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.

Okay, I didn’t realize that this book was connected to Sadie and as I was reading it wondered why in my head I thought the writing seemed familiar. It’s a thriller that made me think.. but I’m not sure that I’d pick it up again. Puts you in the mindset of the rich..

<i> A S P E R A </i>*

There were times while reading I'm The Girl where I wanted nothing more than to yell through the pages and warn Georgia. She's reckless. She's angry. She's hungry for power, and she's willing to do anything in her pursuit to get it.

That's the point.

She's sixteen.

Georgia Avis is a teenaged girl whose goal is to work at an exclusive resort for billionaires who desire a place away from the rest of the world: Aspera. Georgia's pursuit for a place in Aspera leads her into the arms of its owners, Matthew and Cleo, who seem like they want nothing but to help Georgia climb the socioeconomic ladder. The stress of bills unpaid and her brother working overtime to make up for money Georgia stole is a constant in the narrative, part of the reason events in the book unfold, and when it's juxtaposed with the luxury of Aspera, it's clear: Georgia wants power, but she equally wants freedom from the way her life is. From the life her passed mother had.

And her beauty is the way out of it.

<i> He told me I was beautiful! </i>

Georgia knows the way her body is given value in our patriarchal society. But this makes her think she can have equal footing with the adults that control her town, her world, and those in control want her to believe it.

<i> The patriarchy's dream. </i>

Courtney Summers seriously puts Georgia through the ringer. There are many difficult scenes and descriptions in this book, starting at the first few pages. This book forces us to confront why we as a society are easily angered by a sixteen year old girl- why a town is so quick to judge a troubled thirteen year old girl- instead of focusing on the adults in her life that do real harm. Violence in this book is not for shock value, and that's what makes it different than so many depictions of grooming and assault: they, like the rest of this book, are there to make you see. Force you to see. This happens, this is real.

<i> It's everywhere. </i>

Don't get me wrong, this book isn't purely bleak. There is also hope, and that hope is seen in Georgia's relationship with another queer girl, Nora. What an amazing character. I loved every page that had her in it. Her grief, her love, her anger. She and her relationship with Georgia are a beating heart in this novel. While a main part of this book is the slippery slope Georgia falls down, it is also about the strength girls are forced to find in the worst situations, and how they won't give up.

Never.

---
I was given an arc by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
*all quotes are from an advanced copy

Criticism:
- I'm confused with what Tyler knew. I'm *assuming* he didn't know about the literal sex trafficking or he would do way more to stop Georgia from going to Aspera, right? Was the blackmail her mother had minor things? Maybe about drugs or something else? I think this needs to be clarified for the final edition because the final discussion between Georgia and Tyler didn't clear up enough for me. Because there's no way he would have let her step foot in that place if he knew exactly what was happening, whether he made promises to his dead mother or not.
- Please say the word lesbian or queer or gay!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an arc in exchange for my honest review- all thoughts and opinions are my own.



I’d like to start this off with the trigger warnings I hope the book places out once published. The description doesn’t really fit, and triggers go as follows- corrupted police, non consensual sex, minor sexual activity, trafficking, CP, and bribery between a child. A non consenting CHILD.


The description made me feel like I was going to have a basic thriller - if this is situated as YA like “sadie” was/ it shouldn’t be.

Main character was seemingly written as a naive teenager trying to “get ahead” I feel like this could have easily have been written from an adult woman’s perspective- it made me uncomfortable- probably the point. But going in to what the description was and the actual book-
Not the vibe I thought. The ending was scattered. If I had to summarize it it would be Epstein and G’s island but make it a mountain spot.

I loved Sadie- so I know this author has some great options. This just didn’t sit well.

Courtney Summers books always get to me. This one was unsettling in a thought provoking way.
Summers makes you think you are starting a YA murder mystery but this book is that and a lot more.

I’m The Girl follows Georgia Avis, who survives an attempt on her life and finds the body of a missing local girl. Georgia is being cared for by her older brother after her mother’s death. She tries to help financially by getting a job at Aspera, a local club with high profile clientele and a lot of secrets. Georgia finds herself falling in love, chasing a killer, and discovering truths about Aspera.

You will be frustrated with Georgia. I’ve read some reviews about her choices being so obviously bad and her character being unlikable. While I see what they mean, this is real. Young girls do many things to be told they are beautiful. They put themselves in bad situations because they think it will prove their worth. Summers spins a dark tale, but it is a statement that wouldn’t be as profound if she did it any other way.

Thanks to Netgalley for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review is posted on goodreads and Instagram.

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...

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!

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.

One of my most anticipated reads of 2022 lands not with a bang but a whimper. I was so excited to get the ARC for I’m the Girl. I was absolutely floored by Sadie and it’s a book that’s stayed with me - I think about it a lot. This book falls far short of the mark. It has many of the same qualities (and ALLLLLL the Trigger Warnings. ALL OF THEM) but it’s a shadow. I can see where Summers was going, why she wrote this book (re Epstein) but the reality is that it falls in that vacuum of other thrillers where too many two dimensional characters exist only to drive the plot forward. Nora was the character in the book with the best story to tell and the most depth, but she mostly exists in the periphery. There are other problems with the book but the biggest is that Summers is capable of much more. Hoping for a return to form with her next release. Maybe if you haven’t read Sadie you’ll enjoy this one more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book to preview.

Georgia Avis is hit by a car and finds the dead body of a classmate's little thirteen year old sister. This is all set in a town ruled by an exclusive club called Aspera where the powerful go to be left alone and free. Georgia is 16 and cared for by her older brother Tyler after their mother died. Add to this Georgia's fervent wish to be an Aspera girl and frankly, this is all a recipe for terrible terrible terrible things to come.

This was a hard book to read because Summers has writing chops and because of how dark and raw the subject matter is. I also want to state that it was graphic at parts. I'm a grown woman and I completely bristled at parts and was just so worried for all the young characters. Especially when I sat there and wondered what the heck one was thinking! It's like watching a horror movie and a character is going down to the basement in a towel. You in the audience say WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! I had this moment too often, but I had to eventually concede in my mind that humans do very stupid things in order to feel like they are loved and belong.

This books needs trigger/content warnings. I hope the finalized copy has them.

Great YA read

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Absolutely gutting. This book is ethereal and soulful, and leaves you wishing the world was a better place. But you always know that it just isn’t.

Heartbreaking and powerful, beautiful writing.

Courtney Summers is an author I would recommend to my high school students who wanted something different,
smart, unique and edgy. I was thrilled to get an early copy of I'm the Girl to add another one of her unique thrillers to my collection.
This book starts with a bang- our main character Georgia finds a murdered teenage girl on the side of the road. But there's mystery involved with her discovery. It is believed that she came face to face with the killer that night, but doesn't remember a thing about it.
What I love most about this book is that there is always this feeling, this air of mystery and being unsettled. And as a reader I LOVE That. It is exactly how I want to feel when reading a thriller mystery. I want to be on edge. I want to have all of these questions, and I want a protagonist who is a little raw. Summers does this with her pacing, her word choice, what she chooses to reveal, the world where the book takes place, the characters, and the journey the reader goes on. It is a journey that can only end in one way.
The book tackles difficult issues but meets them head on which leaves the reader angry and unsettled- as it should. The main character is one you root for, despite all of her misunderstandings and flaws, and I really loved the relationship she develops with Nora as a partner in crime, as well as a sweet love interest.
I recommend this book for high school libraries and readers who enjoy a good thriller.

I read this book having no idea about the author or too much about the book itself. It's not the type of book that I usually read but it really sucked me in. As others have said, it is dark and it is harsh but also, unfortunately, probably realistic. I definitely struggled to understand the MC and I had to keep reminding myself that she's only sixteen, but I think that's the point. I really hope she ends up living a happier life. So yeah, if you want a happy-go-lucky book, this is not it. Want a true-to-life, gritty, everyone's a jerk read and you've got it.
#NetGalley

My god... Courtney Summers did it again and left my jaw hanging on the floor after finishing another novel of hers. Another novel where I grew disgusted and captivated by each page I read of Georiga's journey.

It took me a while to get into liking her. There were some parts where I was utterly annoyed by how she was acting even though she was still a kid. The idea of her being oblivious to how men are preying on her looks and sexualizing a child., But the more annoyed and frustrated I grew at the end I hurt her and the girls that were involved with Aspera. A place where they were promised by working there they would be untouchable hurt dark things hide behind closed doors.

Is the killer predictable within the first 100 pages of the book? Yes, it was; but with the unfolding of the story, I didn't care. This says a lot because I would have given up right after finding out. Reading the synopsis and then reading the book was different from what I thought. YEt I loved it. It showed a big evil in a small town and how much power it can have with money.

Great book, and for sure recommend it if they're in a thriller. I think this is for sure a top 3 favorite from Summer's works.