I really loved this book. Great writing, great concept and the hope of a series. I have honestly wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. If I’m reading any YA I don’t always want it to read like YA and this one doesn’t. This is a first book for this author and hopefully not a last.

This book has such a cool premise, but flopped a little bit for me. You can definitely tell that this is a young adult book while reading.

The twists were fun and the action was interesting to read. I think that I would recommend this book mostly to younger readers who are looking for something very unique and interesting!

4.5/5 stars! This read like a YA version of Red Sparrow, and let me tell you, I am HERE for it! Psychopath main character?? Yes please! It was comical to see such serious content get a satirical spin, hosting it in a high school with petty teenage problems. I loved the snarkiness of Emma and this story kept me guessing page-by-page. Will definitely be watching for more stories by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.)

"Diagnosed as a psychopath as a child and trained as an assassin at a secret CIA institute, Emma Garthright is not like other teens. But now Emma is faced with the one mission she isn't prepared for—making friends at an ordinary high school."

Emma tried to kill her younger brother at age 6 and was sent away to what her parents thought was a school to help her overcome her psychopathic tendencies, not enhance them.

Emma is very blunt, funny, and quite intense (as well as socially stunted). Reading about her trying to make friends, learning what the right thing is to say to appear "normal" and fit it was very entertaining.

If you were ever a fan of Alias, Spy Kids, any CIA thrillers, or just enamored by the human mind and how psychopathy manifests in people, this is the book for you. If you enjoy books where damaged people learn to heal, books about what it means to make real friends for the first time you will no doubt like this.

It's a story of a girl raised to be a monster who learns she's capable of more. Of what it means to protect people you care about (hell, to care about other people at all).

I can see this becoming a very successful series of books and can especially see this being optioned for a TV series or movie. Very well crafted story.

4.25 ✨ First I would like to say thank you to Net Galley for sending me an ARC. Next I want to say that this book would be a great movie. I really enjoyed this. This book had action, found family, and extremely developing characters. Basically this book is about Emma Garthright, who gets diagnosed as a psychopath at the young age of six when she tries to kill her brother. Emma gets sent to the Early Institute where she secretly gets trained to become an assassin. While going on her first mission she makes new friends that change her for the greater and gets to experience the life of a normal teenager until her mission starts to go very wrong. What happens? I guess you'll have to read to find out won't you?

Thank you Netgalley for the EARC.

Once I read the description and the title I was intrigued by the book. This book is a Ya crime thriller with a Psychopath.

We are introduced to Emma Garthright who is a 16 year old psychopath who goes to a institute of children and teens boarding school for kids diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. However the school is actually training the kids to be future CIA spy’s and assassins.

Every chapter had strong openings but i didn’t find the storyline got a bit boring and a little unreal for a teen. However the character dynamic was well written

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure after the first few pages if I was going to like this book and wheeeeew, I loved it! Emma is a badass, and she was trained to be. The setting and mix of mystery and danger is a full thumbs up from me. I hope this becomes a series!

You know those books that just pull you in from the get-go, and hold your attention the whole way through? Confessions of a Dangerous Girl was definitely one of those. I finished the entire book in about two hours straight, and I usually never have the attention span to do that.

I was honestly shocked to find out that this was a debut author. He absolutely did not seem like. Not only is Emma a fantastic narrator - smart, funny, realistic, and self-aware - but the plot is great too. The setting is done really well, immersive without being boring, and I loved how seamless (for the reader, at least) Kirk made the shift from Emma’s school to normal high school. The supporting characters were lovely - I think that they were written as realistically as ever, while still having their own personalities and hopes. I especially liked that Susie was a bit unconventional, by for example wanting to wear a tux to prom, and she was accepted by Emma and the other characters after a bit of thought from the former, without the author making it seem as if Susie was at fault for wanting to be who she was. That’s really awesome, I think, having a character like that in a book and having them presented as normal for it. I know a kid’s going to read that and feel a bit lighter.

The plot is also amazing? Just complicated enough for YA, but not too complicated that it was unable to be followed. I’m not even exactly the target demographic for this book but I didn’t see the twist coming at all! Kirk is masterful at foreshadowing, and plot structure, and nuanced characters, which all contribute to a plot that unfolds itself perfectly.

I also appreciated that this didn’t have a romance subplot, as most YA books do. Not that there’s anything wrong with romance, I just appreciate Kirk’s more realistic portrayal of the fact that many kids don’t want or have romantic relationships at this age, choosing, as Emma does, to focus on friends, family, and self. Although not in huge ways, this book is going to make a lot of different kinds of kids feel seen, and I think it’s also going to make other kids or readers more empathetic. Which… is awesome, honestly. I didn’t expect to get so much food for thought out of this without even realising, but I did.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a quick mystery, or thriller, or YA in general, read. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Weirdly, I love a good psychopath. Especially in a spy thriller! Emma is a fantastic character and I really enjoyed following her story. Definitely one to pick up!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for review

From thrilling fight scenes to a heroine you for till the very end this book has it all.

I always love a strong independent female main character and Emma was no exception. You probably already read the description (and if you haven't what are you waiting for go read it) so you know Emma was diagnosed as a psychopath and was taken into an institute at a young age. To everyone's surprise that place was creating little assassins with little to no moral compass. It was so cool seeing Emma grow throughout the book and see her realize that she does have the ability to empathize with others. Besides the super cool spy stuff Emma has to go to a high school and pretend to be a normal (is anyone really?) high school student. The relationship that formed between Emma and her friends Susie and Maeve was so sweet to read. If you have stuck around this long reading my review I highly suggested picking up Confessions of a Dangerous Girl.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this in advance of publication.

Quotes:
"Garrett!" I say, rubbing him on the head. "You're a genius!" "Mom says I tested as gifted, but she wanted me to stay in normal classes."
"But I'm not natural. I'm an ant with a fungus in its brain."

I was unsure about this at the beginning as it’s not my usual book, however it was amazing. Quick paces, well thought out characters, the story was great always developing and so many twists, turns and cliff hangers throughout. Was a great read and finished it in no time.

‘Confessions of a Dangerous Girl’ takes readers on a gripping journey into the conflicted world of Emma Garthright, a psychopathic assassin who faces an unexpected challenge—forming genuine friendships in a high school setting. Diagnosed and trained in the shadows of a secret CIA institute, Emma's dangerous skills collide with the innocence of her new environment.

As she navigates the treacherous waters of teenage life, her mission to befriend Susie Robinson, a virtuous student with secrets of her own, tests Emma's ability to truly change. With a backdrop of deception and danger, the novel explores Emma's struggle to reconcile her deadly past and the surprising connections that could change her fate.

As tensions escalate and the truth unravels, ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Girl’ offers a thrilling exploration of identity, friendship, and the complexities of redemption, making it an unmissable tale of suspense and transformation.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Rookwood for this advanced copy

I received a galley copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley

Think you're at a school being trained to work for the CIA....think again! Overall this was a really fun ride. The character even though a "psychopath" was likeable enough to keep the story moving without sinking into the usual tropes. I finished the book rather quickly because the pace of the story is quick and a lot of fun.

This is the kind of book you pick up as a quick palate cleanser between heavier fiction or when you are looking for something fun to read by the pool or on the beach. I would recommend it to anyone who likes YA fiction and/or light mysteries. After reading this I will look forward to reading more books by this author or even looking for additional books about our teenage assassins'!

A quick thank you to NetGalley & William Rookwood for the free EARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

As soon as I saw the book cover and read the description I had my eyes set on this book. After all, who doesn't wants to read a good Crime Thriller, and that too about a Psychopath!!

The Early Institute for Children and Teens is a boarding school for kids diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Under the auspices of its founder Dr. Warren Early, the school claims to rehabilitate youngsters so they can contribute meaningfully to society. But beneath this facade, the school is actually a clandestine training ground for future CIA spies and assassins. Sixteen-year-old Emma Garthright, a bright but troubled youth, is one of Dr. Early’s most promising pupils. In order to test her ability in the field she is sent on a mission.

In the terrific opening chapter of Dan Birk’s CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS GIRL, Emma Garthright is introduced as a psychopathic teenager who was diagnosed after trying to murder her own brother. It had strong opening chapters portraying Emma's personality but the storyline became quite boring for me. I found the plot to be a little unreal for a 16-year-old girl. The friendship dynamic was good in the book.

[The problem with establishing a main character as a self-obsessed, almost emotionless, psychopath is that, by definition, they are rather difficult for the reader to warm to. While Emma is reacting to the taunts and trials of her fellow Early Institute students it's easy to give a pass to her misanthropic moaning. By the time she takes her place in a regular school and attempts to wheedle her way into the school’s Model UN as the first stage of her assignment, her constant carping about everybody and everything becomes increasingly irritating. It wouldn’t be so bad if Emma’s very high opinion of herself was born out by her actions but despite her being portrayed as a ruthlessly efficient operator she seems prone to extremely petty acts of revenge, repeated failures, and is particularly squeamish with little things like having to root around in trash cans or put her hand in the water of a toilet cistern. Of course, Emma is on a journey of self-discovery and the contradictions in her character are partially, but not completely, covered by the author as he traces her story arc. There are passages, notably a trip to the mall where Emma attempts to help a new friend buy more fashionable clothing, that are funny and the action sequences are effective. (hide spoiler)]

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS GIRL is an odd mix of action and humor with a touch of geo-politics mixed with high school hi-jinks and an unconvincing nod towards teenage romance. None of it really rings true. After the excellent opening, it’s all a bit of a muddle of mismatched tone and intent. With Emma Garthright now introduced as a lead character, and by the end of the novel having shaken off a few of her anti-social traits, it’s time for Birk to develop her into an appealing, empathetic lead.

Though debut author Dan Birk’s CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS GIRL isn’t quite up there with the best YA spy novels, the author has created a memorable character that–with a little finessing–could be about to embark on an interesting career.

Emma Garthright is a fascinating character. Diagnosed as a psychopath after trying to kill her younger brother when she was six, Emma lives at the Early Institute where she - along with other teens like her - is trained to be an assassin.
When we meet Emma she is struggling to complete the missions she has been given, and her attempt to atone is to go undercover. She is to be enrolled as a student at the school local to her family and is tasked with getting onto the school Model UN group.
Watching Emma try to work out the situation she was in was absorbing. She doesn’t react like you might expect people to, but is highly skilled in ways that go beyond what you’d expect from a sixteen year old.
Naturally, those Emma is working for are not quite what they claim to be. We follow Emma through her mission and see her developing sense of conscience.
Quirky, far more entertaining than you might expect given the subject matter and it ended with a suggestion that things might just work out okay.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this in advance of publication.

Confessions of a Dangerous Girl by Dan Birk is a riveting and original young adult novel that explores the complexities of identity, friendship, and the struggle for redemption. The story follows Emma Garthright, a teenager diagnosed as a psychopath and trained as an assassin, who is now tasked with a mission to infiltrate a high school and befriend a virtuous student named Susie.

One of the standout aspects of the book is its realistic approach to Emma's character growth. As she navigates the challenges of high school, her struggle to truly change and forge genuine connections is portrayed authentically. The portrayal of Emma's psychopathy is handled with depth and sensitivity, avoiding common stereotypes and delving into the complexities of her condition.

The absence of a love interest for Emma is refreshing and allows the narrative to focus on her personal development and friendships. The relationship between Emma and Susie is central to the story, and the dynamic between these two characters is engaging and full of unexpected twists.

The pacing of the book is quick, making it an engaging and hard-to-put-down read. The mix of mystery and contemporary elements creates a unique blend that keeps the reader intrigued throughout. The story's original concept, where a trained assassin navigates the challenges of high school while attempting to maintain her mission, adds layers of suspense and intrigue.

While the characters are well-developed, there are moments when their actions feel slightly out of character. Despite this, the overall narrative remains engaging and compelling. The book also delivers several plot twists that keep the reader guessing until the very end.

In summary, Confessions of a Dangerous Girl is a must-read for fans of YA mystery and contemporary fiction. With its unique premise, realistic character growth, and engaging plot twists, this novel captivates from start to finish. Dan Birk successfully crafts a thought-provoking and thrilling story that stands out in the young adult genre.

4.1 rounded down to 4/5

I like reading about strong and smart women and girls, but the main character here turns out to be not so smart after all. But the story is well written and has a nice flow, the plot is OK, and the book is entertaining.

This book was amazing. It perfectly showed what most psychopaths deals with and gave like a lot of info on assassins which any crime lover wouldnt mind. It gave a realistic approach to things and showed true character development which was good for a psychopath.
I love that she didnt have a love interest and was so focused on what she was doing that she didnt care. In short, I stan Emma Garthright.

thanks to netgallery & william rookwood for the free earc in exchange for a fair and honest review!

psychopathy is absolutely fascinating. its a very misunderstood psychological topic, and the way this book handled psychopathic assassins without leaning into stereotypes too much is very impressive to me. this isn't a perfect book; the writing is a 6/10 at best, and almost all of the characters do something out of character at least once. that didn't stop it from being an incredibly fun read. if you're looking for something kind of silly to just clear out your brain, this is 100% for you. it picks up instantly and there's no adjustment period. as potentially disturbing it is to say this, i found this book to be pretty cozy. definitely worth a look if you enjoy teenage assassins.

Emma is a psychopath - something the CIA take full advantage of as they train her as an assassin. But going undercover and blending in to school as a normal teenager doesn't exactly fit with her skillset ...

This is a fast read with elements of a spy thriller and kept me pretty engaged throughout. I wasn't a huge fan of Emma, but the plot was good and left me keen to know how it was all going to end!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review