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thereadingraccoon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Death, and Drug use
Minor: Suicide
clarereadstheworld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I really struggled to identify with the main character, who was so desperate for any tiny scrap of validation from the male gaze that she was totally blind to how grossly she was being manipulated and abused by those around her. I know this kind of thing happens in real life, and it's important to have books and discussions about it, but I felt the writing, much like the main character was sorely missing in depth and maturity.
Not only this, I think it would be a rather dangerous book from the impressionable younger audience it seems to be written and marketed to. Seriously, do not let younger girls read this book, and even as a full grown semi mature adult I wouldn't really recommend it either.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As Nora and Georgia get closer to the killer, Georgia realizes it might not just be about one person who is guily. When everyone around you is a part of the dangerous thing, how do you decide who is at fault? And how do you keep yourself from enjoying the power that it can bring? Georgia has to figure out how to have her own power to hopefully bring Ashley's killer to justice.
Thanks to NetGalley, LibroFM, and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers to review! Courtney Summers is never afraid to cover the tough topics, and this book is no different. It's being pitched as a kind of successor to Sadie, and that's an accurate description. It definitely has the same kind of feel.
I'll start with the fact that this book isn't easy to get through. Summers tackles a lot of issues connected to teen girls in relation to men who are wealthy with power. There are some very dark moments in this book, especially as Georgia tackles her own traumas. While she might not be the most likeable character, that's also kind of the point. Teen girls are complex beings, and that's part of Summers' purpose in writing these stories. They need to be told as much as the happy ones.
Summers also nails the emotions in this book. All Georgia really wants is someone to love her and appreciate her for her beauty. She wants her life to mean something, pretty much like anyone else does. It's part of the reason the relationship between her and Nora works so well. They're both looking for someone to support them, to help them through their trauma. It felt so realistic.
The narrator for the audiobook is also fantastic. I was engaged in the story the entire time, even if it was difficult to read. Summers takes you on the same journey as Georgia.
All in all, if you look for dark, true crime like stories, this one will be right up your alley.
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No one really writes the bleak reality of teen girls quite like Courtney Summers does. Stay tuned for a full review to come soon!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Rape, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Drug use
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
I loved Sadie! But this book was just terrible. The MC was highly unlikeable. I think you were supposed to feel sorry for her, but honestly, I didn't really. She just seemed like an entitled poor person. who thought she deserved better because she was attractive, WTF. As someone without a lot of money, I'd never assume, "well, if I were more attractive... I'd be rich!". Just because you're attractive does not translate into an entitlement to be rich. NO ONE has the entitlement to have money. Some people are lucky enough to be born with money or have an easy or harder path to wealth, but most people will still be around where they were born.
I did like Nora and Tyler. But they couldn't make up for Georgia.
Also, Georgia's entitlement overruled any thought of the "thriller" element, which was mostly ignored for Georgia's attempts at social climbing.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Classism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Drug use, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Vomit
kaitsteak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use
oracle_of_madness's review
4.0
This book hit me like an unstoppable force and I know deep in my bones that it has left a permanent imprint that will never leave me.
Georgia is the girl. She knows her place is to be an Aspera Girl. On her way to the beautiful high rolling country club, Aspera, she is hit by a car. When she revives still on the same road, she keeps heading for Aspera but winds up finding a dead body. Not just a dead body, but a girl she knew, Ashley, who was only 13 and just by looking at her Georgia could see she wasn't simply just murdered.
This story breaks apart the whole scenario of a teen, who in this case is a girl but could be anyone, that wants her dreams to come true so badly that she is blinded by the light of those dreams and cannot see what is actually happening to her and around her. This deals with quite a bit of sexual assault to the point that it was hard to read at times. This is a beautifully written story that really leaves an impact but please be aware of the content warnings.
Tw: sexual assault of a minor, unsettling depictions and scenes, violence and murder.
Out September 13, 2022!
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug use
lrcartee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I love Courtney Summers books. I love how she tackles difficult subjects and brings them to light. I wanted to love this book. I did not. There were so many plot points that it was very hard to decide how to write a synopsis. Was it about Georgia’s obsession with the resort and the people who run it? Was it the fact Georgia found the dead body of a 13 year old girl and trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her? Was it about trying to spotlight a young girl’s naïveté and thereby unable to see the dangers that lurked around her? I don’t know! It was all those things and didn’t do any of them particularly well. It was too disjointed and because of that nothing really resolved. As for character development, there was none. Georgia wandered in and out of so many traumatic experiences seemingly learning nothing from any of them. She became very trying.
The blurb for this book says it’s about Georgia and her friend trying to find out what happened to her friend’s sister. To me this was secondary. In my opinion, it was more about Georgia fulfilling her dreams no matter the cost and sometimes stumbling upon something about the murder case, usually by being in situations from very poor decision making.
Another reviewer wrote that the entire book was a giant trigger warning and I agree. They were all represented, rape, child molestation, grooming, human trafficking, murder, suicide, drug use, classism and more. For me, the book needed more cohesion. As I said I have loved Summers other books but this one, for me, was just too all over the place.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Car accident, Classism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
booksteastories's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The main issue that this book struggled with is pacing -- it ebbs and flows. The first few pages are jam packed with action and then the next 30% has very little plot developments and only after the 50% mark does the book recover a consistent and attention keeping pace.
The writing portrays a world that is enticing and horrifying in turns. The plot is intriguing, a story that you cannot look away from. The slow discovery of how, exactly, everything happens was fascinating. The characters were all intricately developed, the well-fashioned pins holding up the story. Sexual violence is an integral theme to the story, which makes the book difficult to read at times.
Overall, a book that will require a reread in order to fully see the way in which everything unfold, that will leave you with questions to ponder after it's done.
Graphic: Violence and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape and Torture
Minor: Drug use
bookcrushin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Classism, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Car accident, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Blood, Suicide, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, and Terminal illness