I've had to sit with this one for a bit. I loved Sadie and I was excited to return to that world but this one just fell a bit short for me. It is really dark, gritty, and hard to read, and I think it is probably best suited to an older YA audience as opposed to a younger one. The trigger warnings on this are not to be missed, there is grooming, rape, drug use, death, and child sexual assault. I thought this was going to be more murder mystery (like Sadie) but it got lost amidst Georgia's naïveté and all of the terrible things that happen to her.

Overall the book was Ok. It has some really important topics to be discussed but I'm not sure that it hits it target audience.

Oh, man. This book.

It was a HARD read. Like, heartbreaking. So many spots were the reading equivalent of covering my eyes but peeking through anyway, watching Georgia make terrible (but age-appropriate and understandable) decisions. Even so, as hard as it was, it was so so good and so so necessary. I want so many students to read this - especially my girls who feel like they could and should use their looks to get what they want to move up in life.

Gah. Read this. Just know it's going to be an emotionally-tough experience, but also know it's worth it.

This was an intense, impactful read. Courtney Summers is a fantastic writer. I was hooked, I was uneasy, I was nervous, I was scared. I was feeling all the emotions I think the author intended her readers to feel.

Thank you so much @WednesdayBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 13 September 2022)

SYNOPSIS | Georgia is a 16 year old girl who is trying to use her beauty as a way to escape the poverty she has grown up in. She discovers the body of a teenage girl & teams up with that girls sister to try & uncover what actually happened.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the difficult themes explored within this story were subtle yet glaringly obvious (grooming, sexual assault, physical abuse)
- it was an unpleasant read at times especially seeing the disconnect in Georgia's thoughts compared to the world around her & I applaud the author for how she chose to write this

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the mystery / thriller aspect of the story just fizzled out
- Georgia's queerness felt like a plot device
- the call to action at the end of the book felt extremely vague
- the story is told in a really disjointed way that had been confused on multiple occasions

I’m the Girl was sold as a spiritual successor to Sadie which automatically skyrocketed my expectations. When reviews from people I trust started to come in, I was a lot more cautious about going into this book and I tried to lower my expectations and hope that Summers’ still wrote something that was going to hit hard.

Once again, Summers’ explores the vileness of humanity and how it can affect teenage girls. Unlike with Sadie, we don’t see to see a lot of hope throughout this one or even a glimpse of it. Just time and time again things suck for Georgia. At every turn something else happens that seems to make it all so much worse. Pair that with the abrupt ending, it leaves the reader with a lack of satisfaction.

Georgia was a really hard narrator to like. I kept reminding myself that she was young and she was going to have to learn through her mistakes. I kept waiting for that growth, that change, but it never came. We never see her view of things combated. Georgia continues to make these decisions based on these harmful thoughts that she had about herself and men nor did she seem to learn this herself. Even just a little bit of a challenge to her views I think would have helped, but there was nothing.

The synopsis really made it seem like this was going to be like Sadie with a mystery being solved and everything, but that really wasn’t as big to the story.

I’m not sure that this ended up hitting hard for me. It’s one I wanted to have hit hard so I would remember for some time, but that simply wasn’t the case here. I’m the Girl had a lot of expectations placed on it from the synopsis and how it was marketed which I think was ultimately it’s downfall for me. It hasn’t pushed me away from Summers’ books. This one was simply not for me.

Georgia needs to find out what happened to her sister and she will do anything to find out. Summers sets the atmosphere for an exposing thriller but comes up short. This book is a light on how girls are seen in society, especially by males. While there are sprinkles of clues and mystery, nothing is really exposed or a concrete investigation by the protagonist. I often felt more frustrated than intrigued.

i liked the concept of this book, but it felt like it got caught up in the setup and the atmosphere - part I, which felt like it should have been about a quarter or third of it, instead was a majority, and the plot, the climax, and the significance felt like they all fell by the wayside. i do love the author's writing style and what this was trying to do, but it felt like it ran out of time to try to do it.

I love the cover of this book! This book extends beyond a typical thriller. I liked the suspense and mystery of the thriller part of this book, but also appreciated the development of Georgia. Some parts can be hard to read because of the nature of the content.

Gut wrenching, heartbreaking and devastating describe the latest YA thriller by Courtney Summers. While Georgia Avis searches for the killer of thirteen- year- old Ashley James, she quickly finds much more than she bargained for. No one is to be trusted in this compelling story where a young girl seeks acceptance and inclusion from the wealthy and powerful. Parts of the book were difficult to read while forcing us to take a closer look at the under belly of prestige and privilege. Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my copy of this emotional and thought provoking book.

As always, Courtney summers delivers a disturbingly amazing story about trouble girls living in a troubled world. I can’t get enough of her writing!

This book compelled me so completely, it had engaged from start to finish. If you like mysteries, this is the book for you. If you like stories about strong women, this book is for you. If you like complex and unreliable characters, this book is for you. If you like a good, well structured story, this book is for you.

3.5 stars

I was intrigued by the synopsis for Courtney Summers’ I’m the Girl which made me imagine the book to be an atmospheric, dark, and gripping read. While some parts definitely delivered on this promise, I didn’t find it to be the case overall. My expectations may have played a part in my overall feeling about the book.

I enjoyed the mystery and plot twists in I’m the Girl. It kept me guessing until the very end and I was pleasantly surprised by how the story unfolded. I also liked the hint of romance without it taking over the plot. I just wish there had been more of the atmosphere I had been hoping for.

I didn't find the MC, Georgia, to be very likable which made it difficult for me to root for her. But I will say that she felt realistic and was interesting to read about outside of my personal feelings. I absolutely loved Sadie also by Courtney Summers, and have been looking for the same pacing, grit, and characters in Summers' books ever since.

While I’m the Girl didn’t quite live up to my expectations, I will say that it was still an enjoyable read and that it showcased Courtney Summers’ talent for spinning an unpredictable mystery. I will definitely be reading more of her work in the future—anything new as well as previously published titles.

This story is so gripping, you will not be able to put it down until the very last page. Georgia is a very complex character getting herself deeper into the underbelly of her community.

My third book by Courtney Summers, and will ABSOLUTELY not be my last. Every thing she writes packs such an emotional, gut-wrenching punch - I'm honestly in awe. She has this ability to get under your skin with her stories, creating this tense atmosphere that requires you to keep reading, keep flipping the pages, keep going until you get to the ending (which is always guaranteed to be a rough ride).

The author's knack for excellently written young girl characters shines here, too. Georgia was so relatable and her depiction felt SO realistic and fully fleshed out. She's not completely likable, she's not flawless - she's real and troubled, and I think a lot of people can relate to that.

This, like the author's other books, have some really great commentary on current society - here, moreso focused on young women and their need to fit in, be wanted & adored, even at great cost (often, without fully even understanding what that cost will be). It's easy to be immersed in this one, but also easy to apply a lot of it to the real world -- love that.

I cannot seem to connect with this book which makes me extremely sad because everyone else seemed to love it!

I went into this book with very little expectations as I have tried many times to read their other books and couldn't get into them. This one unfortunately was another I couldn't. I think this author isn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers is a standalone YA thriller/mystery book.
Sixteen year old Georgia dreams about a life free of poverty and sees her beauty as a way out of it. After discovering the body of a 13 year old girl she teams up with the girls older sister to find out who did it which leads Georgia into a world of wealth, privilege, power, and danger.
***
This book was so hard to read. So hard. There is grooming and sexual assault and it was uncomfortable and not at all what I would call a pleasant read, but also, I don’t regret reading it, no matter how mad and upset I was by the time I finished it.
Georgia was so hard to be in the mind of, she recognized her beauty and the tool it was but she also seemed incredibly naive of everything else, especially desire and how she could inspire it in others. It was painful and awkward and so incredibly frustrating at times but it definitely drove a painful narrative. This was a rough book, and I recommend it, after checking trigger warnings for yourself.

Let me start out by saying that love Courtney Summers books and although I didn't hate this one, I also didn't love it. I enjoyed seeing the representation but I felt that some of it was confusing because of the decisions our main character makes. Much of what the characters do during the story made them very difficult to connect with. I was confused on the part of how much Georgia was concerned with what men thought about her and also how obsessed she was with Aspera. The characters just didn't seem to have much behind them, not much to connect to and identify with.
Summers' writing is beautiful and the plot was great, it just feel a little on the slow side for me. However, that will not make me stop picking up her books. Summers' is a great author and some books just work better than others at times.

I am truly at a loss as to how to rate this book. The subject matter is extremely important but the story itself was not particularly compelling. In a world where rich men often get away with the most heinous of crimes I am inclined to rate this highly solely for putting a spotlight on the topic. The main character is not very likeable and is repeatedly victimized. While blame should never be placed on the victim this "heroine" brings a ridiculous level of naïveté. Unfortunately, these things do happen in reality and I'm sure there are many victims that don't see their victimization in the early Era of their grooming. The love interest plot line did not add much to the story either. It was an unnecessary layer on the story. I absolutely loved the author's book Sadie so I couldn't help but feeling disappointed here. I will still be reading her future works though!

This cover is sure to draw a lot of people in because of how stunning it is. Courtney Summers really knows how to capture a deep and complex story with tough topics wells. Be sure to check trigger warnings before diving in.

Oh what a wild ride this book was! I am new to Courtney Summers and now I can't wait to read everything she writes! Very twisty and peels back the curtain of what people think they know, and what they don't want people to know. Fantastic YA read!