I read this book in one sitting. I was hooked on this book from the very beginning, and it is was one of the best contemporary books I have read in a long time. Sharpe not only wrote an incredibly tense and thrilling story, but she also managed to include a heartbreaking character background that allows the reader to see how far some people are forced to go to survive. This book had basically everything I could have asked for. It had amazing LGBTQ+, a fast placed and constantly twisting plot that left me begging for more once the book was over, and a story of survival that moved me to tears but also showed that Nora truly was the survivor in her story, and was not a victim to be blamed.

I don't have enough words to describe how amazing this story was, and I will be reading more from Sharpe as soon as possible.

"You get to choose," aka the line that broke my heart and put it back together again.

The Girls I’ve Been was a thriller with a refreshing premise. The story itself only takes place over the span of a couple of hours, but by the end I felt as if I knew these characters so well.

Nora was always a con artist. Her mom taught her how to be the best assistant in a con. When Nora finds herself in the middle of a bank heist, she has to figure out a way to get out safely. Nora is such a complex character. She has led hundreds of lives-- each one shaping who she became as an adult. Iris is amazingly funny and unique. The chapters alternate between the bank heist (modern day), and Nora’s past lives. The plot is fast-paced and the jumping between past and present feels seamless.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

With the voice and wit of a comedy but the heart and soul of a drama, this book absolutely blew me away. The way Nora's life unfolded in tandem with the present events kept all the plots tense and tight throughout the entire reading experience. Every character, even those who were only present for a few scenes or flashbacks felt so fleshed out and real, for better or worse. The relationships between Nora, her sister, her ex-boyfriend, and her girlfriend were so layered with love and history and evoked some of the greatest found family energy I've yet to read in a realistic fiction novel. In addition to the thoughtfully explored themes of assault, trauma, abuse, and reclamation of autonomy, the prose itself was incredibly quotable and beautiful. I genuinely adored this book with my entire being and will happily recommend it to anyone looking for something equal parts heartbreaking, uplifting, humorous, and entertaining.

A dark YA thriller, like a teen version of Good Behavior. The characters and their beautifully strong bonds really stand out, and Nora’s narrative voice is especially clear. Even the more procedural aspects of the robbery plotline, which could have come off as dull or drawn out or far-fetched, seemed interesting and well thought out. I did feel a little let down by the results of the robbery, and the back and forth playing around with the timeline sometimes robbed the action of its punch or gave me the same sense I get when I start a book without realizing that it was a sequel, but overall the story is very confidently told - Sharpe’s writing is quite solid, letting you know that if you don’t understand everything now, she’ll get you there in the end. Action-packed but full of heart, recommend to those who enjoyed Six of Crows but like contemporary stories as well, or those looking for something along the lines of Alex Rider or Heist Society but with more intensity.

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What starts out as an ordinary, if awkward morning depositing money turns deadly for Nora, her girlfriend Iris and her ex-boyfriend Wes as they find themselves in the midst of a bank robbery. But Nora is not any ordinary girl. The daughter of a con-artist, she was raised as her protégé and has played many roles in the past. And now, five years after escaping that life and building something resembling normality, it’s time for her to pull out those old skills again in order to save herself and her friends.

This was an action-packed story right from page one and the author wastes no time getting things underway. It was a thrilling read especially considering that the entire present day timeline takes place over only a couple of hours. The narration style keeps the tension sky high and this is a book that is impossible to put down. As the hostage situation in the bank escalates, Nora’s life unfolds in parallel, bringing to light the stories of her past identities, the most recent of which makes her a valuable bargaining piece to the robbers. It was quite fascinating to learn about what her life was like, and how it has affected her.

Nora was a fantastic character – she’s a fighter and a survivor and her past experiences have only made her stronger. Iris and Wes were also well-developed characters even if I do think that Wes should have gotten a little more page time. Iris on the other hand, was amazing, and I loved how resourceful she was, coming up with a plan to escape using what was at hand.

As much as I enjoyed learning about Nora’s past, the flashbacks were too fragmented, at least in the beginning, and it was rather annoying to be drawn away from the main story which was starting to get really interesting. On the plus side though, it’s perfectly possible to enjoy this even if the pieces take a while to come together, even if I would have liked for the story to have gone a little more in depth into Nora’s past.

This book was not entirely what I expected, but it was a wonderful read and I am definitely looking forward to checking out other books by this author. The Girls I’ve Been is apparently going to be a Netflix movie and I can’t wait to see what it turns out like, because this is the kind of story that could actually be even better on screen. There is some potential for a second book since there are still a few things left unresolved, but it’s nicer this way, so I doubt I’d read a sequel. Highly recommended!

Why is everyone raving about this novel? Because it is the literal embodiment of a can't-put-it-down book. Nora and her two best friends stumble into a bank robbery gone wrong. Everything has fallen apart. Mostly because the bank robbers don’t know who Nora is. And what she is capable of. Do NOT underestimate the power of a smart young woman. Especially a young woman who has been training for the long con her whole life. Nora (and all her past lives) are unforgettable. I’m just sorry the book is over. I never wanted it to end.

thank you to penguinteen and netgallery for the arc!

this one was SO MUCH FUN and had me hooked from the first page when it usually takes me quite a bit longer to get invested in books. i expected more plot twists and surprises, and the book was focused less on the bank heist itself than i expected, but i didn’t mind because my favorite scenes ended up being the ones set in Nora’s past. The Girls I’ve Been was a great quick read with likeable characters and i’m really excited to look into this author’s other works!

“We’re all gonna die because I waited for the bacon donuts.”

4.5 out of 5 stars (4.5 / 5) This had me hooked right from the start. When I couldn’t read, I was thinking about it. When I was reading, I was devouring.

Nora is an insanely unique character. She definitely made this book. She is caught in a bank robbery with her best friend and girlfriend. Because of Nora’s background, the story takes twist after twist from there.

She was raised as a con artist and it’s fabulously entertaining, even heartbreaking at parts, but you get to know her well and there is never a dull moment.

She takes what she has learned from each con and incorporates it into her situation. Her best friend is a big teddy bear that I love and her girlfriend is a chic tough chick. The combinations of their personalities to make this friendship is priceless.

I loved the relationship between the three friends. The romance between the two girls was very sweet and well done. I will be reading more from this author!

Thank you Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the advanced egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Con artists, bank heists, multiple identities, bisexual rep and kick ass females. This is a story about Rebecca, Samantha, Haley, Katie, Ashley and as she’s now called, Nora. Each identity Nora had in the past as a result of a con put on by her mother has a story that shapes Nora into who she is now and the choices she makes on the day she finds herself in the middle of a bank robbery. And thereafter.

The author wastes no time getting the story started. Almost immediately Nora, her ex boyfriend Wes, and her girlfriend Iris are making a deposit at the bank and taken hostage as two men attempt to get into the bank’s vault. It is very thrilling as the whole action packed robbery takes place in a matter of a few hours. I found the beginning a little slow to get into but it def picked up the pace once you knew who was who and the dynamics.

I greatly enjoyed the character of Nora, and all the girls she has been. And also Nora’s girlfriend Iris, I mean hello the flaming petticoat?! Nora is unapologetically fierce. She has to be, in order to protect herself, her past and her family. She is a survivor. Nora and Iris are resourceful. They worked with what they had both together and separately to come up a plan to get out of the bank and out of harm’s way. Again: flaming petticoat!!!

I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a thrilling tale featuring badass female, survival, family secrets, and protecting those who matter at all costs. I am super excited to see how Netflix adapts this novel, especially with Millie Bobbie Brown starring!

first i would just like to say thank you to penguinteen for this arc in exchange for an honest review! holy crap tess sharpe has done it AGAIN. far from you was one of my favorite books i read in 2020 and this definitely lived up to my expectations. it was so different from anything ive ever read and i loved every bit of it. i encourage tess sharpe to keep writing bc omg is she amazing.

“What didn’t kill me didn’t make me stronger; what didn’t kill me made me a victim. But I made me stronger. I made me a survivor.”

Tess Sharpe outdid herself on this YA thriller featuring Nora O’Malley, a girl who assisted her grifter mother, Abby with sweetheart cons until she was rescued by her older sister Lee at the age of 12. Because of Nora’s testimony, Abby is now in prison along with Nora’s sociopathic step-father, Raymond, who wants nothing more than to see Nora dead. Nora, not her real name, now 17 and living with her older sister, Lee, is hiding in plain sight. Forced from a young age to slip into different girls to suit her mother’s cons, Nora is an expert at becoming someone else.

“I’ve danced way too long on the tilted ground. I don’t know what to do with myself when I’m on something steady.”

When Nora meets her ex-boyfriend, Wes and her girlfriend Iris at the bank, things are awkward enough since Wes walked in on Nora and Iris kissing just last night but then the bank is held up while they’re in the lobby and things go from bad to worse. What I really loved about this book is how it addressed a morally gray character’s attempt to set things right through the experiences she gained through less than desirable past events. The story is told in dual timelines focusing mostly in the present during the bank heist but the author gives insight into Nora’s past, specifically the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother while forced to participate in the cons she ran.

The Girls I’ve Been is a page turner with a thrilling suspenseful plot that unfolds like a perfect hand of cards. The characters are ones that I cheered for, especially Nora; she is a survivor and as the quote I shared above states, she fought hard to become one and her strength of heart shines through brightly. All the stars for this twisty thriller!

This book was an absolute delight to read. It was thrilling, well-paced, and touched upon some difficult topics as well. Content/Trigger Warnings for abuse and assault are definitely necessary.

Nora, her girlfriend Iris, and ex-boyfriend Wes find themselves taken hostage at the bank where they were trying to make a deposit. What the robbers don’t know is that Nora isn’t even Nora at all. She’s Ashley, Katie, Rebecca, Samantha, Haley…the daughter and partner of a con artist. She quickly realizes she’ll have to combine all her identities if she wants to make sure everyone leaves the bank alive.

In the present, Nora and her friends are at the bank, between each chapter tells the story of the girls she’s been, how they started and ended. Although the book jumped back and forth throughout Nora’s life, it wasn’t disjointed or unorganized. Each flashback chapter was clearly labeled, dated, and relevant to the current situation and provided valuable insight into Nora’s characterization. The author did a great job of grabbing the readers’ attention and keeping it throughout the novel.

My only critique is that I hope this is not a standalone novel. Nora is such a fascinating character, I would love to read more about her, Iris, Wes, and Lee. If you want a captivating YA thriller, this is your novel.

Thank you to PenguinTeen and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Girls I've Been follows Nora O'Malley, the daughter of a con artist, as she finds herself held hostage in a dangerous bank robbery gone wrong with her girlfriend, Iris, and her ex/best friend, Wes. As Nora struggles to get all of them out alive, her past is laid bare. The girls she has been - the ones her mother raised her as for various cons, and the ones she has tried so hard to keep secret - are forced to resurface. Dangerous secrets are great for keeping people alive during a heist. Not so great for maintaining stable relationships.

First off: Sharpe has an absolutely fantastic voice. I loved the writing style of this novel. The sharp wit and relatable emotional lashes pull you in from the very beginning. On a similar note, the formating was super cool: I love stories that pop from present to past, and that format was done very well here!

As for the characters: they're wonderfully unique, and I adored getting to know them. Iris in particular owns my heart with her vintage aesthetic hiding (metaphorical) daggers beneath. We learn early on that Iris has endometriosis, which I've never seen in YA book before. So, that was genuinely awesome. Nora intrigued me from the get-go, too. Her personality, her quirks, her history: they're are all things seen more commonly in men in YA fiction. It's honestly my favorite character type, so I was delighted to see that 'detached-but-emotional, cool, level-headed' persona shown in a young woman instead.

The main issue I had stems from the genres of this book. As a mystery/thriller, it's fantastic! But it tries to balance this out with equal levels of romance. I love a good side-romance, especially when it's queer (the representation in this book was wonderful, by the way), but in a story like this, I think the romance needs to be just that: a side. As it is, it feels just a bit too cluttered. The romance abruptly cuts off the thrill and mystery, and vice versa, significantly disrupting the flow of the book. As a result, I found it hard to stay engaged. I wasn't bored necessarily, but my attention often strayed with each new chapter, so I found it rather difficult to actually get to the end of the story. I adored the relationships, and certainly wouldn't want that content to be excluded, but I just felt they needed to be integrated in different ways.

Overall, The Girls I've Been is a great read! I don't know if I would have picked it off a shelf based on the description alone, but I did enjoy it, and I loved the messages carried throughout. Pop this on your TBR, pick it up when you get the chance!

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This has been on my radar for quite a while now and I'm so excited that I was able to read an early copy! I'm happy to report this is my first 5-star read of the year! There was so much good in this book and it was utterly addicting, I could not stop turning the pages (well...tapping the right side of my screen, but you get the point). Only the threat of work in the morning kept me from staying up all night to finish, though I did stay up way later than I meant to. The nonlinear timeline of this book kept me hooked as I was desperate to see what would happen in the present during the bank robbery and very interested in learning about each girl Nora had become in her mother's cons and how those experiences shaped her.

I really enjoyed the characters. Nora is clever and slick; a few years out of the con game hasn't made her rusty in the slightest. When she needs to recall her mother's teachings they come right back to her. I adored her relationship with Wes but that may be because Wes is the best and I just want to keep him close and protect him from everything. Wes is just so genuinely good. This is demonstrated multiple times in the first few chapters when he keeps trying to put himself between the robbers and the other victims trapped in the bank. I think the synopsis implies that this book is a sort of love triangle situation and that's not the case. Wes and Nora were close friends who dated in the past but they remain best friends, even if the relationship had to heal around Wes's broken trust when he learns Nora's secrets. Wes is hurt at the start of this book because Nora has been keeping another secret from him, her relationship with Iris. Even though he would have been happy for both of them. Iris was absolutely fantastic, a whip-smart girl with a penchant for fifties fashion (right down to the proper undergarments) and just a bit of a fire obsession. She also suffered from endometriosis and I really liked seeing that and the discussion around how debilitating it can be in this book.

I was fascinated by Nora's relationship with her mother. The evolution of the relationship was so interesting to read. The manipulation and the gaslighting all wrapped up and twisted with Nora's hero-worship of her mother made for such an interesting read. This book does an excellent job of balancing a classic thriller story of a girl trying to outwit bank robbers to ensure she and her friends escape while also offering a deep examination of trauma and what it takes to survive. That said there are content warnings to look out for including psychological and emotional abuse, child abuse, domestic abuse, child sexual abuse, and violence. Tess Sharpe goes more in detail about the content warning on her Tumblr and there is a link to the specific post on Goodreads from her.

Overall, this was an intriguing story about what happens when a former con-artist is trapped as a hostage during a bank robbery gone haywire with her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend. The story has an interesting non-linear structure as "Nora's" past is revealed in increments throughout the bank robbery.

Sharpe has a very fluid way of writing that flows effortlessly. It was quick read and the action throughout should be super appealing to teens.. In addition to the great LGBT+ storyline, at its core, this is a fantastic story about sibling love (because what Lee goes through for Nora is impressive).

Trigger Warnings: Assault, violence, murder, abuse

The Girls I’ve Been was nothing like I was expecting and I mean that in the best way possible. I don’t even know what genre this falls into, as I swear it had every single one in this book. Such a unique book full of twists, but also full of tough subjects. The writing was spectacular and once I got a little way into the book, I didn’t want to stop reading. The past and present chapters and how short the chapters were had me flipping pages.

Nora O’Malley is the main character, and what a bad ass main character she was. She has had a very strange childhood; her mother was a con artist and would find gullible men and con them into loving her and she would steal from them. She used Nora in all of her cons and would make her the perfect daughter to fit the con. Their latest con her mother doesn’t want out of, she falls in love with the man and Nora wants out. She makes a plan and she gets out, and for five years has been living a somewhat normal life with her sister. Until she goes into the local bank to drop off money and a bank robbery is taking place. Now she is stuck in the bank with her ex-boyfriend, her new girlfriend, and no way out. She might have one more con up her sleeve though.

“I don’t want to love them, and I’ve never needed to be loved by them. I learned very early, the best thing you can expect from them is pain. And the best thing you can do with a bad man is destroy him.”

This book was so freaking good, I honestly don’t even know how to describe it or what to say about it. I loved the multiple timelines and how we get the present time in the bank and slowly are discovering who exactly Nora is. We also get back stories of each of the girls Nora has been during the cons that her mother did. I loved how bad ass Nora was and the more backstories I got about Nora, the more I cared and loved her. She has gone through some down right horrible things and is still processing what happened during her childhood. I loved her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend. They are both such amazing side characters that had so much depth to them. I really enjoyed how this ended and I am hoping there is another book because that ending has me wanting more.

Tess Sharpe paints a vivid picture about a young girl forced into the life of conning and grifting by her mother and how even when she has gotten herself out of that life, must put all the tools she learned to use when a routine trip to the bank turns into a hostage situation.

Nora has had a very tough life. She has been through so much at the hands of her mother, the woman who made her all the girls she has been. But, even after living through some of her mother’s most heinous marks, she is subject to the abuse of the con man who made her mother fall to her knees in love. Getting away from them was not easy but Nora managed with the help of her older sister, Lee.

Now Nora lives a different life. A quieter life. Her ex-boyfriend, turned best friend has caught Nora making out with their other friend Iris and he is pissed… It makes for a very awkward trip to the bank for the three of them. That has nothing on the situation when Nora realizes they are at the bank in the middle of a robbery. She must then become something of her past. Using aspects of all the girls she has been before she puts in place a plan to get them all out.

This was fast paced and exciting while still being extremely sweet at times. Nora as a main character was strong and brave. She is someone I would definitely want in my corner because she loves fiercely. There is beauty in both her relationship with Iris, the lovely girl with the passion for gorgeous vintage clothing and her relationship with Wes, the only person aside from her sister who knows all of Nora’s secrets.

Nora has not had anything easy. She is still running away from her terrifying past and what she had to do to get away from her stepfather. But the skeletons in our closets have a way of coming back to haunt us, as Nora learns in the pages of this electrifying read.

TW: Abuse, sexual assault, violence, murder, rape

The Girls I’ve Been follows Nora, a teenager with a dark past of being her con-artist mom’s sidekick. The story flips back and forth between a bank robbery happening in Nora’s present and Nora’s past as different girls her mother assigned her to be during her cons.

At first I was disappointed because the book was not what I was expecting it to be, which was 100% my own fault as I read the synopsis too fast. I thought that this book was going to be about a girl who is currently a con-artist and we were going to see her con a bunch of people. While this isn’t exactly what the book is about, I was blown away after I dropped my expectations. The Girls I’ve Been goes way deeper than I could have ever imagined. This is a book about a girl who’s past deals with manipulative parents, toxic relationships, self doubt, and much more. The book also explores personal growth, learning to trust others, and how to heal from your past.

The Girls I’ve Been Before deals with extremely heavy topics while having a badass story at its core. I think that everyone who is able to read this book (keep in mind that there are many triggers in this book) needs to pick it up as soon as it is released.

I started this one on a whim, simply because it sounded interesting and the cover drew me in. Initially, what I was expecting was a clever, teenage heist novel that would be, at most, entertaining. And yet, I got so much more from this novel and it far exceeded my expectations.

The way the novel starts off instantly had me completely engrossed. As the story unfolds and we’re taken back into Nora’s past, I was hooked on the mystery of her life and fervently anticipating uncovering her secrets.

First and foremost, Tess’ writing is absolutely incredible. It’s intellectual and drawls beautifully with a metaphorical prose that I couldn’t help but highlight passages upon passages all throughout the novel. It carries and details Nora’s life trauma in a subtle yet strong way that makes it the perfect novel for all readers regardless of its targeted audience.

Speaking of trauma, what I loved most about this novel was the way it delved into Nora’s development as a character who is struggling to figure out who she is in a world where she’s only ever been someone else. As well as her development in coming to terms with realizing she is not at fault for actions that have been done against her person. It’s an experience and intellectual journey of discovery that I feel many can relate to.

THE GIRLS IVE BEEN portrays sexual assault, grooming by a loved one, physical abuse at the hands of someone you trust, found family, self discovery, and the positive effect of therapy all in a clever yet subtle way. I especially liked that each of these were introduced in the novel in a way that felt very natural. Each character has their own traumatic experience that are not automatically revealed but rather shown in a way that a reader ‘sees’ rather than ‘reads’ about. All this while a riveting heist is occurring and thus made the novel completely unputdownable for me.

I highly recommend if you’re looking for a refreshing, thrilling, well written and structured YA novel that goes more in depth on teen emotional and psychological trauma.

Totally engrossing story. Love a heist story, and Sharpe brings great depth to it with Norah. Recommended for teens.