Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Girls I've Been

For someone who has read probably like one or two thrillers in her life, I enjoyed this!

This is a thriller with teenagers that was well written, well paced and well constructed. I liked this straight forward writing. I liked the storytelling.
I didn't get that much attached to the characters except for Nora but I was surprised that it didn't bother me that much.
Nora's story (and her sister's) is tough. This book was darker than I thought it'd be, as it is the story of an abuse (of all kind) survivor who went through horrifying things.
Truthfully, I don't have much to say. I had a good time, I'm glad I had my bisexual and endometriosis representation, and I'm glad I tried the thriller genre.

Content Warnings

albon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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tinysierra's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.0

Very fast paced and intriguing
Alternates between past and present
Bisexual main character
Nora and her friends have gone through a lot of trauma with abusive family members and/or partners, so the book is heavy on the aspects of trauma and survival.
Nora, Wes and Iris are all intriguing characters! I think it would be cool if Iris and Wes had their own books. I liked Nora and Iris’s relationship.
Iris has endometriosis. It was cool to see that represented in the book.

Content Warnings

esophagus18's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i’m a big fan of morally ambiguous main characters so i thoroughly enjoyed this book. i felt like the characters’ reactions to their trauma was very realistic given their need to just continue living despite

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speterson47's review against another edition

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3.0

Nora thought this was just a regular trip to the bank to deposit the money they had raised for the shelter. She never thought that Wes and Iris would be caught up in any cons with her. But now her ex-boyfriend turned Frank'n'friend, and new girlfriend are stuck in the middle of a bank robbery. Nora will have to use all her skills from growing up to see if she can save all the hostages in the bank, but she doesn't want her secrets to come out? She hasn't always been Nora.

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charlies_shelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“Don't ever apologize for being smart”

Content Warnings

nara_knl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

reading this book was so out of my comfort zone… even though this is not even close to my go to genre, this book caught me instantly! i love the way it’s written! i love nora! i love iris and wes! and this story was catchy and so so good!! i’m really happy i stepped out of my comfort zone! i would’ve missed so much! so excited for the movie tho!

Content Warnings

sebnia_05's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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