I'm definitely in the minority here but this did not work for me at all. I did not finish at 15%. I honestly felt like I'd been dropped in the middle of a book. I was so confused from the beginning and nothing cleared up. There were so many characters and I felt like there was a chunk of story missing from the beginning. I ultimately felt no interest in continuing and put it down.

“Because this world is made by men. Beauty is decided by them. And there’s nothing you can do about any of it.”

Part murder mystery; part coming of age story, I’m the Girl is a powerful, difficult read. Georgia Avis wants nothing more than to be welcomed into the hidden, elite world of Aspera girls. But, the secrets behind the luxury facade are brutal and dangerous. Avis’s desire to transform her life beyond her mother’s limitations oozes from the page and will resonate with many readers. The degree to which others take advantage of her naive, raw need will strike a chord. Some of Summers’ most powerful writing.

While Georgia is a high school student, this reads more like New Adult than YA. Too much for a high school library, it is a book that will resonate sharply for some. The larger conversation regarding the male gaze wielded by those with power and its potential brutal impact will serve as a warning for some and a ”seen” moment for others. Georgia’s raw need and vulnerability made her susceptible for those looking to groom her interactions with the exclusive and elite Aspera club, reminiscent of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s private island.

Fans of Courtney Summers’ writing will find familiar themes: strong sibling bonds, authentic people navigating a brutal reality, strong female characters. The beauty of language is both immersive and engaging, raw and beautiful making it impossible to look away from Georgia’s story. A powerful book many need to read and discuss -now, more than ever.

Readers who appreciated Jackson’s Grown will find similar themes here.

CW in comments:
The CW are many regarding violence and exploitation of women. Also, a few detailed open door sexual experiences.

Out now. Thanks to #Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this title.

Courtney Summers just hit me with a complete gut-punch of a read with I’M THE GIRL. This book is so visceral and captivating that despite being focused on a dark and depressing subject matter, the reader doesn’t want to stop reading. You instantly connect with the main character, Georgia, who feels simultaneously like the youthful, naive sixteen-year-old she’s supposed to be and a woman who has seen and felt too much in her short amount of years.

I honestly wasn’t sure where this book was headed when I started. There’s a dead body and a mysterious wealthy estate called Aspera that hosts the elite and secrets far beyond the imagination. How does it all connect to Georgia? Summers has twist after twist to take you down the path of discovery. There were a few things I was able to guess and predict, but the journey towards their actual revelation kept me on the edge of my seat. This book is easy to binge, but also feels like something you want to take your time processing.

Needless to say, I’M THE GIRL finally opened my eyes to why so many people love Courtney Summers’ writing and I’ll definitely be adding more of her books to my shelves.

A huge thank you to Wednesday Books for my gifted copy!

This is a lesbian coming-of-age dark thriller. This is my third book by this author. She tends to write about complex issues and this book is no exception.

I'm The Girl is a Queer mature YA thriller that deals with many disturbing topics. The book is not overly graphic. But to me this is an adult read with a 16 year old narrator.

The narrator is 16 year old Georgia. She acts like an adult in some ways. Yet she also seems clueless too.

This is a gritty book that will make you feel uncomfortable (especially when you realize what real life story this book is based on). There is a murder and Georgia gets closer to the girl's sister.

This is a complex story about a teen who wants to see herself as beautiful. And it makes her do certain things that are not smart. She wants to work at the same members only resort that her dead mom hated. She makes incredibly stupid choices. But she only has her older brother to look after her. But he has to work all of the time.

I was invested in the story but felt sick about some of the developments. The author tends to write books that will be impactful. But they aren't light or easy reads. The book was equally riveting and disturbing.

Georgia has a dream that her life can be better because a very important man once told her she was beautiful. She’s never forgotten that moment, even when her mother tries to get her to behave pragmatically. But her mother’s gone and she’s being raised by her older brother and she decides to chase after her dream. Things don’t quite work out the way she expects. While riding her bike toward her “dream,” she’s hit by a car. When she regains consciousness, she discovers her bike and phone are gone and then she discovers the body of Ashley James, a thirteen year old who was living life too fast and now would never be fourteen. This is the beginning of Courtney Summers’ I’m the Girl, a novel that will have you on the edge of your seat and biting your nails.

In one of her earlier novels, Sadie, Courtney Summers gives us a character who will do anything to find and avenge her sister’s murder. In I’m the Girl Sadie’s counterpart would be Nora, smart, tough, capable seeking to find the killer of her younger sister, Ashley. Nora’s character is a terrific foil for Georgia’s character, which doesn’t really become evident until well into the novel when we begin to suspect that Georgia isn’t providing us with her real truth.

As I read I’m the Girl, it became clear that I could expect almost anything of anyone. And what also became clear is that the dream vision that Georgia’s clung to, being a beautiful Aspera girl who works at the exclusive resort at the end of the road, may be smoke and mirrors, more a dream for the wealthy than a reality for a poor girl. Of course, the reality is far uglier than even I imagined, and I’ve got a good imagination (but not Courtney Summers’ good).

Georgia is a frustrating character who I had to remind myself was just a teenager and who believed everything the media doles out about how very wonderful it is to be beautiful. Being beautiful will cure all of your ills. She finds out the hard way that it doesn’t.

A theme reiterated in the novel is the power of men. “If this is the way of the world, do you accept it?” They control. They use force. They manipulate. Cleo, a mother-figure/dream-figure for Georgia, explains to her that she can manipulate. She can get a man where she wants him. She convinces Georgia that this can be enough.

Georgia, though, is a lesbian. A naïve, dreamy one at that, whose navigation of this world is troubling. She makes me think of Lolita. Of a girl testing her seduction powers without understanding what it could lead to. A girl who believes her own beauty will one day dominate the world because a powerful man called her beautiful. In this way, Georgia’s beauty is her own drug. It makes her heady, unstable, sometimes unhinged.

When Georgia learns truths, she also must once again face the question: If this is the way of the world, do you accept it?

And this is probably the question Courtney Summers is posing. Powerful, illuminating, gut-wrenching.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This just was…not good? I had a problem with it from the very beginning honestly- the storytelling left a lot to be desired and the pacing was just…not great. I’m starting to think that Sadie was a fluke and Courtney Summers isn’t an author for me.

I’m the Girl is an incredibly powerful and spine-chilling read. It is the story of Georgia, who has always wanted to adventure to the secret club of Aspera…what seems to her an ethereal world of power and privilege. Yet while on the road to Aspera, she finds the broken corpse of Ashley James and Georgia is intentionally hit by a car. As Georgia struggles to remember who was in the car, she is drawn into the decadent lure of Aspera. Then comes Nora, Ashley’s older sister, who demands Georgia help her unmask Ashley’s killer. Georgia agrees, but is plagued by amnesia and a promise to her older brother to keep out of trouble. As the town mourns and the killer is nowhere to be found, Georgia must decide how much she will risk at Aspera for justice and the truth about what happened on the road.

I’m the Girl is a heart-pounding story; I couldn’t stop reading once I started! The prose draws you in, creating a compelling plot as the mystery is unraveled. One of my favorite parts was the unlikely friendship (and something more…?) between Georgia and Nora. Georgia is a fierce heroine, who overcomes so much. I also loved how she had a great relationship with her brother, they always tried their best to be there for each other no matter what.

The writing was simultaneously elegant and realistic. I appreciated how Georgia must reconcile the memories of her mother and what she uncovers about the truth at Aspera. I’m the Girl holds up a mirror to real world issues of people in power, privilege, sexual assault, missing girls, and grief. I would recommend I’m the Girl for fans of queer romance, true crime, and powerful plots. Absolutely check the trigger warnings as they are very important. Thank you to Courtney Summers, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, Wordpress blog, and Barnes & Noble etc

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press-- Wednesday Books, and author Courtney Summers for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This read was not was I was expecting at all, and I was wishing that I paid more attention to the comparison I saw to the book My Dark Vanessa, which was one of the heaviest books I've ever read. This is a hard read-- and not in a good way for me personally. The cover is gorgeous, and I was drawn in by the description that it was a queer mystery thriller. However, there are very little queer undertones and very little of the actual mystery plot. Even though the protagonists were teenagers, I would not recommend this for a YA audience, as there is pretty intense discussion about sexual assault/sexual manipulation of teenagers all throughout. This was hard to read and in a very jarring way; although My Dark Vanessa was equally as heavy (if not more so), the quality writing and plot at least helped to redeem the subject matter. For me personally, this writing was very discombobulated. The book immediately jumped into the action to the point where I kept flipping back to the beginning because I thought I missed something. At one point, I even Googled if this was a sequel because it felt like the author just assumed you knew who all the characters and settings were. Nothing was ever explained adequately, so it made it hard to me to get into as a reader because I just felt confused. Add that on top of the sensitive subject matter, and I didn't have an enjoyable reading time. There was also almost no chemistry between the two queer characters, and the killer/twist was apparent from early on, making two of the biggest plot draws irrelevant. I know Summers is an acclaimed author, so I am curious about her other works, but unfortunately, this was not the book for me.

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.

Books by Courtney Summers always take me a little time to sift through because I feel like she brings so much to the page for us to unpack. The story challenges its readers to dive deep into a girl who doesn’t have it all figured out. Georgia is a dreamer, and she doesn’t understand the price she’s being asked to pay until it’s being taken from her, and even then, she works really hard to rationalize what’s happened.

Georgia is the kind of character I wanted to stop from making the choices she’s making. I totally got why she did what she did. I knew she couldn’t see the danger signs. She was caught up in some other place, seeing stars and the recognition she felt she’d always been denied. It’s like those horror movies where the bad guy is hiding behind a door with an axe and you’re watching the main character opening doors without a clue what’s coming.

There was one moment toward the end, which I don’t think I can explain well without spoilers, but I’ll do my best. Georgia discovers a connection between a murdered girl and another crime operation, but the connection seemed weird to me. I think I wanted more explanation to understand what made that connection plausible. Otherwise it seemed like an unnecessary risk to the crime operation, if that makes sense?

Other than that, I feel like this is a book that grabbed my heart with both hands and squeezed, and I kind of held my breath until the end, hoping that Georgia would be okay, would learn what she needed to learn, and that she would answer the question about whether to accept a predatory power structure for herself.

It feels a little weird to refer to this book as a successor to SADIE when I feel like the whole premise of SADIE was that Sadie wholeheartedly rejects that predatory power structure, but there’s definitely a connection thematically between the two books. And both contain sisters seeking justice at any price.

I’M THE GIRL is another powerful story by an incredible author. It delves into some difficult content (sexual assault, victim of child pornography, underage drinking), so be aware of that.

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I was really looking forward to this book after loving Sadie. This has that same ominous feeling as Sadie, but is not told in the same mixed media format. This book is pretty heavy and does have alot of triggers. I'm not sure how I feel about this book even after sitting with it for a bit. It is an uncomfortable read for sure, and it has several unlikable characters. This is going to be a difficult one to review without spoilers.

Georgia is 16, and she has big dreams. She dreams of working at the exclusive members only club in her town, Aspera. She wants to be an Aspera girl, but unfortunately she doesn't know what that entails. Her mother worked at Aspera, but she kept much of her work a secret from her daughter. This of course had the opposite effect and make it look glamourous instead of dangerous to Georgia. With her mother having lost her battle with cancer, she can't giver her the facts and tell her the truth of the club and the wonders and dangers that lie within.

At the heart of this story, Georgia is naïve, immature, and trusting of everyone around her. She takes everything everyone tells her at face value and believes them. So when she gets caught up in a murder investigation, she finds herself in situations that she really should never be in. While you think that the investigation might be the main focus, there is a much bigger much more sinister plot happening around her. Speaking of the plot, it was kind of all over the place. One moment we are with Georgia and Nora as they are "investigating" the murder, the next minute we are with Georgia as she is trying to better her position and "live her dreams" at Aspera. Georgia is being groomed and manipulated by the people she thinks are protecting her and she doesn't even know it. My biggest issue with this book is the flow of the varied storylines, they didn't feel cohesive and the ending was abrupt. The message and overall plot was good, but it didn't deliver in the end for me. Perhaps it was messy by design as was the message and content of the book. It doesn't deliver on atmosphere and the emotional aspects. It gives you that squirmy, icky feeling and I always had that feeling of waiting for the jump scare to happen. Georgia finds herself in several messy and ugly situations. You aren't sure if you want to hug her or shake her. As an outsider looking in you can't imagine why she can't see the danger right in front of her, but as a realist you know that kids/people get sucked into these kind of situations all the time in the real world. People, kids especially, get caught up in the promise of wealth and better things, especially when it comes from an adult they trust.

Overall, this was just ok for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't dislike it either. The message was haunting but the execution was not to my taste. I would caution readers to look up trigger warnings before diving in as this has many when it comes to grooming, SA, manipulation, etc.

Anyone who thinks YA is all butterflies, rainbows, and fluffy bunnies should read this book. I think a lot of YA books, like this one, are really boundary pushing. I’m the Girl gives me My Dark Vanessa vibes, buts it’s also unlike anything I’ve ever read before.
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I am shook by this book y’all.
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Sixteen-year-old Georgia has only ever known poverty and struggle. She wants nothing more in life than to be one of the glittering girls who works at Aspera, an exclusive resort for the rich and famous. After Georgia stumbles across the body of 13-year-old Ashley James near the resort, she teams up with Ashley’s sister, Nora, to find the killer. While the girls start to develop feelings for each other, Georgia begins work at Aspera where she is dazzled by wealth and privilege. But what dark secrets lurk behind Aspera’s closed doors?
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I’m the Girl got me thinking, and left me reeling. I was so stressed while power reading this raw thriller. This book explores constructs of beauty, sexuality, and power. It’s told through the hopeful voice of a 16-year-old girl who is naive to the dark, predatory, brutal world of adults lurking around her. This feminist book takes a chainsaw to the patriarchal door hiding secrets of the rich and powerful, revealing a ruthless, disturbing, bleak, and crushingly realistic world.
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I listened to and read this book. The writing and narration is absolutely gripping. Thank you to @netgalley , @macmillan.audio , and @wednesdaybooks for the digital ARCs in exchange for an honest review.
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I’m the Girl - Courtney Summers
4/5⭐️
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TWs: sexual assault, misogyny, toxic masculinity, sex slavery

Since Sadie, I have been eager to read all of Courtney Summers' new releases. She clearly does not shy away from tackling dark, difficult topics, and her style of writing is so unique. The teaser blurb of this one really captured me, and I was so excited to get my hands on an early copy.

Summers' style does not disappoint— it's twisty and disconnected, and it created the perfect atmosphere for this story. The setup is interesting and draws you in, immediately engaging you in the mystery.

But that's about where my enjoyment of the book ended, unfortunately. The action of this story was packed into the last 1/5 of the book, with the first 4/5 quickly becoming repetitive and wandering. Additionally, the revelations in the story weren't unexpected to me, as I felt like they'd been revealed in marketing for the book. I kept wondering, "Wait, was that supposed to be a surprise?" Maybe it wasn't supposed to be surprising, but I just kept waiting for the story to reach where I knew we were going... and then it just ended.

I wanted to like this so much, but it just was a miss for me. Though, don't get me wrong—I'll still be picking up Courtney Summers' next release.

Poor Georgia :( the world really failed her. There are a lot of dark themes in this book, but it's gritty an honest.

Another powerful, visceral novel from Summers. The kind of prose that simultaneously lulls and flays the reader open with its sharp, no-holds-barred detail. The characters feel like real people you could encounter in ordinary places, unaware of the horror hiding just behind their breastbones. Writers of any genre should study Summers's novels.

Content warnings (explicit but handled with solemnity): sexual assault, aftermath of rape including graphic description of a dead rape victim, objectification of girls and women, explicit language

Georgia Avis is a young teenage girl who is hellbent on becoming an 'Aspera girl', one of the young women who work at the local resort and serve the wealthy upper echelon of society. When we first meet her, she is hit by a car after an encounter with a sleazy con man at the mall. After she wakes up, she comes upon the body of a local missing girl. Georgia and the sister of the dead girl, Nora, discover that these events are not as unconnected as they seem at first.

This book was unsettling, and I mean that as a compliment. It's a haunting look at the way our world treats girls and women, and how some men are allowed to take everything from them. It was difficult to get into at first and I had a hard time understanding some of Georgia's choices, but they make sense for her character. I'd recommend this book to anyone who liked Courtney Summer's previous book, Sadie, or people who enjoy thrillers.

This book was gritty and hard to read, and you might want to check for trigger warnings. I feel it is for a more mature YA audience and that it could help someone reading it see that a person is more than a pretty face and nice body; that they are worth more than that. It might help someone be on the lookout for predators and grooming. The author definitely has a way of writing that grabs you no matter the subject matter.

Georgia, a 16-year-old girl who bases the bulk of her worth on her good looks gets drawn into the beautiful and superficial world of a resort for the ultra-wealthy. Of course, since Courtney Summers wrote it, it doesn't end so well for Georgia, but it does make for a gripping, haunting story that will stick with you for days after you're done reading.

I liked the LGBT+ representation in this book and that Georgia was an obviously flawed main character. Her narcissisms and singular focus on being an "Aspera girl" got a bit old after a while but over all I would call this another hit for Summers. Not as good as Sadie, but as she says in this book, that one was hard to follow.

I would be lying if I said I didn't love every Courtney Summers book I picked up. The writing style is emotional and life-like, which by that I mean it never falls flat. Her stories are thrilling and exciting, I'm the Girl is no differnet. This one covers the secrets of beauty and the power it ca hold. I am completely hooked and excited about this book!

Sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis knows her exquisite beauty will take her places. The one place she wants to go is Aspera, a gated resort in her town that caters to the wealthy and powerful who want absolute privacy. Despite the warnings from her late mother, Georgia makes her way to the resort, determined to become an Aspera Girl. Along the road, she discovers the raped and mangled body of 13-year-old Ashley James, the sister of classmate Nora. Even as Georgia lands a job at Aspera and attracts the attention of its owners, she teams up with Nora to unearth what really happened to Ashley, a sweet romance blossoming between Georgia and Nora in the process. The unexpected truth is discovered only as they delve into a twisting labyrinth of deceit and cover-ups. Summers examines the privileged decadence, predatory activities, and subtle grooming that tempt young things into believing they are precious and special. Brutal and bold in its telling, Summers’ account of Georgia’s inability to grasp that her dreams are on a course to becoming nightmares yields a raw and crushing page-turner.

HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-seller Summers’ Epstein-tinged thriller will be on the radar of her sizable fan base. Ready the waiting lists!

This review appears in the September 1, 2022, issue of Booklist Magazine and on my web site WhenLooseEndsMeet.com