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A review by katykelly
The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe
5.0
Smart thriller/hostage/relationship story with layers.
Oohh, I really loved the serpentine nature of this, with current and past intrigues, interwoven with darkly humorous as well as dangerous characters and situations.
In present day, there's a bank hostage situation. But it's not that straightforward - our narrator, one of the hostages is herself a wanted woman, part of her own twisted and threatening con artist background.
While we follow the excitement of the heist, as Nora and her friends struggle to stay alive and gain some control, she also shows us her history, as daughter of a woman who constantly made her change her name, appearance and character, to con men out of their money.
It's different. Each story on its own would have made a whole novel, with psychological trauma and suspense in both. Together they shouldn't work, but Sharpe is in control here and what might not seem necessary does actually mesh well to give not only Nora depth.
I found this exciting, and seeing it is going to be filmed, am keen to see it on the screen. Nora makes a wonderfully entertaining, empathetic and imperfect protagonist, with some vibrant secondary characters surrounding her. Her past, as a little girl, is vivid and does give her a lot of our sympathy.
The plots dovetail into quite an exciting finale, and I did find myself riveted to know both the secrets of the past and how things could possibly work out in the present.
Enticingly different. Highly enjoyable. Recommended. One that young adults will enjoy as well as those older looking for something unique.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
Oohh, I really loved the serpentine nature of this, with current and past intrigues, interwoven with darkly humorous as well as dangerous characters and situations.
In present day, there's a bank hostage situation. But it's not that straightforward - our narrator, one of the hostages is herself a wanted woman, part of her own twisted and threatening con artist background.
While we follow the excitement of the heist, as Nora and her friends struggle to stay alive and gain some control, she also shows us her history, as daughter of a woman who constantly made her change her name, appearance and character, to con men out of their money.
It's different. Each story on its own would have made a whole novel, with psychological trauma and suspense in both. Together they shouldn't work, but Sharpe is in control here and what might not seem necessary does actually mesh well to give not only Nora depth.
I found this exciting, and seeing it is going to be filmed, am keen to see it on the screen. Nora makes a wonderfully entertaining, empathetic and imperfect protagonist, with some vibrant secondary characters surrounding her. Her past, as a little girl, is vivid and does give her a lot of our sympathy.
The plots dovetail into quite an exciting finale, and I did find myself riveted to know both the secrets of the past and how things could possibly work out in the present.
Enticingly different. Highly enjoyable. Recommended. One that young adults will enjoy as well as those older looking for something unique.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.