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.

Unfortunately I DNF'd this book at 27%. I just found that I didn't care where the story was going and I didn't care to pick it up and keep reading. I think I was hoping for more of an active mystery where we were trying to solve a mystery and this was more of a slow plot that just happened to have a mystery in the background that the main character didn't seem that interested in solving herself. I wish I had loved this but it just wasn't for me.

Audiobook/Book Review

I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers
@SummersCourtney
Pub date: September 13, 2022
Narrated by: Lori Prince
@LoriPrince212
Duration: 8H 21M


This will be my starter review because the more this book marinates, the more I have to say. I read/listened to this in ONE. DAY!

Courtney Summers is a favorite author and I will read anything she writes, no questions asked. Her books leave me feeling raw and exposed and they always tug at my soul in a meaningful and sometimes painful way.

There’s something about how she’s able to uncover the complex relationships/love between people that feels real to me. In I’m the Girl she describes the inherent power of women while also showing the vulnerability that’s forced upon us by the patriarchy and it is a devastating read/listen.

Here's the gist:

16-year-old Georgia is a beauty; she knows this and accepts this as a way out of her poverty-stricken life. Living in the shadow of her dead mother’s crime (which will be slowly revealed) she stays with her older brother who does his best to care for her. Georgia has always known that Aspera, a resort for the wealthy is her way out. But at what cost? What exactly goes on up there? Aspera holds the town in the palm of its hand; responsible for most of its employment and greasing a lot of palms, including that of the local police which makes it hard for the people who run afoul of Aspera.

When a young girl is found brutally raped and murdered, it starts a chain of events that will lead directly to a corrupt system that protects abusers, rapists and murderers at the cost of innocence.

Understand that above all else, this is a painful book to read; it is a realistic look at how beauty is both valued and devalued, how women are groomed from a very young age to think being called pretty/beautiful is the highest of compliments and their only true worth and focuses on those that will take advantage of this. The emphasis on the inequality between the wealthy and the poor, between men and women and between adults and non-adults, feels tangible.

This is narrated by Lori Prince and she understood the assignment! She reads the part of teenage Georgia with such emotive perfection! There’s a part where another young girl is describing heart-wrenching painful emotions about the loss of her friend to rape/murder and it was so powerful! Bravo, Lori, bravo!

I will be recommending this sapphic coming of age thriller to everyone!

My thanks to @Macmillan.Audio for this gifted ALC and to @StMartinsPress @WednesdayBooks for the gifted DRC.

I will be recommending this to my followers who are obsessed with thrillers. This book had it all and was very impressed with the writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of 'I'm the Girl'. Sadly, this book was not for me. The writing was confusing - especially in the beginning. That was the first turn-off for me. I wasn't a fan of how everything was laced with an essence of sexuality. I felt weird reading certain scenarios and the characters didn't feel well-developed. I was intrigued enough to continue each chapter - but overall, I was confused, felt weird, and underwhelmed. It's still not very clear who the killer is.

This was an interesting one, and I don’t think it quite worked for me. But I haven’t forgotten it, so that’s something. I think the author was attempting commentary on sexism and the agency or lack there of that young women have over their own bodies, but I just couldn’t get over how naive the main character was.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me at 40 percent. I requested this book from net galley because of how much I loved Sadie. However this one did not have the same effect on me. I felt that it was very hard to follow storyline wise and the characters were one dimensional. overall this one was not for me unfortunately.

This just wasn't for me. I LOVED Sadie so I had really high hopes. It seemed like it took a long time for everything to click and then when it did, it felt like "duh, of course that's what happened." I think that this will definitely appeal to teens who like thrillers but I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone.