationship.
Overall, I had a hard time caring about any of the characters or the story here. It was confusing, seemed full of plot holes, and then, after everything, gave us a vague ending. So frustrating. 2 stars for me, but many others liked it more.
I received a copy of this book from Wednesday Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Ugh, I feel terrible as I love Courtney Summers, but this one just didn't work for me. Her writing is as lyrical and gorgeous as ever, but I didn't care for the plot, which dragged and had a lot of issues. I really enjoyed the writing in this book, that there was a queer relationship between Georgia and Nora, and that it featured a mystery to solve. The rest of it... not so much.
Unfortunately, the relationship between Nora and Georgia has no depth. It's thrown at us, but we see no development with them, or really any other characters in the book. I wanted to care about them--and everyone else--but it was hard. Georgia honestly came across as frustrating beyond words. Her decisions made me want to scream. Aspera--this strange, fancy resort--and its owners--loom over Georgia's life. She's obsessed with it, but we are never sure why, and her focus on working there is borderline insanity. So many of the problems in this book could have been avoided if everyone would have just been honest with each other from the beginning (including Georgia's family)--this is a huge pet peeve of mine in literature.
GIRL bills itself as a cautionary story about the power of the wealthy and the power males hold over women, but it adds nothing new. If it's focused on sexism and patriarchy, Georgia does not seem to want to fight those things--if anything, she lets things happen to her and spends a lot of time caring what the men around her think of her. Again-this just adds to the confusing angle of Georgia and Nora's relationship.
Overall, I had a hard time caring about any of the characters or the story here. It was confusing, seemed full of plot holes, and then, after everything, gave us a vague ending. So frustrating. 2 stars for me, but many others liked it more.
I received a copy of this book from Wednesday Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
October 3, 2022
I blamed my robot heart for not feeling all of the feels along with everyone else who read Summers’ last release Sadie, but made sure I was first in line for this one (despite that awful cover) to attempt some sort of redemption arc on my own behalf. Worked out great too because I really dug this one!
I took a sneaky peak at the blurb after checking this one out from the library and was a little concerned to see it was supposed to be about a couple of teenage girls solving the case of who raped and murdered the sister of one of them. Good news if you’re like me and don��t always love an amateur sleuthing show, these gals did not channel their inner Nancy Drew. Really, this book could have been dubbed . . . .
There weren’t a lot of surprises when it came to the whodunit, but the story itself was pretty fascinating for me and kept me invested the entire time.
I took a sneaky peak at the blurb after checking this one out from the library and was a little concerned to see it was supposed to be about a couple of teenage girls solving the case of who raped and murdered the sister of one of them. Good news if you’re like me and don��t always love an amateur sleuthing show, these gals did not channel their inner Nancy Drew. Really, this book could have been dubbed . . . .
There weren’t a lot of surprises when it came to the whodunit, but the story itself was pretty fascinating for me and kept me invested the entire time.
November 1, 2022
whew. it's not untrue that this is the spiritual successor of sadie. thematically it's completely spot on. they are both beautifully written, disturbing, and deal with pervasive misogyny, murder, grooming, sexual assault, and other painful threats. and we even have a depressing little reference to sadie:
so, yes, the sadie connection is there. but i think comparing the two books does a disservice to this one. the format of sadie is so fantastic, the audiobook so unique, the twists so sharp. of course i'm the girl can't live up to its predecessor.
however, i still really enjoyed i'm the girl in its darkness; in its painful contrast between the glittering rich world of aspera and its gritty girl-eating underbelly.
georgia is an irritating but fantastically written character: so young, so naive yet so determined, so vulnerable yet so strong. she's desperate for love and validation, but has only been taught to attain it superficially, via male attention. it's irresistible to feel wanted when deep inside you feel like you will never be good enough. and holding too tightly to a dream can keep you from seeing the darkness that encloses it.
this book also reminded me of the dead and the dark, largely because of the love story that's oddly woven into the messy darkness. both books are about two girls who are on their own together, trying to figure shit out because they can't trust any authority figure in their lives to make them safe.
georgia and nora's love story is one of shared grief. of feeling hopeless, hurt, alone, but grasping for warmth and comfort in each other. being hungry for the sweetness of kisses when everything else hurts.
so, yes, the sadie connection is there. but i think comparing the two books does a disservice to this one. the format of sadie is so fantastic, the audiobook so unique, the twists so sharp. of course i'm the girl can't live up to its predecessor.
however, i still really enjoyed i'm the girl in its darkness; in its painful contrast between the glittering rich world of aspera and its gritty girl-eating underbelly.
georgia is an irritating but fantastically written character: so young, so naive yet so determined, so vulnerable yet so strong. she's desperate for love and validation, but has only been taught to attain it superficially, via male attention. it's irresistible to feel wanted when deep inside you feel like you will never be good enough. and holding too tightly to a dream can keep you from seeing the darkness that encloses it.
this book also reminded me of the dead and the dark, largely because of the love story that's oddly woven into the messy darkness. both books are about two girls who are on their own together, trying to figure shit out because they can't trust any authority figure in their lives to make them safe.
georgia and nora's love story is one of shared grief. of feeling hopeless, hurt, alone, but grasping for warmth and comfort in each other. being hungry for the sweetness of kisses when everything else hurts.
Even if today was a bad day like all the others, and for all the reasons it has to be, I'm determined to hold good things inside of it. And there's nothing more than her I want to hold.
August 16, 2022
This audiobook took forever to get through due to the intense, and disturbing subject matter. Trigger warnings for sexual assault. The story was well written and the narrator did a great job with the book. It was difficult to listen to at times and I found myself pressing pause frequently to get some air from the subject.
Georgie is a 16 year old girl who comes from poor surroundings and the key to freedom and the lifestyle she dreams of is her beauty. She accidentally comes across the dead body of a young girl. From that moment on her life drastically changes.
This was a heavy read but it was well done. Ultimately I have mixed feelings about it. I’m curious to know what other people think.
I Am the Girl is available September 13.2022.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Georgie is a 16 year old girl who comes from poor surroundings and the key to freedom and the lifestyle she dreams of is her beauty. She accidentally comes across the dead body of a young girl. From that moment on her life drastically changes.
This was a heavy read but it was well done. Ultimately I have mixed feelings about it. I’m curious to know what other people think.
I Am the Girl is available September 13.2022.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
July 31, 2022
I'm the Girl is a gritty, honest coming-of-age YA novel told through the eyes of Courtney Summers. The thought-provoking story explores the influence that power and greed have on society today.
Synopsis:
Georgia Avis, 16, dreams of becoming a model and getting out of poverty. After discovering Ashley James' murdered body, Georgia and Ashley's older sister Nora set out to track down the killer. Their quest to find the murderer places Georgia in a rich environment of entitlement and fame. It appears Georgia has found all she has ever longed for, but she learns that it comes at a price. Soon, her dreams turn into a fight for survival.
I'm the Girl is an intense thriller. The story is brilliant, but difficult to read due to the subject matter. Since the book contains adult content, I struggle to recommend it as a young adult novel. In my opinion, it would be better suited as new adult fiction. In light of this, I highly commend Courtney Summers for addressing difficult topics with grace and eye-opening candor. (4.25⭐⭐⭐⭐💫)
I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers is available on September 13th.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for sharing this outstanding book with me. Your kindness is appreciated. My opinions are my own in this review.
Synopsis:
Georgia Avis, 16, dreams of becoming a model and getting out of poverty. After discovering Ashley James' murdered body, Georgia and Ashley's older sister Nora set out to track down the killer. Their quest to find the murderer places Georgia in a rich environment of entitlement and fame. It appears Georgia has found all she has ever longed for, but she learns that it comes at a price. Soon, her dreams turn into a fight for survival.
I'm the Girl is an intense thriller. The story is brilliant, but difficult to read due to the subject matter. Since the book contains adult content, I struggle to recommend it as a young adult novel. In my opinion, it would be better suited as new adult fiction. In light of this, I highly commend Courtney Summers for addressing difficult topics with grace and eye-opening candor. (4.25⭐⭐⭐⭐💫)
I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers is available on September 13th.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for sharing this outstanding book with me. Your kindness is appreciated. My opinions are my own in this review.
October 22, 2024
I'm sorry but I really didn't like this book. What's going on? CS has been a favorite author of mine for a really long time but lately her books don't feel the same anymore. The focus on the characters and their feelings has completely left the chat in favor of graphic trauma porn and thriller-y vibes (vibes is keyword here, because there's actually no plot to be found).
This was boring and cringey and traumatic (did we need that many details of a grooming/rape scene when the whole story is just glossed over instead of really being told?).
I used to absolutely love and relate to CS's main characters, but here Georgia is incoherent and very unlikable—in a bad way. It's basically impossible to root for her or even just care about her. For the entire book I wished her brother would understand that something very wrong was happening to her because he was the only consistent character and the only one I trusted in this book. I wanted a competent adult to get involved in this shit, but I never had the satisfaction. I guess this is one of the aims of this book, but honestly knowing this didn't make it any easier to swallow.
I'll try to forget this one and The Project ever happened. I'm waiting for a new good book, Courtney, like in the old times.
This was boring and cringey and traumatic (did we need that many details of a grooming/rape scene when the whole story is just glossed over instead of really being told?).
I used to absolutely love and relate to CS's main characters, but here Georgia is incoherent and very unlikable—in a bad way. It's basically impossible to root for her or even just care about her. For the entire book I wished her brother would understand that something very wrong was happening to her because he was the only consistent character and the only one I trusted in this book. I wanted a competent adult to get involved in this shit, but I never had the satisfaction. I guess this is one of the aims of this book, but honestly knowing this didn't make it any easier to swallow.
I'll try to forget this one and The Project ever happened. I'm waiting for a new good book, Courtney, like in the old times.
July 2, 2022
this is a book that’s really hard for me to rate. its not a 5 stars as in “i love the characters, the romance was great, mystery well done, i enjoyed reading it & couldn’t put it down”.
no, this is not that type of 5 stars. at least not to me.
going into this book, you knows it going to be horrendous. i’ve been keeping up with what courtney posts about this book, including marilyn monroe’s influence on this book.
so i think mostly, you need to know every single dirty detail of what this book is about so you don’t go in and feel disoriented and played later. this isn’t a romance. it’s not a mystery either. it’s our fucking world, & it sucks. i wish i could say all of this is unrealistic, no way can can people do things like that & get away scotch free, but it happened. it HAPPENS, every fucking day.
i read many reviews stating how dumb georgia was, even characters in the book calling her it. and i think what people don’t understand is, coming from the fact i’m georgia’s age right now, our life, what we see, what we hear, it rules us. even as a lesbian, you can see how much the male gaze haunts georgia. the length she will go just so she’ll feel beautiful, wanted, desired, love, not knowing that without those men, she can still be all of the above. it hurts reading this, as i see a lot of myself in her character. you can be aware and still played a fool, and it’s always the people the closest to you, the adults were supposed to trust, who promise us safety.
it’s a hard read. anyone with a right mind wouldn’t be able to read this and think “well that was fun.” it’s reminds me a lot of lolita, a book that’s so glamorized for the aesthetic that the true meaning goes away. books like these you can appreciate it, the message, what it’s spreading and showing it’s audience without glorifying it. because this book was fucked. 100% fucked.
you’ll think being in georgia’s pov will get you to understand why she she reacts the way she does. you’ll understand without victim blaming, but atlas, many people will fail to see how the world around us, shapes us. the internet, what we devour on tv, our relationships-or non existent relationships with our parents. every. single. thing. matters. georgia isn’t a dumb character. she’s not an idiot who’s willing to do whatever it is she needs to feel worth it.
she’s a girl. like me. like so many others. young, naive, hopeful, too kind, trusting. throughout this all, after everything, she’s still just a girl.
this book has many triggers (death of a parent, cancer, sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, pedophilia) just to name some from the top of my head. so please go into this with an open mind, it’s messy from the beginning, to the end.
and yeah maybe it’s not what you wanted, you want the character to fight & get justice, but like this books shows you, sometimes it not worth it. doesn’t mean you should give up, never give up. you don’t always have to face things all by yourself, which leads on to the significance of nora’s character. yes she’s a love interest, the sister of the deceased, a messy by all means & raw character.
but nora to me is another girl. a girl who sees. a girl who will never stop wanting justice for the others around her. nora the type of character georgia isn’t, they were raised differently, loved differently. georgia went through things nora can imagine for sure obviously, but never went through herself. it’s easier as a nora to fight, but sometimes us georgia’s can’t, and we need a nora to help us along.
it’s not a love story, no. there’s love, and there’s definitely hate, but above all its hope. this book will leave you feeling angry, disappointed, maybe even unsatisfied. but to me, it left me with hope. with everything going on in the world right now, with roe v wade being overturned, men being praised for the bare minimum, their acts left unaccounted, it’s gives me hope. maybe that’s dumb, look at how we’re going backwards, how can one hope in times like this? but it does, and i’m not a believer, but like i said, with nora’s character, maybe we won’t get justice, maybe they’ll continue to walk away scotch free, it’s more than likely they will. but there hope in being heard, believed, loved. having a hand to hold, to tell you they’ll fight even if you don’t.
i honestly didn’t imagine writing this long of a review, i was going to write simply “what the fuck was this?” and call it a day, and even if no one sees this, i want to write from my pov, from another young scared girl. maybe some adults think these types of books shouldn’t be read by people my age who can’t handle it, but many things happens to us as kids, teens, the ages where we can’t handle it. we shouldn’t have to be able to handle these types of things, but a lot do. they live it, it happens. you cant hide anyone from the pains & horrors of this world, but you can warn them, & help them. and i think this book would be a good read for people in need of that. its definitely not a book i’ll be revisiting any time soon, i need to clear my head and like i said this isn’t a 5 stars read that’s rated highly because it’s enjoyable, a book i could read over and over again. it’s none of the above. it’s triggering, it’s nasty, it’s brutal, but it’s real. there a georgia in all of us, a nora, an ashley.
but one thing i do want to point out though is that, yes it’s a man’s world, this books shows you the painful truth of that. but unlike what many are forced to believe, who give up on believing in anything else, it doesn’t mean we have to live in it. we don’t have to abide by anyones rules but our owns.
if you made it to the end of this long ass review, let me tell you if no one else told you today that you’re loved, you’re beautiful, you’re needed, you’re valued, you’re WORTH IT.
thank you netgalley & st martin’s press/wednesday books for allowing me access to this arc in exchange for an honest review.
no, this is not that type of 5 stars. at least not to me.
going into this book, you knows it going to be horrendous. i’ve been keeping up with what courtney posts about this book, including marilyn monroe’s influence on this book.
so i think mostly, you need to know every single dirty detail of what this book is about so you don’t go in and feel disoriented and played later. this isn’t a romance. it’s not a mystery either. it’s our fucking world, & it sucks. i wish i could say all of this is unrealistic, no way can can people do things like that & get away scotch free, but it happened. it HAPPENS, every fucking day.
i read many reviews stating how dumb georgia was, even characters in the book calling her it. and i think what people don’t understand is, coming from the fact i’m georgia’s age right now, our life, what we see, what we hear, it rules us. even as a lesbian, you can see how much the male gaze haunts georgia. the length she will go just so she’ll feel beautiful, wanted, desired, love, not knowing that without those men, she can still be all of the above. it hurts reading this, as i see a lot of myself in her character. you can be aware and still played a fool, and it’s always the people the closest to you, the adults were supposed to trust, who promise us safety.
it’s a hard read. anyone with a right mind wouldn’t be able to read this and think “well that was fun.” it’s reminds me a lot of lolita, a book that’s so glamorized for the aesthetic that the true meaning goes away. books like these you can appreciate it, the message, what it’s spreading and showing it’s audience without glorifying it. because this book was fucked. 100% fucked.
you’ll think being in georgia’s pov will get you to understand why she she reacts the way she does. you’ll understand without victim blaming, but atlas, many people will fail to see how the world around us, shapes us. the internet, what we devour on tv, our relationships-or non existent relationships with our parents. every. single. thing. matters. georgia isn’t a dumb character. she’s not an idiot who’s willing to do whatever it is she needs to feel worth it.
she’s a girl. like me. like so many others. young, naive, hopeful, too kind, trusting. throughout this all, after everything, she’s still just a girl.
this book has many triggers (death of a parent, cancer, sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, pedophilia) just to name some from the top of my head. so please go into this with an open mind, it’s messy from the beginning, to the end.
and yeah maybe it’s not what you wanted, you want the character to fight & get justice, but like this books shows you, sometimes it not worth it. doesn’t mean you should give up, never give up. you don’t always have to face things all by yourself, which leads on to the significance of nora’s character. yes she’s a love interest, the sister of the deceased, a messy by all means & raw character.
but nora to me is another girl. a girl who sees. a girl who will never stop wanting justice for the others around her. nora the type of character georgia isn’t, they were raised differently, loved differently. georgia went through things nora can imagine for sure obviously, but never went through herself. it’s easier as a nora to fight, but sometimes us georgia’s can’t, and we need a nora to help us along.
it’s not a love story, no. there’s love, and there’s definitely hate, but above all its hope. this book will leave you feeling angry, disappointed, maybe even unsatisfied. but to me, it left me with hope. with everything going on in the world right now, with roe v wade being overturned, men being praised for the bare minimum, their acts left unaccounted, it’s gives me hope. maybe that’s dumb, look at how we’re going backwards, how can one hope in times like this? but it does, and i’m not a believer, but like i said, with nora’s character, maybe we won’t get justice, maybe they’ll continue to walk away scotch free, it’s more than likely they will. but there hope in being heard, believed, loved. having a hand to hold, to tell you they’ll fight even if you don’t.
i honestly didn’t imagine writing this long of a review, i was going to write simply “what the fuck was this?” and call it a day, and even if no one sees this, i want to write from my pov, from another young scared girl. maybe some adults think these types of books shouldn’t be read by people my age who can’t handle it, but many things happens to us as kids, teens, the ages where we can’t handle it. we shouldn’t have to be able to handle these types of things, but a lot do. they live it, it happens. you cant hide anyone from the pains & horrors of this world, but you can warn them, & help them. and i think this book would be a good read for people in need of that. its definitely not a book i’ll be revisiting any time soon, i need to clear my head and like i said this isn’t a 5 stars read that’s rated highly because it’s enjoyable, a book i could read over and over again. it’s none of the above. it’s triggering, it’s nasty, it’s brutal, but it’s real. there a georgia in all of us, a nora, an ashley.
but one thing i do want to point out though is that, yes it’s a man’s world, this books shows you the painful truth of that. but unlike what many are forced to believe, who give up on believing in anything else, it doesn’t mean we have to live in it. we don’t have to abide by anyones rules but our owns.
if you made it to the end of this long ass review, let me tell you if no one else told you today that you’re loved, you’re beautiful, you’re needed, you’re valued, you’re WORTH IT.
thank you netgalley & st martin’s press/wednesday books for allowing me access to this arc in exchange for an honest review.
August 4, 2022
thank you netgalley, wednesday books, and courtney summers for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review! this was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. it’s as shocking, disturbing, and realistic as sadie was and i finished it in a day.
this book follows georgia avis, a queer girl who dreams of becoming someone. she believes the way to achieve this is by becoming an aspera girl and working at the resort. she then finds the dead body of a girl that’s been murdered and her world turns upside down. she starts working with nora, the girl’s sister, to find out what happened and starts to expose what’s truly happening at aspera.
this book hurt to read because of georgia’s narration. it was sad seeing that she truly believes these people and thinks that she’s climbing up in the world, when she’s really just being taken advantage of. i’m not sure how i feel about the ending - i sort of expected it, but i feel like it could have been expanded upon a little bit more.
this is a difficult book and i’m not sure that i “enjoyed” it, but that’s how courtney summers books are. it was well-written, gripping, and it brought up some very important and relevant topics. i highly recommend it.
this book follows georgia avis, a queer girl who dreams of becoming someone. she believes the way to achieve this is by becoming an aspera girl and working at the resort. she then finds the dead body of a girl that’s been murdered and her world turns upside down. she starts working with nora, the girl’s sister, to find out what happened and starts to expose what’s truly happening at aspera.
this book hurt to read because of georgia’s narration. it was sad seeing that she truly believes these people and thinks that she’s climbing up in the world, when she’s really just being taken advantage of. i’m not sure how i feel about the ending - i sort of expected it, but i feel like it could have been expanded upon a little bit more.
this is a difficult book and i’m not sure that i “enjoyed” it, but that’s how courtney summers books are. it was well-written, gripping, and it brought up some very important and relevant topics. i highly recommend it.
April 21, 2023
this book was so hard to read. it’s hard to see a main character just fall and fall so many times and get so so hurt with no real possibility of hope. it’s hard to see a main character believe lies and trust people who it seems so clear can’t be trusted. and it’s horrible, terrible when truly evil people get away with it.
this book was so hard to read but i think it was important to. there are so many georgia’s out there, so many ashley’s. it’s so important that they are understood and believed. i’ve never read a book that has put so much effort into doing that.
thank you, courtney summers.
this book was so hard to read but i think it was important to. there are so many georgia’s out there, so many ashley’s. it’s so important that they are understood and believed. i’ve never read a book that has put so much effort into doing that.
thank you, courtney summers.
May 23, 2022
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm the Girl was so freaking good. Seriously, I couldn't put it down once. From the very first page, I was completely hooked and wanted to know more about Aspera. Then I instantly regretted asking for that because I can't unsee what I've read now.
In this, you will meet Georgia. Now she wants to be a privileged Asperan girl due to her mother's dying wish. She wants to feel things like love, adoration, and everything in between. So, it's a bit strange how she ends up getting into Aspera. Mostly because of what she finds before she wakes up in a strange new place.
Now there's tons of secrets lurking throughout Aspera. Seriously, my mind was blown no matter the size of the secret. So many to keep track of and so many to cringe at. But first, we have a murder to solve. Which, yes, we eventually get down to what happened but so many things have to happen first.
The romance, the mystery, and cringe-worthy moments made this a page turner. I was honestly suspicious of the Hayeses after we first met them. I hated how they used and abused Georgia. So, I was really happy when Nora came into the picture because it felt like Georgia was finally going to figure out what true love is. Or just love in general because she's not getting that in Aspera.
In the end, the truth comes out and I was in complete shock. I'm so happy we finally got the big reveals towards the end of the book. I'm also really happy that Georgia is away from that place and those horrible people. So happy that I got the chance to jump into this and can't wait for Courtney's next mystery thriller to fall into my lap.
I'm the Girl was so freaking good. Seriously, I couldn't put it down once. From the very first page, I was completely hooked and wanted to know more about Aspera. Then I instantly regretted asking for that because I can't unsee what I've read now.
In this, you will meet Georgia. Now she wants to be a privileged Asperan girl due to her mother's dying wish. She wants to feel things like love, adoration, and everything in between. So, it's a bit strange how she ends up getting into Aspera. Mostly because of what she finds before she wakes up in a strange new place.
Now there's tons of secrets lurking throughout Aspera. Seriously, my mind was blown no matter the size of the secret. So many to keep track of and so many to cringe at. But first, we have a murder to solve. Which, yes, we eventually get down to what happened but so many things have to happen first.
The romance, the mystery, and cringe-worthy moments made this a page turner. I was honestly suspicious of the Hayeses after we first met them. I hated how they used and abused Georgia. So, I was really happy when Nora came into the picture because it felt like Georgia was finally going to figure out what true love is. Or just love in general because she's not getting that in Aspera.
In the end, the truth comes out and I was in complete shock. I'm so happy we finally got the big reveals towards the end of the book. I'm also really happy that Georgia is away from that place and those horrible people. So happy that I got the chance to jump into this and can't wait for Courtney's next mystery thriller to fall into my lap.
August 1, 2022
"This world was made by men. Beauty is decided by them. And power is held only by them. And there’s nothing you can do about any of it."
Courtney takes a current event and turns it on its head. She adds a little murder, two girls discovering who they want to be in this world, loads of family drama, and a lot of heart. We open our arms to accept this golden gift from a goddess and we fall head over heels. I know that I did.
This book jumps right on in and gets right down to it. There is no pussyfooting around here. Courtney knows the game and mesmerizes us with her beautiful words. Even though it comes out dark and disturbing, you can't help but be sucked into the story. It was remarkable and unputdownable. It should say something that I finished this in a day. It was just so damn good.
This was a tough book to read. Imagine wanting something so much that you are blinded by what’s going on around you. It was moving, compelling, and bold. Almost a five-star read until we got to the end. I was expecting something huge to happen but it just didn't happen. There was a lot that could have been played up but the easy route was taken. It did take away from the book and that disappoints me. The end wasn’t as strong as the rest of the book. It was still one that I loved and will definitely read again.
I'm the Girl was a powerful book from a powerhouse author. Parts were hard to read and hurt me deep down to my soul but it had to be part of this book to get where Courtney was leading us. It all made sense even though it was hard to stomach. It breaks my heart to know that some of this actually happened. This was an addictive read that gripped me instantly and you all should add this one. You won't regret it.
Courtney takes a current event and turns it on its head. She adds a little murder, two girls discovering who they want to be in this world, loads of family drama, and a lot of heart. We open our arms to accept this golden gift from a goddess and we fall head over heels. I know that I did.
This book jumps right on in and gets right down to it. There is no pussyfooting around here. Courtney knows the game and mesmerizes us with her beautiful words. Even though it comes out dark and disturbing, you can't help but be sucked into the story. It was remarkable and unputdownable. It should say something that I finished this in a day. It was just so damn good.
This was a tough book to read. Imagine wanting something so much that you are blinded by what’s going on around you. It was moving, compelling, and bold. Almost a five-star read until we got to the end. I was expecting something huge to happen but it just didn't happen. There was a lot that could have been played up but the easy route was taken. It did take away from the book and that disappoints me. The end wasn’t as strong as the rest of the book. It was still one that I loved and will definitely read again.
I'm the Girl was a powerful book from a powerhouse author. Parts were hard to read and hurt me deep down to my soul but it had to be part of this book to get where Courtney was leading us. It all made sense even though it was hard to stomach. It breaks my heart to know that some of this actually happened. This was an addictive read that gripped me instantly and you all should add this one. You won't regret it.
January 7, 2022
This book is devastating. But it's razor sharp and incredibly moving. At one point, the main character, Georgia, is asked whether she accepts the world as it is, and I think so many of us do because we don't know how to rally against it, because we are so deeply lost in it. This book is as beautiful as it is gutting, as soft as it is hard. I will be thinking about this one for a very long time.
March 13, 2024
The thing I personally like best about stories is that they offer you a glimpse into different worlds, experience different lives that you might have had, or might never have had, go places you might never see, and to see things from a different point of view.
I'm the Gird did that for me. On the one hand I very, very seriously doubt I was part of the target audience or the expected subset of readers who would pick up this book. At first I was bewildered by what was unfolding in the narrative, thinking such thoughts as "why did Georgia say that?", "why would she think such an idea?" and even at the start "are you kidding me, Georgia, what the WHAT?" But then it (re-)dawned on me that while the book would speak to a lot of young women, if I just allowed it to speak to me too, I would get to experience new perspectives. To look through a world from Georgia's eyes. Then I really started to enjoy the narratives, even though it deals with horrible things, things that I know young women put up with (and that I hate that they get subjected to), and perceptions I wished the MC didn't hold for herself. I experienced what an (albeit fictional) character's life, but I'm also fully aware people experience the same sort of feelings and in some aspects I do remember having feelings of craving acceptance and need as a teenager. Seeing what parents do and how they interact with their kids. Seeing how adults can interact with (and take advantage of) younger people.
So I ended up liking this because it told me a story and I got something out of it. I can ask no more of a book. Part of my own personal journey through life is to try to expand what I read into genres I might never have considered 10-15 years ago. So this was a bonus aspect.
As an aside, I really liked the narration done by Lori Prince. It brought real life to the narrative, the dialogue, and the MC's inner thoughts. The voices granted to other characters came across very convincingly as well. Well done!
I'm the Gird did that for me. On the one hand I very, very seriously doubt I was part of the target audience or the expected subset of readers who would pick up this book. At first I was bewildered by what was unfolding in the narrative, thinking such thoughts as "why did Georgia say that?", "why would she think such an idea?" and even at the start "are you kidding me, Georgia, what the WHAT?" But then it (re-)dawned on me that while the book would speak to a lot of young women, if I just allowed it to speak to me too, I would get to experience new perspectives. To look through a world from Georgia's eyes. Then I really started to enjoy the narratives, even though it deals with horrible things, things that I know young women put up with (and that I hate that they get subjected to), and perceptions I wished the MC didn't hold for herself. I experienced what an (albeit fictional) character's life, but I'm also fully aware people experience the same sort of feelings and in some aspects I do remember having feelings of craving acceptance and need as a teenager. Seeing what parents do and how they interact with their kids. Seeing how adults can interact with (and take advantage of) younger people.
So I ended up liking this because it told me a story and I got something out of it. I can ask no more of a book. Part of my own personal journey through life is to try to expand what I read into genres I might never have considered 10-15 years ago. So this was a bonus aspect.
As an aside, I really liked the narration done by Lori Prince. It brought real life to the narrative, the dialogue, and the MC's inner thoughts. The voices granted to other characters came across very convincingly as well. Well done!
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