**Check Trigger Warnings**

As expected, Courtney Summers has left me gut punched. To which I will always respond with, “Thank you, may I have another?”

This starts with 16-year-old Georgia finding the body of a local 13-year-old girl from her small town.

She goes full Nancy Drew with the victim’s older sister, Nora. Infiltrating a bougie spa-like country club type place near the site of the body.

The suspense had me wincing ahead of time, just waiting for all of the shoes to drop. Georgia is both parts naïve and guileful. It is stressful to see her try to navigate through situations with so many traps that she cannot see.

Many will be frustrated with her character for her naivety, but the author wrote an article that brought up one of the many hard questions you will ask yourself after reading.

“And I knew when I wrote I’m the Girl, there would be the question—though there should be no question—of who some readers would feel more betrayed by: its abusers, or its victim.”

The inclusion of Georgia and Nora’s romance was a light in all of the dark. It was pure and wonderful, the exact opposite of everything else.

The writing was lyrical and beautiful while presenting such harsh truths.

Overall, this book is Georgia becoming and understanding what it means to be a woman in this world and if she is willing to accept it.

Check it out, when it hits shelves, 9/13/22!

A big thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot, even though there were pieces that were kind of hit and miss for me. In this book, the main character, Georgia discovers the body of Ashley and almost is killed herself. It's a strong setup and the opening scenes in this book were action-packed and intentionally confusing and fragmented to read. I was able to tell right away that we wouldn't be getting the full story as Georgia learns the secrets of both Ashley's death and Aspera. She alludes to things in the past or other things she knows that we don't get to see until later in the story. While I thought the prologue was almost too confusing, I enjoyed this element of the book. Georgia is an excellent unreliable narrator.

Georgia is a fascinating if at times frustrating character to read about. She teeters on the edge of being manipulative and ambitious and being incredibly naive and unaware of what is going on around her. At times this juxtaposition was believable, at other times it was not, but it was always interesting to read about as she explores a new world of wealth and power at Aspera. It also sparks an important conversation about the power dynamics of sex and consent, especially with Georgia being underage.

While the mystery, as it went on, pointed pretty clearly to who had committed the crime, there are so many other layers to this story than just finding out who Ashley's murder was. Georgia goes through a lot, so does Nora, and I actually ended up liking all these other parts of the book that weren't directly related to Ashley's murder the most.

I loved Sadie by this author when I read it, and while I didn't love this one as much, it was still an excellent read.

Courtney Summers is an author that never misses. I have been a fan of her writing since Cracked Up to Be and I'm always ready to read about more of her unforgettable girls. This novel isn't any different from her previous in the sense that it draws readers in immediately and hooks them on the plot and the characters. After finding the body of Ashley, Georgia is then thrust into a world that she is not prepared for. The plot keeps readers on their toes as they route for Georgia even though you are able to see where her story is headed. I loved this book.

Powerful, compelling, and a little uncomfortable to read. This definitely won't be up everyone's alley, but it is so well done, with hints of both Sadie and The Project.

Right from the beginning, this story doesn't hold back on how harsh the world is. It's about heavy topics and it doesn't shy away from them - something that remains true through the end, and is thematically important with a story like this. Summers doesn't pull her punches. We're immediately faced with issues of class, privilege, and misogyny, all filtered through the lens of Georgia, who desperately wants to push through that ceiling and rise above her station.

The characters are as spiky and flawed and messy as ever. This is an area in which Courtney Summers always excels, and that's definitely true in this outing as well. Georgia is stubborn and resentful and ambitious, in ways that girls often aren't portrayed. Nora is angry and fiery and stoic, which all makes perfect sense and makes her quite the compelling love interest. The duo in charge of Aspera are each slyly manipulative, charming and powerful and too polished to be authentic.

And then that ending! I really appreciate that Summers committed to her themes and commentary rather than taking the easy way out. Things end hopeful, but not happy. The resolution is character-based. It keeps the whole story feeling grounded, if perhaps a little unsatisfying in how little gets truly tied up.

The pacing is a little uneven in places. The story has to establish itself on several fronts, which means sections focused more on building up Aspera and the relationships there instead of investigating Ashley's murder. It's not a major distraction but it threw me off early on in my read, since the synopsis is so Ashely-focused - it doesn't mention Aspera at all.

Another thing that I kept pausing on while reading is how old the characters are. Nora and Georgia are about 16, fine. Nothing out of the ordinary there for a YA book, though definitely young enough to capture the creepiness needed for so much of the story's points to land. But Ashley and her friend are 13, and it's implied that they've been partying and drinking and doing drugs for at least a year if not longer. And everyone in town knows about it. Which just seems...a little young? I know that's the point, that they're children, but I also can't imagine seeing a 12 year old (who by all descriptions looks 12) in one of these situations and being fine with it. Or Ashley's dad, a sheriff's deputy, being this chill about his daughter staying out all night. It just felt a little bit unlikely to me, but it definitely did add significantly to how disgusting everything is.

TL;DR: A really powerful, stressful read.

I had a bit of a difficult time categorizing this book. There’s murder, romance, coming of age. I overall liked the story of Georgia Avis but there were just some confusing parts. I thought it was pretty graphic for it to be young adult. The mystery was strong but I definitely wanted more at the beginning and end of the story. It took a minute to pick up after the initial couple of chapters and then at the end I’m left with so many questions, specifically about Aspera girls.

I reallyyyy wanted to like this book but it was not for me. It was incredibly dark and the ending didn't really wrap anything up and felt a little weak.

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.

Georgia was so focused on herself and getting validation from others. It seemed like Ashley's murder plotline was put on the backburner and barely acknowledged. I think there were too many plotlines, murder, Aspera, Georgia's reflection on her and her mother's relationship, and Georgia and Nora's relationship. A good thing about this book: the chapters were super short and it was easy to fly through.

I’m the Girl is a suspenseful queer thriller that I finished within hours. I did enjoy it but I do think Summers’ previous novel, Sadie was stronger. While I’m the Girl was engaging, I found it difficult to empathize with George. I always welcome unlikeable, complex characters. However, I just couldn’t feel a connection to George and her desire to be seen as beautiful and made “the girl” at Aspira.

The deal: Sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis finds the body of a dead girl, then becomes entangled with the dead girl’s sister in trying to figure out who did it, all while also being young and hot and insatiably thirsty to be part of Aspera, the mysterious club of wealth and privilege just outside where she lives. (I got an ARC from NetGalley.)

Is it worth it?: This was incredibly hard to read and I think that’s what made it successful. If I make any cultural parallels (there are many!), it’ll give away the various twists, so I will just not. But if you like teenage angst and reading about beauty and power, while also feeling completely bleak inside, this is for you!

Pairs well with: Any Cassie-heavy episode of Euphoria

B-

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I found "I'm the Girl" to be a quick, suspenseful page turner. The plot revolves around a girl named George who dreams of bettering herself and as she is constantly told she is beautiful believes that the way to do that is with her looks and her body. Her mother has passed away and she is living with her older brother Tyler and they are struggling financially. She knows her mother wanted her to stay away from the fancy, exclusive club "Aspera" where her mother used to work. But George is trying to get hired on there as an Apsera Girl. Basically an elite group of young women who entertain the richest and most elite clients. To me it almost felt like a version of being a Playboy Bunny. Meanwhile, along the road that leads to Aspera, George finds the body of a missing 13 year old girl, Ashley James. Ashley's older sister Nora wants George to help her uncover what happened to her little sister. We spend a lot of time in George's head and for a good chunk of the book, I felt like George was an unreliable narrator because her thoughts are so twisted in how she sees herself and what she is willing to believe about herself and her mother... and Aspera. At the end of the book I decided on an average three star rating for this one. I don't like unreliable narrators and I also knew who 'done it' very early on. I had figured out all the twists well before George did and so I became a little annoyed by how willfully blind George had to be. That said, the book again was extremely engaging and a true page turner. I think that if you have previously enjoyed this author's work you will likely really enjoy this one as well.

Courtney Summers did it again! This book is gritty, dark and thrilling. It's incredibly difficult to put down once you start. I would recommend this to teens 16+, as there are heavy themes of sexual assault, murder, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Aside from those content warnings, this book is a fast paced mystery with plenty of twists and turns. The shady Member's Only Club, Aspera, feels all too familiar in today's world post Epstein. Georgia is an incredibly flawed character, but that makes this book and her journey feel very real.

Great for readers who are fans of crime novels, both true and fictional.

I love this book. I finished it in one day...I just couldn't put it down! There's a lot to unpack here, it's a pretty heavy book, so I'm going to make this short and sweet...I could go on forever about how I feel about this book!😅😮‍💨

I'm the Girl follows 16 year old Georgia Avis who survives a hit and run only to wake up and find the body of a missing and murdered local girl. When Georgia was hit she was on her way to Aspera, an exclusive club for the wealthy and powerful. It has always been Georgias dream to become an "Aspera girl" and climb her way out of poverty into the world of the elite and powerful. Now not only is she chasing her Aspera dreams, she's on a mission to solve this murder.

The writing is beautiful, and not only did it feel incredibly dark, we get a sense early on that Aspera is a cult, a sick and twisted place that we're not sure we should trust. Speaking of, I love unreliable characters, morally gray characters that you're unsure if you should trust, and this book was full of them!
The way the loose ends were tied up was satisfying and incredibly heartbreaking- Georgia's decisions throughout the book are MADDENING- you definitely do NOT forget that she is only 16...her naïveté blatant.

Trigger Warnings including but not limited to- trafficking, assault, murder, drug use, sex with a minor

Definitely an instant favorite for me, I can't wait to get a physical copy in my greedy little hands! If you've read this one, let's talk about it!!!!!

•I'm the girl comes out on September 13•

Thank you @netgalley & @wednesdaybooks for my copy of this thriller!

This story was almost too raw and real for me. It was devastating and brutal. It reminds me of how sometimes it’s hard to just be who you are.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A gutwrenching story of power, corruption, and gender-based violence, this book was very hard to read. I struggled to relate to the characters or understand why they made the choices they did, and the ending felt very bleak. Content warnings for sexual assault, rape, murder, and drug use.

This is a book that tackles hard subjects, so take the content warnings seriously. That said, it's a typical Courtney Summers and she pulls it off.

I haaaate to give an ARC a low rating, but this just didn’t work for me at all. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters and the writing felt clunky.

Was this as evocative and dark as I've come to expect from Courtney Summers? Absolutely. But also, oof.

Huge thank you to Raincoast Books for the physical ARC!

This is not a light book in terms of subject matter. The content warnings are no joke so please make sure you are aware of them before reading, as I was not. They include rape, murder, death, sex with a minor, sexual assault, and drug usage. The book basically opens on the main character, Georgia, finding the body of a young teenager who was raped, and much of the book delves into solving the whodunit. The story takes several dark and gritty turns that few YA authors can pull off like Courtney Summers.

Like many, I discovered Summers by way of Sadie, then fell further in love with The Project. This next thriller is more in the vein of Sadie, told from Georgia's POV as she navigates her summer of dreaming big around the memory of discovering the murdered girl. It's also queer! With Georgia becoming friends with the victim's older sister and eventually developing a relationship that I really shipped. While I did enjoy this and found it to be delightfully unnerving, I personally don't think it matches up to Sadie or The Project, and I think that's because I found the content matter to be a little too heavy for me.

Much of the book setting revolves around Aspera, an ultra-exclusive lodge that caters to the rich and famous looking to get away for some time out of the spotlight. Georgia's late mother used to work there before she was fired under questionable circumstances, and it drove a wedge between her and Georgia. Clearly her mother saw some shit, but Georgia is convinced that her dreams will lead her to being an Aspera girl. She believed the owner when he told her she was beautiful years before and remains determined to prove him right. Aspera is so unsettling. Yes, it's gorgeous and and serene and very posh, but there is something so off about it. Like, you know that those coveted Aspera girl positions are 100 percent for rich men to have sex with and avoid all consequences. Not to mention the dead girl was found just outside the property.

Summers is known for having unlikeable main girl characters, and while Georgia does fall into that, I did find her to be a bit more on the naive side of things. She thinks very highly of herself because she was told she was beautiful and has incredibly lofty dreams that do not have a healthy outlet. She is blind to certain things happening around her as she refuses to believe that a) her mother might be right and b) there are other ways for her to reach her dreams outside of Ketchum and Aspera. Some of her actions are what kept this book from being five stars as it became quite uncomfortable in certain scenes with certain characters.

Overall, it's another chilling book from this author and I can't wait to read more in future!

Sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis will do anything to become an Aspera girl, escalating herself from poverty into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth. When Georgia discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James she teams up with Ashley's older sister Nora to discover who killed her...leading her right to the front doors of Aspera.

I'm the Girl is a new YA murder mystery by one of my favorite authors Courtney Summers. This novel, like many of her others, centers around a female protagonist who's character is flawed, usually due to some trauma. That being said the material is usually darker in nature and can contain a variety of topics which may be sensitive in nature or even triggering for some readers (abuse, rape, murder, drug/alcohol use, etc.). Although the writing was fantastic, as expected, this one was a challenging read. I typically love her characters and all of their flaws but this novel just made me very sad. Unlike many of her novels where I am left feeling as if the MC has reconciled with some of their trauma this one just left me feeling very depressed. I think one of the reasons this one was difficult for me was because the characters are younger (13-16 years old) than characters from her other novels. As a parent, I was reading about children being exposed to the exact situations you warn your own children about. Georgia, a lesbian, is manipulated over and over again by men who feed off her desire to improve her situation at home by utilizing her beauty. She is constantly told that her attractiveness and sexuality is the door for her obtaining her deepest desires and that she should wield those assets as a power to control men. Georgia, as well as some other minor characters, are unfortunately put into situations that quickly escalate out of their control.

I love Courtney Summers and I really wanted to like this book. I found it very dark and while I like dark mysteries this went a bit darker than I want to have in my HS library. There are a few instances where there is explicit sexual descriptions that do not add anything to the story (I am not talking about the "grooming" that is going on). It seems that the author is writing more mature content to "grow" along with her early readers.

** spoiler alert ** Hmm... I definitely liked this much better than The Project. It felt very reminiscent of Sadie in tone (ie., extremely depressing). I liked Sadie as a protagonist much more, but Georgia had her good qualities as well. I figured out how the story would go pretty early on, and it was painful to watch Georgia remaining so ignorant about what was going on around her. In my opinion, the romance aspect to this book wasn't terribly engaging. I felt that Nora was included to act as a sounding board and the voice of reason for Georgia, but she didn't seem to add much to the main storyline. The story focuses on the world of the wealthy and powerful, and how those outside that world can be so very abused and misused. My heart hurt when some of the loose ends started tying up toward the end of the novel, especially because Georgia still seemed to have her blinders on when it came to these wealthy people. I do wish things had been explained more clearly at the ending, but I suppose the author wrote it that way intentionally, especially since I remember the ending of Sadie also being somewhat unclear. Finally, I guess this is YA? I wasn't really sure. The tone felt very adult. If I had a choice, I'd probably give this to older teens only, as there is quite a lot of disturbing content here, as well as some pretty explicit rape and sex scenes. But overall, I really enjoyed this book and thought it was extremely well-written, engaging, and heart-wrenching.

I've read Courtney Summers before, so I was excited to get this ARC. My experience with Summers's books is that they are emotionally heavy, involve violence against women, and there are sexual undertones. I'm the Girl checks all of those boxes; it's chock-full of triggers.

I didn't like it. Mainly because I didn't like the main character, Avis. She is obsessed with how pretty and sexual she is in a way that I found disconcerting. Avis describes her own lips as bee-stung more than once. 1) I can't imagine any woman I've ever met describing her lips this way (unless maybe she's describing what she wants to a plastic surgeon?) and 2) enough. Plus, she's a virgin and gay, AND hypersexual and wants every man's attention. I couldn't match these things up. It didn't work for me. Avis's obsession with the fancy lodge, Aspera, in their podunk town, was also hard to fathom. I flat-out disliked the characters and plot, but kept reading anyway (I thought about giving up more than once).

What kept me reading? It's short and fast. There's enough of a mystery to want to know what happens (I debated skipping to the end to find out). A commitment to review my ARC. Some sort of voyeuristic intrigue, similar to looking at a car-crash scene when you know you shouldn't. The word that kept coming to mind as I read was 'lascivious.'

I was hoping how I felt would change when the big reveal happened at the end, but unfortunately, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth. Plenty of people loved it, so you might too. Not recommended. Thank you again to the author and publisher for the ARC.