Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - I'm the Girl

“What makes you decide to kill a girl? What makes you decide not to?”

This was a hard one. After reading Sadie a few years back, I knew I needed more Courtney Summers in my life. Until I saw the ARC for I’m the Girl, I kind of forgot all about it. I’m so glad I went and requested it. It was such a great read for the mood I was in, and I finished it in one sitting. (I definitely felt it the next day.)

Georgia Avis is riding her bike when she’s suddenly hit by a car. As she stumbles away, she sees someone in a ditch. Unfortunately, the young girl is dead, and she’s only thirteen. This sends the town, and Georgia, on a terrifying journey to see what money can really buy.

“You’re going to learn very, very fast that money can make anything happen.”

This is a very timely book. Georgia’s town is a normal one, except it is home to Aspera, an exclusive, members only resort for the rich and famous. Georgia wants nothing more than to be an Aspera girl. They’re beautiful, they’re talented, and they’re special. Coming from poverty, she wants to be part of their world.

This is a very sad, very bleak novel. It deals with some heavy topics, so please check content warnings at the end of this review. I kind of knew from the description how the novel might go, but I was still not prepared for the emotions I felt reading this book. In a world where so many people are just struggling to survive, there’s a real group of people who are paying money to be horrible people. This book is not listed as based on a true story, but we can definitely guess.

“Maybe it’s not how much time passes—it’s what it takes from you when it does.”

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

CW for death of a child, murder, rape, drugging, pedophilia, sexual assault/violence, suicide, incest, grooming, abuse of authority, and corruption

Content Warnings

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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This book honestly creeped me out and not in a good thriller way.

Telling a girl she has the power to stop a man from raping her is just disgusting. I obviously don't know if the author explains that this female character's view is WRONG later, but that's what got me to just stop with this book

What I read of it just left me feeling gross.

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.

Content Warnings

thebookstagrambabe's review

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

What the F*ck did I just read? The only way I can describe the book as is ICKY! The trigger warnings are in abundance. I can't believe this is a book marketed towards young adults. I can't even summarize this book because it just felt so messy and disjointed and not in a good way. Im not gonna lie, I was attracted to the cover and the blurb sounded somewhat interesting so I requested this on Netgalley. I hadn't read any of the authors other work but her other books seemed to have good ratings.

This book had one too many plots and was way too graphic. It seemed to glorify abusing beautiful women and there really is no resolve to this book. We just find out what happens and then fade to black. Like WHAT?! There is no conclusion here. No, she finds out and tries to stop it. Basically this book is just a big middle finger to woman and to tell them don't even try to help because the bad guys are always gonna win and the people you think are good guys aren't. Maybe I'm just too bright eyed, but this book was just not it.

Thanks to the publisher for an ALC in return for an honest review. This book releases 9/13

Content Warnings

blueeyedshook's review

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Maybe the timing of my reading this book just wasn’t it. Maybe I’m not the biggest fan of Summers storytelling style (though her writing is beautiful).
But what I do know is that this is not a book I would recommend a teen. And the point of the book is to get an important message across to teens. But instead of teaching a valuable lesson and imparting a message, because of Georgia’s naïveté I feel like the message is more harmful.
It is also just a painful, disturbing book to read. Like make me physically ill. And I can only count a handful of books that have done that to me.
I just think it’s a bit too gritty and graphic for YA.

Content Warnings

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