A beautiful read. She has been very real and honest in her writing and telling her story. I read this book over a couple days. I was hooked

Top Girl is a fascinating and insightful read. Some parts are very gritty and quite shocking. It's a very powerful and thought provoking read..

Incredibly honest, this book will take you inside the world of county-lines exploitation seen from a first hand perspective. The story is raw and told with heart.

Top Girl by Danielle Marin.
This is the true story of how Danielle Marin went from Grammar School girl,to County Lines drug dealer. 
Really good read. Couldn't put it down. 5*.

Thus wasn't what I was expecting, but in a good way. I thought it was going to be the typical police thriller book, but it was nice a first hand story about life, drug dealing and consequences of chosen actions. This book was thought provoking, and helped to see the personal side-on crime and how the loss of a child can totally kill your emotional being.

I was gripped to Danielle's story from page one. I felt every emotion possible reading this story of a highly intelligent girl who had everything going for her falling into a different path and making some bad life choices. Some parts were hard to read and deeply upsetting as a mother and a woman, and in honesty I was frustrated with her priorities on a few occasions; that said it is easy to judge when you're looking in. By the end I was rooting for Danielle. This book is a prime example of how one bad decision or traumatic event can effect your life so dramatically, and a reminder to never judge or label someone. A truly fantastic story. Honest and raw. You deserve every success Danielle.

Top Girl is Danielle (“D”) Marin’s first-hand and frankly harrowing account of her journey from twelve year old schoolgirl to county lines drug dealer and her eventual decision, at the age of twenty-five, to turn her back on the only world she knew. A solid family background and a prized place at a grammar school should have been an opportunity for Danielle to escape the poverty and violence surrounding her on a West London estate but instead it’s just the backdrop to her descent into a very different world.

Danielle’s takeaway from her early first encounter with law enforcement is leaving court with a reprimand and small fine and the view that there was nothing to fear, in contrast to the street justice that went on around her. Groomed by her first boyfriend who takes her virginity at thirteen, it opens her eyes to the possibility of a job as a drug dealer that is eventually realised. For me the defining moment in Danielle’s story is the appalling lack of response by the authorities who effectively sold her down the river after a sustained and violent gang rape. What should have been an opportunity for intervention instead ostracises Danielle from the very people that should have been responsible for helping her and leaves her deeply traumatised. When her allegiances to a local gang bring violence to her door and see her baby son removed from her care, Danielle throws herself into a lucrative county lines operation running hard drugs from London to the surrounding towns. Where the drugs are stored is just an indicator of how far from glamorous the realities of this life are and that’s without even considering the mental health impact.

I read Top Girl with fraught nerves and such investment in Danielle’s story that several events hit me like an emotional gut punch. The writing style is informal and conversational throughout which helps to make Danielle’s account not only immensely readable but accessible and relatable to a younger audience. It’s a propulsive and pacy read too with Danielle charting her distressing progression to fully-fledged ‘top girl’ in an uncompromising manner that makes for a real eye-opener. I am usually fairly sceptical about bad girl type memoirs which can often feel like an opportunity to garner a bit of sympathy or pass the buck. Danielle’s is nothing of the sort and right from the off she is upfront and takes responsibility for her actions. Even when to an outsider it seems patently obvious like she was failed by the authorities, Danielle does not look for excuses and I found it impossible not to empathise with her. That Danielle came through her experiences is testament to her strength of character and her story is full of insight and lessons for not just teenagers, parents and teachers but anyone who that wants to understand why so many young people pursue this path and how we can ever hope to change that. What the book makes apparent is that exiting gang life is far from simple as Danielle’s own struggle evidences and making a conscious decision is just the first step.

This isn't a book you enjoy exactly but it is really well done. Danielle's story is a real eye opener. Gritty and compelling.

Wow! What a read. Utterly compelling, I just couldnt put this one down.

The trues life story of Danielle Marin, a school kid in London who at the age of 12 is groomed and becomes involved in drug dealing and "gangs".

This one is brutally honest, disturbing yet immensely readable. Danielle is our narrator throughout as she tells us her life story from age 12 to current day. There is no sugar coating here and there is no passing the buck, Danielle owns totally what she did. She comes across as an incredibly strong character and she raises some interesting philosophical questions about the lifestyle.

Its not pretty, its very disturbing, there really are some awful scenes in this(I call them scenes but this is real life!). It was hard not to empathize with Danielle. She came across as both ruthless(she admits being in it for the money)but also incredibly fragile and traumatized. The fact that she led the lifestyle she did and came out the other side while carrying all that emotional baggage shows an incredibly strong woman, a real survivor.

If there is one non fiction book you read this year then make it Top Girl. You wont be able to put it down.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

A fascinating book into the world of UK drug dealing and county lines. This is an amazing story of a young girl from a London estate who goes to a grammar school and ends up being a drug dealer. This is a very honest and raw account where you get an insight into the decisions that end up changing people's lives. D's belief that she is not a gang member and that she is just spending time with her mates helps explain how a bright, young girl with lots of potential ends up making bad decisions and the impact this has on her life including losing her child.
A real page turner of a book that you will not want to put down.

This is the true-life account of Danielle Marin, "a smart grammar school student turned county line drug dealer."

Hard-hitting, addictive, and thought-provoking, I 100% agree with the publishers when they said: "This book should be on the National Curriculum." It definitely needs to be studied by the younger generation, as Danielle's brutal honesty leaves nothing to the imagination. Despite the dark side to this tale, there is also a lighter side, where Danielle spreads the message that no matter what mistakes are made, there is always a way out, and there can be sunshine after the rain.

Top Girl is relatable for all readers, of all ages, with its modern and relevant tone it will appeal to YA readers, as well as those who love true crime reads. I can not praise this enough, and the awareness that Danielle brings, is not only extremely courageous, it is also very admirable.

A highly recommended five-star read.

this is a non fiction book about Danielle a grammar school girl turned county lines drug dealer. It is a twenty first century cautionary tale told with grit, it is not a glamorous tale but has authenticity and and shows how bad choices at a young age can lead down a dark path. its has a brutal sense of self awareness that honestly.

Top girl is a factual book about a young girl groomed to become a county lines drug dealer.

Manipulated and groomed at the age of twelve Danielle is soon drawn into the seedy underworld of drugs.
8 years and up should be offered this book to read as it can show how easily they can be pulled into this world by a few kind words and treats.

It is extremely well written, dangerous, and explicit.
What a brave lady she is for giving us an insight into the daily life of drugs, the power people have over others the violence they dish out and the strength of Danielle to overcome her ordeal and write a very strong story.

I really enjoyed this book and throroughly recommend it.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. xx

A harrowing read. A good girl gone bad memoir and it definitely shocked me! Danielle is a smart student who attends a grammar school but quickly goes awry. I read this very quickly. Would recommend

Top Girl is the true story of how Danielle Marin went from Grammar School girl,to County Lines drug dealer. Danielle, with her working class background ,feels like a fish out water at her school and is literally seduced by the apparent glamour of gangs,drugs and easy money. Finding out the hard way that she's swimming with Sharks, Danielle's life is one of turmoil and constant clashes as she finds the reality of violence within the gang culture,comes to the attention of the police and finds herself alone with a baby after her family move overseas without her. Hooking up with one of the local "Top Boys" Danielle finds herself heavily involved in the dangerous but high;y lucrative world of drugs,guns and dealers.

Danielle doesn't pull any punches,this is raw and often quite shocking as a true story of life for many of London's young people,beatings,stabbings,shootings,theft, drugs and quite horrific violence casually meted out for what most people would see as very little reason.
It is quite a frustrating book as the reader sees Danielle building up to yet another bad choice and shaking their head thinking,"don't do it", which is exactly why it's such an important book. The supposed glamour of the gangs and easy drug money is shown to be a squalid ,dirty and dangerous business ,not least for impressionable and naive young girls..

A great read,and a book that should be widely available to teenagers to show the reality of life choices that might seem attractive but really,really aren't.

This was a deeply raw, honest and moving memoir of a a young girl who grew up in a loving home, had a good childhood, was well educated ended up as East london’s top girl of drug dealing. It showed me how easy it is to get involved with that lifestyle and how quickly things can turn. There were times when I was conflicted in how I felt about Danielle and her life choices however this book shows how not everything in life is black and white and there are many shades of grey in between. This is a particularly poignant tale especially with everything that is happening concerning county lines and gang culture right now

I don't normally read autobiographies but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could relate to life growing up in London. Danielle was bought up on an estate. A smart girl who went to grammar school but lured into too much too soon. Mixing in a bad crowd, experiencing things from an early age and going down the wrong path. Put into care and then loosing her own child. This is a must read

Beautiful. Poignant. Phenomenal.
This was a beautify read and I learnt so much. I cried and I smiled and there was nothing more that I wanted from this book. Truly a gem.

I absolutely loved this book and read it in one day cos I just couldn't put it down.
'D' gives a true insight into what life as a gang member/drug dealer is like and she tells it in her own words.
Its raw and honest. It isn't a glamorous or a pretty story but I really liked 'D' and the honesty with which she told her story. I liked that she took responsibility for her own actions and didn't try to play the pity card and even though in a lot of ways she was a victim she didn't play the victim either.
I was born and raised in South London, Brixton to be exact so her story is familiar to me, I'm just glad that I didn't get drawn into that lifestyle. I'm glad that 'D' found her way out and is now helping other girls and young women, I hope that she has managed to heal from all the trauma in her past and that one day she manages to reconnect with her son.

Myth busting and destroying the stereotypes of who and what a drug dealer looks like and where they come from. You don't sign up for a gang, they are your friends.
An eye opening account of how involved Danielle was in the start of the county lines operation.
The ripple effect of one decision.
I found the book fascinating and illuminating, a brutally honest account that does not hold anyone else responsible for the decisions that Danielle made. An important book for the younger generation