I'm not really into YA as much as I used to be, but this cover drew me in. I appreciate the fact that this book focuses on valuing yourself and your body. Great read.

I've just finished reading "Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl" by Joya Goffney, and it's a definite four-star gem. This book really struck a chord with me, and I'd like to share why.

First off, Goffney tackles a topic that's often left in the shadows – vaginismus and vaginal dilators. Despite considering myself well-versed in sex education, I learned new things from this book. It's the kind of enlightening content that I wish I had access to during my teenage years, and it's a must for the young readers in my life.

The family dynamics in the story, particularly with Monique's strict parents, felt incredibly authentic. It got me pondering the need for more literature that revolves around religion. It's surprising how seldom fiction delves into this area, given its significance to many. While I may not personally relate to all aspects of the book, I found myself empathizing with Monique's struggles in reconciling her family's values. Navigating that fine line is no easy task, and it highlights the intricacies of family relationships.

In essence, I'd describe this book as a journey through religious trauma with a sprinkle of teenage joy. It prompted me to reflect on the complexities of family dynamics and the concept of forgiveness. This book doesn't shy away from addressing tough topics, and it doesn't offer neat, tidy solutions. Life is messy, and it's okay for fiction to reflect that.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Growing up as a preacher’s daughter, 17 year old Monique, was taught absolutely nothing about sex other than that she should wait until she is married. If Dom, her boyfriend of 2 years, is the man she’s going to marry she feels like there no point in waiting. But after numerous failed attempts at completing the act, Dom breaks up with her. Heartbroken Monique tries to get to the bottom line of “what’s wrong with her” and maybe she’ll be able to win him back. With the help of 2 unlikely people, she finds about the reason why having sex with Dom had been so difficult for her. Will it be enough to win him back or will she even want to be with him anymore after her revelation?

I am so happy that the youth of today have so many diverse YA books that they can relate to. This story shows everything that can go wrong when you use religion to shield your children from the real world instead of being transparent and honest with them. This goes on in a lot of religious households including my own. Not as bad as Monique but I was still so uninformed all the same. As parents, we have to be open and honest with our children and trust that they hold onto the values we instill within them. Monique’s mother comes off as harsh and somewhat unloving in the beginning and all because she doesn’t want her daughter to make the same mistakes she did. But in the end, she realized that she’s failed her daughter by not talking to her about her past at all. <SPOILER>And let’s not get on them just up and ready to throw out their children over very petty and small disagreements. Like WTH! I wanted to throw my phone while listening to the audiobook lol. Parents have to stop trying to make their children live a certain life or live their life over through them. They are their own human beings and allowed to live their own life as they see fit.

This is a heart-wrenching coming of age story filled with difficult family dynamics, sexual liberation, and an unexpected love triangle. I would recommend this book to all the young ladies in my life to allow them to go on the journey with Monique of finding out that you are more than just your body and that you are enough just as you are.

So many people (kids and adults alike) can see themselves in the protagonist. I think that is a unique power in and of itself. A journey of self discovery and understanding one's worth is a message worth giving to all. I don't think the text is challenging enough for curriculum, but it's appropriate for school and classroom libraries.

This book educates on vaginismus. I did not know about this prior to reading this book. I believe the author educated us eloquently while also creating normal reactions from the supporting characters. I love that Sasha was an inspiring therapist, but her knowledge of exposure therapy and how to work with “clients” seemed too knowledgeable and on point. I love that Reggie is the good guy in this book. Though he is misunderstood and the adults treated him harshly, she still came out on top. I didn’t like the relationship with Monique, her sister, and mother. I was hoping that the same mercy the mother showed for Monique, was given to Myracle too. It’s also typical for parents to hold back their secrets from their children so I wasn’t surprised that the mother also experienced vaginismus and didn’t tell her children. The dad came off as too overbearing and for a pastor, made me question if that was realistic. Oh, and don’t get me started on Dom. I did not like that boy. The adventure that Monique, Sasha, and Reggie takes makes me forget that they are 17 years old. At times I felt they acted more “immature” than 17 year olds.

Setting: Texas
Rep: Black MC; Black love interest; multiple Black and queer side characters

I absolutely sped through this book! It was a really quick and enjoyable read - I loved how open and informative it was and I especially enjoyed Reggie's character.

I loved her first. book so I had high expectations and this one exceed them. I really loved the complexity of the characters and how it was plot driven while also giving a well fleshed out character portrayal. I couldn't get enough and think this is perfect for young adults.

This was a cute read with deeper topics that I wasn't expecting! I related to the main character and loved watching her journey and character development throughout the book!

Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl presents problems that many may face. It is good to show that these conversations do not have to be uncomfortable. It also shows other readers that it's ok. This book may be a great conversation starter for readers. Recommended for grades 8-12

Books that go into religious trauma and the way that purity culture severely negatively impacts people? Sign me the fuck up.

Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl, written by Joya Goffney was hard to get through but not in a bad way. It was hard for me to get through certain parts because it hit so close to home at times. I didn’t grow up as a pastor's kid but I grew up going to a conservative Wesleyan church that very much fed into yucky purity culture. The book made me angry in the same way that I get angry when I watch Footloose. I love this book so much because in a way it was healing to get to see characters getting the support and community that they needed in a way that I didn’t go until I was well into college. It made me sad for the younger me but thankful that I had the community around me that I did when I got older.

The character development was absolutely incredible to watch. Getting to see the way that Monique grows and develops with the exposure that she gets throughout the book made me so happy to get to witness it. This book really highlights the way that it is important to surround yourself with people whose beliefs are different from your own and always come at people with empathy and the willingness to hear what they have to say. There are different reasons that people choose to participate in religion and choose to distance themselves/not participate in religion at all and Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl does an amazing job of showing that range.

I love the way that this book talks about vaginismus and different treatment plans for it. I realized that I never knew the technical term for it. Being able to have conversations about these kinds of things with friends, adults in your life, and doctors is such an important thing and normalizing giving teenage people with a uterus access to these types of resources is so incredibly crucial and I love how it was handled in this book. Dom is a bitch, we love Reggie, Sasha is a gem, and Monique deserves the world.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen, and NetGalley for giving me access to an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

At last, a YA novel about vaginismus!

In all seriousness, I love that this book exists, as I know it's needed. I also appreciate how Goffney addresses the religious influences that make Monique feel terrible about getting the help she needs, and tackles the "good girls don't" head on.

Monique's dad is a real piece of work. It feels like he'd rather choose her boyfriend over her, and that is just infuriating.

What an interesting story with a lot of life lessons. I was surprised by the topic but an older YA audience would find it interesting and possibly relatable in many different ways. I liked how first appearances don’t mean anything in this book.

was not prepared to absolutely fall in love with this book. I got this as a net galley arc ages ago and am finally reading it oops, but rereading the summary I had a lot of reservations about some potential aphobia and this huge importance on sex but I am so so pleasantly surprised with the way this book went.

So basically this book starts with Monique who is a pastor's daughter, and all around good girl. Except she has been thinking about sex and that is a no-go especially in her family. After the 29th time trying to have sex with her boyfriend, her boyfriend breaks up with her because something isn't going quite right. Yes, we are all going to admit that her boyfriend is an absolute piece of garbage. But Monique doesn't understand that at the time. She's heartbroken and goes on a quest to figure out what's wrong with her body that she can't have sex.

Monique ends up in league with the super duper goody two shoes church girl, or so she thinks, and resident bad boy. This unlikely trio goes all over town and strikes up a friendship as they work to dismantle purity culture and virginity stigma and the intersection of religion and sexuality.

If I had to do like a one sentence review, it would be girls and women who finally find value in themselves and tell men to fuck the fuck off. 😂

But like really. I absolutely lived for slowly seeing Monique realize that she's so much more than her body and her virginity. I loved LOVED all the conversations about how sex doesn't make you a bad person and how it is your decision to have sex no one else's. You do not have to succumb to the pressure to either abstain or have sex. No one should be telling you what you can do or can't do with your body. No one deserves your body, not even your future or current husband. You don't owe any men anything but most of all you don't owe men your body.

There was huge girl power vibes here and taking the reins of your sexuality and embracing what your body is telling you. Listening to your body both when it tells you something's not right and when it tells you you're feeling good.
I think that this is such an important book especially in YA to break down these huge scary ideas about virginity and sex and approach it in such a sex positive way without alienating anyone who either is uninterested in sex, chooses not to have sex, or who has had sex and/or lots of sex. It does a great job of showing all sorts of relationships and allowing people to just be who they are.

This book though also tackles conversations about overbearing parents, sibling struggles, family drama, what it means to be quote-unquote good. It tackles overcoming or moving past old relationships and the emotions of starting a new relationship. It tackles sexual health and talks specifically about vaginismus. I honestly am so happy that I finally read this and cannot recommend it enough.

Black MC, queer Black SCs, mostly all Black cast

I really enjoyed this author and think this book is great for high school teens. I can see some schools hesitant to have in their libraries because of the content. I would put this on a reading list because of the unique topics, excellent representation, respectful romance and great characters.

I was so surprised by the topic but the author did a great job with this. All the characters were so well developed and you can’t help but love them all. This would be one for older teens/high school libraries.

This book was fantastic and is probably my favorite YA that I have read all year! There were so many fantastic things about this book. I loved the discussion on sexual health for teens and the traumatic effect shame can have on them. Monique was very relatable and so many readers will see themselves in her story.

I really liked how this book discussed some of the harsh expectations that can be associated with religion without denoucning it. Even though I am not religious myself I appreciated the way this book was able to walk the line in between both.

I loved the characters and how they grew throughout the story. I loved the evolution of Monqiue’s mom that we got throughout the book! I loved how Monique and Sasha’s friendship developed and how Reggie and Monique's relationship changed. The way he treated her with such respect and patience was amazing. It is such a good reminder to find someone who will love you for who you are and not someone who will pressure you into things you are uncomfortable with and who only wants your body.

I loved how sex postivie this book was. This is such a great YA book and I will be highly recommending it to everyone.

This was a surpising book. I went into it not knowing much (just enjoyed the author's previous work) and I had no idea what topics would be addressed in a YA book. I think this is very relevant for older teens and promotes a positive message that many teens would relate to in regards to sexual issues, if they are ready, religion etc etc. The friend group was amazing and I loved the little twist over the first impression we have of one character. Excellent book and well thought out.

Hands down one of the best YA contemporary novels I've read this year! Monique is a preacher's daughter who has been taught that sex is "dirty" and "wrong." But the truth is that she's been trying unsuccessfully to have sex with her boyfriend for months; when he breaks up with her, she finally begins to research her sexual health condition. With the help of some unlikely allies (the obnoxious know-it-all Church Girl and the new bad boy in town), Monique sets out on a quest to take charge of her own body and sexual health.

I loved that this book delved into sexual health for teens, and talked about the traumatic effects that shame can have on teens. Monique was such a relatable character, and I think so many teen readers are going to see themselves in her story. This book didn't shy away from the nitty gritty, and I especially appreciated the way this book tackles shame, stigma, and misogyny. Truly such an important sex-positive read that I couldn't put down!

Check this out if you enjoy books by Camryn Garrett, Brandy Colbert, or Kristina Forest.

This story is about a teen girl who goes from trying to make everyone around her happy and please everyone to figuring out what she wants for herself and her life. It truly reflects the dilemma a teenage girl can face and the criticism of people around her and conflicting images and ideals of what a “perfect” woman should be. Well written and relatable.