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.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publishers/author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was strange and uncomfortable at times. It’s in the POV of Georgia, a 16-year-old girl who dreams of being a model and is haunted and entranced by her own beauty. She knows she’s beautiful and is prepared to do anything and everything in her power to use it against the world to get her wishes.

I’m not too sure if I like Georgia as a character. She seemed to really only care about herself and was prepared to hurt herself and everyone else to get what she wanted. She hated her mother for things she didn’t understand and didn’t want to see anyones POC except her own. Her brother obviously cared about her and loved her and multiple times she stabbed him in the back for her own gain.

The story revolves around a murder mystery where a 13-year-old girl is raped and dumped on the side of the road right as Georgia is hit by a car and finds the body. She and the murdered girl’s older sister go about trying to solve the mystery together.

There are plenty of twists and turns here and it doesn’t quite reveal what’s happening till the very end. I was extremely interested in seeing where it would lead.

I would not read this book if you can’t read pedophilia, grooming, and multiple cases of sexual assault. Georgia’s character is often put in positions she shouldn’t have to with adult men who want her for her beauty and she does it for her career. The characters also speak about Ashley James, the little girl who was murdered, as a fast and destructive party girl when she was really just a trauma filled child who needed therapy. There are also some moments in reading the dialog where I was confused who was speaking.

I wouldn’t call this a light read with all the heavy topics, but all in all this was an interesting story with LGBT themes and an open ending.

I'm the Girl is about a sixteen year old who dreams of escaping her small town life to become someone special and sees her youthful beauty as the way out.

This book had me reeling from the way it highlights the heartbreak and horror of how young girls get taken in and used by men with power and privilege and how men capitalize on the naiveté/need/desperation of these young girls. Our MC Georgia is lured into a world she is not yet old enough to understand; she knows beauty is a commodity but she is not yet aware what it is traded for. Georgia is frustrating as a character in the decisions she makes but she is young and idealistic and has so much want and isn't this the point because these are the exact types of girls who end up in these situations

The writing is disjointed in a phenomenal and electric way, shrouding the start of the novel in an air of mystery, with the reader knowing that we are not getting the full truth. I struggled a bit to catch on at first but I believe this was done purposefully by the author to pack a bigger punch once I did.

Penned as a queer feminist YA novel, this story really gives you much much more with very adult themes. As I was reading I was getting very Season 1 'The Sinner' vibes This was my first Courtney Summers book and I am thrilled to say it was not what I expected but it was EVEN BETTER- I am definitely a huge Summers fan now

Thought provoking, heavy, truthful and impactful and asks readers to dive deep within themselves and answer the question: if this is the way the world is, do I accept it? This book stayed with me long after I finished reading it and I highly recommend everyone go pre-order their copy now! 4.5 stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review

In classic Courtney Summers fashion, we have bad-ass teens using their trauma as fuel for their elaborate revenge plots, and we love it. As always, Summers does an immaculate job of exposing the dark underbelly of privilege, power, and male entitlement while also providing us with a compelling thriller plotline that grips from the beginning. I loved the spunk and determination of Georgia, the main character, and the questions that this book asks from the get-go. This one would be great for book clubs or buddy reads - it practically BEGS for discussion.

I've heard great things about Courtney Summers' previous book, so I was excited to pick up I'm the Girl. Based on the description, I thought this would be a suspenseful YA thriller, but from the first pages, this was much darker and more graphic. My expectations aside, the writing style was a little hard to follow, and overall the story just felt really sad. It clearly wasn't for me, but maybe it will speak to other readers out there.

I really enjoy Courtney Summers and I knew right away I would enjoy this one as well. Im The Girl follows the story of Georgie, 16 year old girl who is trying to escape poverty and ends up in the dark underbelly of wealth and power. This novel does have some sensitive material at the forefront that may be hard for some to read but it is well written and engaging.

This is not an easy and fast paced read. The format takes a while to get used to. The story is raw, and cruel, and real. There's something about the lack of clear resolutions in the books l've read from Courtney that can be frustrating but at the same time is so true. In real life, not everything has a happy ending. We don't always get what we want. Not everything gets magically solved. I feel like her novels reflect that and I'm The Girl is no exception. It starts off slow and builds up. The chapters are short, yet the story is at times hard to read and definitely thought provoking. George is young and naive and determined to get what she wants and learns about the cruelty of the world the hard way. You may get mad at her choices but end up feeling for her. This is a powerful read that will leave you thinking long after you finish it. Sadie fans will absolutely devour it!

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.

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 :(

I previously read and loved Sadie by Courtney Summers a few years ago, but this one definitely didn't hit the mark for me.

This is very well written. You can tell because the protagonist is infuriating at times. If it wasn't, you wouldn't care.

This is a mystery in a Jeffery Epstein style setting. And it's told from the perspective of a girl that wants to be accepted into that lifestyle. It's complicated and I don't want to give it all away.

If you can stomach the idea of teenagers getting in over their heads and being used by adults for a host of different (age-inappropriate) reasons, and you enjoy a good mystery, I definitely recommend this.

Really thought the queer representation was solid but whew it’s gritty for YA. It was pretty intense at parts and I could see that being hard for young people to stomach. I’d love to see what this author would do in the adult category.

I’ve liked other books by Courtney Summers but this particular one wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m sure others will love it, thanks for the advanced copy.

Okay so Courtney Summers writes some tough books to read. If you aren't prepared to witness girls and women being treated terribly, I don't recommend her work. If you're ready to power through, I do think the storytelling is worth it. At the start of this novel, Georgia Avis is trying to get the money back that she paid for some "modeling" photos to some guy at the mall (who ends up having been running a scam, naturally). She got the money from her brother, who has been her guardian since her mom died, and when she can't go through what's needed to get it back, she bikes all the way across town to Aspera, which kind of confused me but seems to be kind of a hotel/resort situation for very rich people. Her mom worked there, cleaning the expensive rooms, and Georgia has always wanted to be an Aspera girl (essentially beautiful women who are companions to the rich clients at Aspera). Before she makes it to Aspera, she discovers the dead body of a 13 year old girl, Ashley James, and is then hit by a car and lands in the hospital. She ends up getting a job at Aspera after all, but behind the scenes and not as an Aspera girl (which she hates), and when she's not working, she's got a budding romance going with Nora, Ashley's older sister, who is trying to figure out what happened. This is told sometimes in kind of a fractured, dreamy way that won't work for everyone, but did work for me in this case. This is a tough read though, and there are content warnings galore: murder and rape (off page but very important to the plot), statutory rape, child endangerment, maybe child pornography (Georgia is 16 and it sounds like she was not the only person duped by this mall photographer into having nude photos taken). There are some glimmers of hope in here, and the romance between Georgia and Nora is surprisingly sweet against the gritty backdrop.

This seemed like a good book, but I wasn't really into it. It wasn't really a topic that I enjoyed, it had potential but I didn't see myself getting into the writing. I've loved other books by this author though and I recommend those.

Courtney Summers has a way to writing that makes you stay up late to find out what happens next.

I’m the Girl hits tough topics and unimaginable situations while sprinkling in a budding queer romance. After Georgia Avis was hit by a car while walking the road to the mysterious and extravagant resort, Aspera, she finds the body of 13 year old Ashley. Together with Ashley’s older (attractive & queer) sister Nora, Georgia sets out to find who is behind this mystery. Little did she know she would be thrown into a world of wealth, sex, drugs, and privilege.

Unfortunately, I was left with a lot more questions than answers. While the book is written very well, I finished the book feeling like I had missed something.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's press for the ARC!

2.5** I do think Courtney Summers' writing is super quick and easy to read. I completed this in only a couple days. However, it was extremely dark and graphic and not quite what I was looking for in a YA thriller. I see that this seems to be her style, but I think it was done much better in Sadie, the other book I read from her, than this. There were good things about this book but the ending definitely left me a bit unsatisfied. I am a little conflicted because I think some of what I disliked about the book was done on purpose to be upsetting so in that case it did what it intended. I feel torn on whether it is good for teens to read about these things to prepare/warn them about life or if these topics are a little too dark to get into.

Courtney Summers has done it again! This is a book about that desperation a young girl has for something more and bigger than what she feels destined for. It's about privilege and power - both the power the elite have over everyone else and the power of beauty. Sixteen year old Georgia is desperate for more when she stumbles upon the dead body of a missing girl. She teams up the the girl's older sister Nora to find out what happened to her and is drawn into the glamorous world of a glamorous resort. This is a story that will make readers think. Highly recommended!

I don’t really know how to fully go about reviewing this gritty YA thriller. I’m the Girl follows 16-year-old Georgia Avis—after being hit by a car, she discovers the body of 13-year-old Ashley James, and with Ashley’s sister Norah, they try to find the answers. But the more Georgia looks, the more she is thrown into the world of wealth and privilege and danger. This story, a companion of sorts to Courtney Summers’ Sadie (it’s the same universe), is heartbreaking; it is uncomfortable; it is tragic. Courtney Summers writing is gritty and beautiful. Georgia is just a breathtaking character—she is painfully naive (I will say, sometimes too much so) and lost and searching to feel empowered. She is trying so hard to find her place and is taken in by people who see her as beautiful, something that she feels gives her value. Watching her naively fall for the lies of power around her was just so hard. But I also really enjoyed the subplot of her budding relationship with Nora and having her have that companion in a world where she is taken advantage of. The mystery was also really well developed. There were some elements that felt a touch predictable, but for the most part I felt really was surprised by the twists. This book is not an easy read, it is uncomfortable and I’d recommend looking into trigger warmings for it. The writing is captivating and the story is dark and discomforting. I would have loved a little more resolution, but overall this is a very interesting and gripping read.

Courtney Summers is my favorite author and this book clearly illustrates it. My favorite part of her books is always how she writes her main characters and their struggles. Even though I didn't like this book as much has her others it was still insanely fun and thrilling at the same time. I thought the queer representation was very good and loved Georgia's relationship with Nora. I thought the murder aspect was executed very well.

I'd recommend this book to anybody who loves strong female protagonists and a fast-paced story.

(3.5 stars)

This is a strong YA book but I’m not sure it sends the right message. I feel like this is more New Adult than teen for sure.