A review by cateemma
The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

4.75/5 stars

this was so freaking good. i was gripped for the ENTIRE book which i don’t think has ever happened. and the climax was still climactic somehow. at one point, there’s a fire and the narrator is describing the smoke and i swear i could see smoke in the room i was in and smell it agh it was so well done. 
i knew going into this that it dealt with abuse but i didn’t realise how much… so here are some trigger and content warnings:
- psychological & emotional abuse by a parent
- r*pe (not graphic)
- child m*lestation (mentioned a few times)
- gr*oming (mentioned)
- domestic violence and abuse
- family violence
- child abuse
- s*xual assault
- guns
- bullying
- fbi/police
- abortion (mentioned)
i might have missed some but yeah, there was a lot of heavy stuff but nothing very graphic and it wasn’t the whole focus of the story.
i thought the depiction of being a survivor was very accurate, especially the thoughts the mc had and the way she talked about it with her therapist. also the therapist was GREAT which i loved. and healing was a big part of it, like after the trauma she experienced she didn’t just get better straight after. 
if anyone happens to read this review and wants more detailed content warnings please message me!! 
but i loved this book so so much, it was almost impeccable.
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