Fair warning - there are triggers all throughout this one.

There's a lot to unpack here. As far as a "whodunit" story goes, this was pretty good! I've not read any of Ms. Summers works previously, so I had no expectations but I think she did a pretty good job with the flow. That being said, Georgia was completely unlikable and some of the scenes/descriptions were graphic to the point it was uncomfortable (which I'm assuming was intentional). You've been warned.

By the way, the narration was great! Lori Prince completely knocked it out of the park and conveyed every emotion Georgia was feeling. Amazing job!

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings: There are A LOT of them, and most are spoilers so just... do yourself a favor and check them out before reading.

Ok, so Summers has made a name as an author for writing unlikeable female characters that are difficult and angry. But that paired with the stupid naivety of 16-year-old Georgia makes this a story (told only through Georgia) even more uncomfortable to read than it already was given the subject matter. Yes, this is a novel about the dark sides of the patriarchy and sexism. And yes, things like this happen to way too many young women (and men) who either aren't aware, or don't have the power to say no. And if this was an adult fiction title I'd probably rate it higher - the whole point of I'M THE GIRL is to make readers uncomfortable, to make them not enjoy the plot as it plays out. But with this being marketed as a YA title... meaning FOR TEEN READERS... the events that happen on page (especially) make this a title I would have a very hard time putting into the hands of my teen patrons.

Summers dedicates a LOT of page space to detailed descriptions of the naked female body (both teen and adult). And through most of the book the "lesson" that Georgia is learning is that she can use her teenage body to make adult men want her so she can become important. There's even a whole passage where Georgia tells an adult male that if they kiss (or do more) that it doesn't count because she's a lesbian. And that's.... not an ok message in a YA novel regardless of how the novel ends. It's a super harmful message for teens in general, but also is not a "good take" on non-heterosexual identities. And raises a lot of red flags for how Summers chose to handle queer identities in this novel.

Overall this felt like a trauma novel for the sake of causing trauma to a minor, not to be a path towards a greater/important message. I felt like the resolution of events overshadowed any chance of Georgia being able to show character growth/more knowledge by the end of the novel. And given some of the descriptive scenes between Georgia and adult characters, this novel felt a bit skeevy to read. The topic of grooming attractive young women by predatory adults is an super important one for teens to be aware of so they can protect themselves in their own lives (unlike Georgia) - but there are more constructive ways to handle it.

Lori Prince is almost does too good of a job with the audiobook narration so that the scenes where Georgia and/or Nora is upset make those passages really difficult to listen to.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this one. The overall plot line of the book was good. However, it all felt very repetitive. The characters were very hard to enjoy, and I just wasn’t a fan of the writing style. I’m usually a fan of Courtney Summers and YA thrillers, so I was surprised and disappointed that I couldn’t really get into this one. However, if the reader is a fan of YA thrillers, I would recommend giving it a try.

Unsettling and disturbing. After finishing, I'm honestly not even sure what to think of it.

There were a lot of interesting points the book was making, but I never really connected with Georgia as a character. Georgia being unlikeable was kind of the point, but I do wish we'd seen a bit more growth or self-awareness on her part.

It also felt like the narrative jumped around a bit too much. Maybe this was just because I was on the audiobook, but it definitely felt like there were some paragraphs missing in between certain scenes.

I don’t really know how to fully go about reviewing this gritty YA thriller. I’m the Girl follows 16-year-old Georgia Avis—after being hit by a car, she discovers the body of 13-year-old Ashley James, and with Ashley’s sister Norah, they try to find the answers. But the more Georgia looks, the more she is thrown into the world of wealth and privilege and danger. This story, a companion of sorts to Courtney Summers’ Sadie (it’s the same universe), is heartbreaking; it is uncomfortable; it is tragic. Courtney Summers writing is gritty and beautiful. Georgia is just a breathtaking character—she is painfully naive (I will say, sometimes too much so) and lost and searching to feel empowered. She is trying so hard to find her place and is taken in by people who see her as beautiful, something that she feels gives her value. Watching her naively fall for the lies of power around her was just so hard. But I also really enjoyed the subplot of her budding relationship with Nora and having her have that companion in a world where she is taken advantage of. The mystery was also really well developed. There were some elements that felt a touch predictable, but for the most part I felt really was surprised by the twists. This book is not an easy read, it is uncomfortable and I’d recommend looking into trigger warmings for it. The writing is captivating and the story is dark and discomforting. I would have loved a little more resolution, but overall this is a very interesting and gripping read.

For the audiobook too, I really loved the narrator's fit for Georgia!

This had me singing "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman" in my head.

Georgia's life changes at 16 when she finds the body of a 13 year old local girl. She was then hit by a car driven presumably by the killer but she didn't see his face. That's frustrating people in town, mostly the dead girl's older sister who is searching for answers.

Meanwhile, Georgia is wanting to become an Aspera Girl. It's a resort nearby owned by the wealthy Hayes family. Her deceased mother worked there before she died of cancer but there had been some fallout beforehand.

Georgia thinks if she gets in with this family, she can become someone important. She wants more out of life than her mom. But things aren't always as perfect as you built it up to be in your head and Georgia is going to have to find that out on her own.

This was interesting but not an easy listen. This author has a unique writing style. I'm not sure what genre I'd even put this book in or what audience would be best for it due to the subject matter.

It's fast paced and throws you right into the story with Georgia narrating her own life. It's worth the time if you have the heart for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen and review. The narrator was the perfect choice.

First of all I'd like to say to look up trigger warnings on this one before you go in. This story showed how men hold all of the power and control women and girls. I was astounded at how naive Georgia was at times but then remembered she was a 16 year old. She had a lot of trauma in her life and at times it felt like she thought the only way out was to be an Aspira Girl. I did see the twist coming pretty early on, but this was well written and it's an important story to tell. I thought the narrator did a fantastic job and had great emotion for the story. .


Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this Audiobook.

What a twisty and turny thriller!

Georgia’s mother is dead …she never knew her father. She lives with her brother and stole $4K for some photos she had taken to be discovered as a model.

Desperate to get her money back..and then her photos, she looks for these men in their store front but they disappear .

Then she stumbles upon a dead teen in the woods and is hit by a car.

She recovers and tries to make the money back from the exclusive club her mother used to work at….the one her mom wanted her to stay the heck away from.

This story goes in so many different directions. It ended abruptly for me and I hope there’s a sequel.

Her age doesn’t stop sixteen year old Georgia Davis from hunting down a killer after she finds the body of thirteen year old Ashley James. Together with Ashley’s sister, Nora, Georgia is determined to make sure no one else is killed. Her search takes her into a world where wealth and privilege cancel out personal responsibility, a world where you can get away with anything if you have enough money. This story is gut wrenchingly terrifying because its message is all too true in the America of the 21st century, a place where wealth gives you immunity to almost everything

I'm The Girl is, in my opinion, Courtney Summers's best book yet. It is a YA timely, stomach-turning thriller with strong plotlines and narration that can only be compared to the likes of Tiffany D. Jackson.

This book has some plotlines that are hard to swallow, and should definitely be for an older young adult audience, as it contains an explicit sex scene and some really graphic depictions of sexual assault, drug overdose and murder. This was one of the harder books I've ever read, and instantly became one of my all-time favourite thrillers. The way in which Summers manages to write Georgia, our incredibly misguided and naive teen protagonist, will pull at the heartstrings of anyone who knows what it's like to be a scared teenage girl who just wants to prove that she's worthy.

Not for the faint of heart, I'm the Girl tackles hard truths with no real solutions, because isn't that the world we're living in, after all?

I really, really enjoyed listening to this audiobook! It kept me hooked the entire time and I highly recommend

Audiobook/Book Review

I’m the Girl by Courtney Summers
@SummersCourtney
Pub date: September 13, 2022
Narrated by: Lori Prince
@LoriPrince212
Duration: 8H 21M


This will be my starter review because the more this book marinates, the more I have to say. I read/listened to this in ONE. DAY!

Courtney Summers is a favorite author and I will read anything she writes, no questions asked. Her books leave me feeling raw and exposed and they always tug at my soul in a meaningful and sometimes painful way.

There’s something about how she’s able to uncover the complex relationships/love between people that feels real to me. In I’m the Girl she describes the inherent power of women while also showing the vulnerability that’s forced upon us by the patriarchy and it is a devastating read/listen.

Here's the gist:

16-year-old Georgia is a beauty; she knows this and accepts this as a way out of her poverty-stricken life. Living in the shadow of her dead mother’s crime (which will be slowly revealed) she stays with her older brother who does his best to care for her. Georgia has always known that Aspera, a resort for the wealthy is her way out. But at what cost? What exactly goes on up there? Aspera holds the town in the palm of its hand; responsible for most of its employment and greasing a lot of palms, including that of the local police which makes it hard for the people who run afoul of Aspera.

When a young girl is found brutally raped and murdered, it starts a chain of events that will lead directly to a corrupt system that protects abusers, rapists and murderers at the cost of innocence.

Understand that above all else, this is a painful book to read; it is a realistic look at how beauty is both valued and devalued, how women are groomed from a very young age to think being called pretty/beautiful is the highest of compliments and their only true worth and focuses on those that will take advantage of this. The emphasis on the inequality between the wealthy and the poor, between men and women and between adults and non-adults, feels tangible.

This is narrated by Lori Prince and she understood the assignment! She reads the part of teenage Georgia with such emotive perfection! There’s a part where another young girl is describing heart-wrenching painful emotions about the loss of her friend to rape/murder and it was so powerful! Bravo, Lori, bravo!

I will be recommending this sapphic coming of age thriller to everyone!

My thanks to @Macmillan.Audio for this gifted ALC and to @StMartinsPress @WednesdayBooks for the gifted DRC.

2.5 stars

I've read a fair amount of Summers's work and really enjoyed it despite its guaranteed darkness, so I am feeling really surprised by how challenging I found this read.

Those familiar with Summers's novels will not be surprised to find a long list of TWs coming along with this latest installment. Throughout the novel, there are clear instances of rape, sexual assault, grooming, and more, and these occurrences are most obviously happening to children. One of them is 13 years old. It is...difficult to read to say the least, especially since the material is relentless.

There's no chance that I'm ever missing a new Summers book because even in the horrors presented here, Summers constructs a tight narrative that is consistently engaging. Additionally, the m.c., Georgia, is so difficult to stomach: another testament to Summers's skill. This character makes terrible decisions but is no fool. She has external situations - namely the challenging relationship she possessed with her now deceased mother - that make her less certain about the world around her and utterly lacking in confidence and any kind of street smarts. On one hand, the level of frustration I experienced with Georgia makes me know she's well drawn and realistic. On the other hand, between the irritating m.c. and the almost unbearable content, I am fairly certain I may have DNF'd this one if I had been operating with a print instead of audio version. Multitasking while listening was a required mitigating factor for persistence.

It's so funny to finish a book and experience such conflicting feelings, but the more I think about it, the stronger the divide between a well written novel and that horrifying content gets. I have no doubt this will be polarizing for many readers, especially those who join me in their general Summers fandom. When I do recommend this one, it will be selectively and with extensive detail about the content. Check your headspace before cracking the first page or pressing play.

Though this material messed me up in a special way, it's likely this lingering feeling of repulsion that will remind me of why Summers remains an important voice, particularly for this audience. It's also why I'll continue to prioritize reading all of her new stuff and also being more mindful that when I do, a full self-care plan is in order.