I really enjoyed Sadie and was excited to pick this one up, but I could not get into it. The narration wasn't the best and I wasn't invested in the characters or the storyline. I started it from the beginning twice and just felt lost both times.

Thanks to Macmillan audio, St. Martin’s Press Wednesday books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Everyone raves about Courtney Summers and I wanted to read one of her books. This was my first book, the book was well written and it covers some difficult subjects: the desperation of poverty, grooming, sexual assault and abuse. This book should not be YA but more towards mature adults.
I had high hopes, I was hoping to see the love people have for this author, but again it just couldn't make me like or love the author.

Story/plot: 3/5
Narrator: 4/5
Ending: 4/5

My thoughts: I enjoyed the narrator for the most part. She was good at fake crying and making out consistent voices for multiple different people, male and female. Normally I don’t enjoy that but this narrator executed well. Her Cleo voice actually sounds a lot like Blake Lively.

As someone who lives on crime and thrillers, I wouldn’t say this would be considered a thriller. It definitely has a heinous crime as a main theme (TW: murder, sex assault), but it’s more of a mild crime suspense novel with LQBTQ romance and young adult themes. The story was average and just did not have me hooked. But I definitely wasn’t expecting the ending. I believe the description was a little misleading compared to the actual plot.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Courtney for an advance listener’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

Ever since reading Sadie, I've wanted something that was as incredible as that book and I have yet to find that replicated in any of Courtney Summers' other books. This one was no exception. It was good, but it wasn't great.

I'm The Girl is a difficult book to read. The subject matter is incredibly heavy and disturbing. As always, the writing is excellent. However, I feel like this book was poorly pitched. With all the stuff about this being sapphic and a "queer thriller" really feels like it takes away from what the story is actually about. Which is a girl who is manipulated and groomed by older men in her life. A classic case of mismatched expectations and material. It's better described as a gritty, contemporary about grooming, manipulation, and how powerful people protect themselves.

There is a queer relationship but it's not the biggest or main part of the story.

Content Warnings: SA, mentions of child abuse, substance abuse, murder, gore, pedophilia

Reviewed for NetGalley;

I previously read the novel, and thought I would listen to the audiobook as well.

The subject matter was still a bit dark, and not my favorite.

However, the narrator did a nice job.

So I've read almost all of Courtney Summers' books, & I gotta say that this one is one of the more messed up ones, it's pretty hard to beat, however I am here with the content warnings to get you through.
CW: SA is pretty rampant throughout the book, mentions of child abuse, abuse towards minors, substance abuse, murder/descriptions of gore/SA, pedophilia.
The saddest part of this book is the fact that it's real life. This is what I consider one of the most brutal & unresolved fictionalized take on what its currently like to be a woman. Violence against women is just so common its almost as if nobody is batting an eye, we're outraged for a few hours until another girl dies & we move on to the next. Courtney did a phenomenal job of taking this real-life trend & making it into a fictional tragedy that you can't walk away from after you've read it, lots of us are living it.
This is more-so a look into life as a teenage girl, just how much manipulation & grooming is present from the adult men in their lives, a lot of these examples that occur in the book are more extreme, but it just goes to show how dangerous even the most invert manipulations can be. For this book specifically, our main character has been convinced she should be a model by numerous adults in her life commenting on her looks as a young child. She has grown up with this inflated view of herself that only helps to then make it easier for men in her life to manipulate her into doing what they want of her, like telling her she is beautiful and sexy, even as a teenager, reframing this idea that their attraction to her & actions towards her are a direct response to the image she's put out there, even though she's just existing.
This was quite exhausting if you live this life, or similarily, on the constant. For anybody else, it is an absolute must-read.

This was my first time reading one of Courtney Summers books. I will say that if you are looking “rainbows and butterflies”, type of book, this is not it. It starts off with a scene regarding death and sexual assault right at the beginning.

Georgies role irritated the crap out of me at times, so I have mixed feelings. But in the end, I realized where she was coming from. I don’t want to give out too much of the story, but I will say that the authors writing is very detailed, which actually helps to become more engrossed and understand the story better. Many thanks net galley for allowing me to listen and review this book.
4 STARS

I'll read anything Courtney Summers writes. This isn't my favorite of hers but I still loved it and really enjoyed the narrator. She does messy girls so well. I want to read the book in print now too.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for the audio ARC of this!

Mystery/thrillers are very hit or miss for me, but seeing this was queer I was excited to give it a try. The MC just never clicked with me, sometimes an unlikable character is compelling, but I never felt emotionally invested. The mystery unfolding left me a little confused? So this could’ve just been me not understanding. I was put off by how much sexual violence was happening, and just overall didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I’d hoped.

Courtney Summers has never pulled her punches, and this novel is no different. Summers can pen a master class on how to write strong, but woefully damaged female characters. I'm the Girl is told from the perspective of 16 year old Georgia Avis, a queer teen determined to stand out. After discovering the missing and abused body of 13 year old Ashley James, Avis discovers a world of danger thinly hidden behind the glamour and money of Aspera, an elite club for the most powerful. At times it becomes so easy to forget that the narrator is a 16 year old. It's also easy to forget that this novel and Aspera is loosely based on the Jeffery Epstein investigation and the #metoo movement. The light that Summers has directed at power imbalances shows how an insecure teenager could easily be groomed and taken advantage of. This book highlights a painful reality for many teens, both male and female, who were used by Hollywood and political elite.

While the Epstein-esque plot plays the main role, there is a secondary story woven through the book that Summers fans will recognize. The role of distraught and angry sister looking for revenge is played by Nora James. Nora is both the older sister of the victim and Georgia's long time crush (a word that doesn't do this dynamic justice). While pushing to find more information about her sister's murder, Nora and Georgia fall closer and closer into something resembling a relationship. That is not to say this is a love story, it is most definitely not. Their relationship is not shown to display young love as much as it is to show that Georgia is secure in her sexuality so that when she is later propositioned by a straight man, she recognizes how the male gaze can direct her actions.

In regards to the audiobook, I'm guessing this will be nominated for another Odyssey award. The narrator does a wonderful job of differentiating the characters and switching tone depending on the situation. I have never been disappointed in a Courtney Summers audiobook and this is no exception. Cheer to Lori Prince on her narration.

Audiobook Review - Courtney Summers never fails to deliver another thrilling and engrossing YA read. This story does contain lots of triggering elements. Recommended for older teens where Summers' titles are popular.

This was my first book by Courtney Summers and I was immediately interested after seeing the cover.

While the story is classified as YA, it had very mature content, difficult and sensitive at times, so just know that going into it!

I enjoyed the narrator (she was great and showed fantastic emotion), but I did find it hard to follow along with the story and characters. There were a few times I felt like I didn't have the information I needed to really know what was going on, and it jumped around a bit. leaving me lost.
One main focus of the story was the MC's wish to become an "Aspera Girl" at the local hotel/resort- it took awhile before I actually realized what Aspera was and why she wanted that so badly. It came up quickly and continued throughout the book, I just wish I had more context up front.

Summers writing style was unique and I really got a sense of how vulnerable Georgia was- I felt so sad and and empathetic towards her, so one thing this book absolutely succeeded in was pulling out my emotions!

I thought this was okay. It was a bit odd of a story and a little confusing at times on what was going on. Not sure I even fully grasped it at the end either. Maybe because it was audio. I did think the narrator was fantastic though.

I receieved this book as an ARC and I'm so glad I was able to do enjoy this book. If you're a fan of mystery - crime genre I think you'll really enjoy this book! This was my first Courtney Summers book and I can tell i'm a fan now. She did a great job broaching uncomfortable/taboo topics. That being said I would like to give trigger warnings for sexual abuse/grooming. Our main character is a 16-year-old girl, Georgie, who believes she's meant for better than the poverty she currently lives in. While devising a plan to accomplish her dreams she discovers a body of a local girl 3 years younger than her and suddenly finds herself in the world she's dreamt of for so long.

*Small Spoiler Warning*

There are many reasons that I enjoyed this book - first of all I do believe that the author did a FANTASTIC Job writing this book. The plot was well thought out and the twists were realistic while still shocking. For a crime genre lover, I thought this was really a great addition. I did like the includsion of LGBTQ but it did feel that it was maybe added in as an after thought to add another level to the story, I didn't hate it but I wish that Georgie would have followed that story line a little more - I really didn't enjoy Georgie in the slightest. I am a mother to a teenage daughter and I found myself frustrated at Georgie's ignorance and often times had to remind myself that 1. this is fiction. 2. different lifestyles and trauma make people's brains different. I suppose also that many parents might feel this way about their childrens under developed brain decision making skills. That all being said, I do understand that Georgies personality is needed for the story to play out the way it did.

Anyone who thinks YA is all butterflies, rainbows, and fluffy bunnies should read this book. I think a lot of YA books, like this one, are really boundary pushing. I’m the Girl gives me My Dark Vanessa vibes, buts it’s also unlike anything I’ve ever read before.
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I am shook by this book y’all.
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Sixteen-year-old Georgia has only ever known poverty and struggle. She wants nothing more in life than to be one of the glittering girls who works at Aspera, an exclusive resort for the rich and famous. After Georgia stumbles across the body of 13-year-old Ashley James near the resort, she teams up with Ashley’s sister, Nora, to find the killer. While the girls start to develop feelings for each other, Georgia begins work at Aspera where she is dazzled by wealth and privilege. But what dark secrets lurk behind Aspera’s closed doors?
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I’m the Girl got me thinking, and left me reeling. I was so stressed while power reading this raw thriller. This book explores constructs of beauty, sexuality, and power. It’s told through the hopeful voice of a 16-year-old girl who is naive to the dark, predatory, brutal world of adults lurking around her. This feminist book takes a chainsaw to the patriarchal door hiding secrets of the rich and powerful, revealing a ruthless, disturbing, bleak, and crushingly realistic world.
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I listened to and read this book. The writing and narration is absolutely gripping. Thank you to @netgalley , @macmillan.audio , and @wednesdaybooks for the digital ARCs in exchange for an honest review.
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I’m the Girl - Courtney Summers
4/5⭐️
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TWs: sexual assault, misogyny, toxic masculinity, sex slavery

Great audiobook!
I loved the story and the narrator was marvelous!
I think this book is best as an audiobook because of the way it's written.
Thank you for allowing me to listen!

Summers does an amazing job at writing main characters who are troubled.

It starts off rough with Georgia finding the body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James and then getting run over immediately after. Ashley's older sister Nora is determined to find out what happened to her sister. Their dad is a mess.

Georgia has this big idea that being an "Aspera" girl is the highest achievement she can achieve. Her mother telling her she couldn't do it made it a challenge for her and she made lots of very bad decisions in this book. She finally gets a job at Aspera and wants to work her way up to her goal but omg, so many things happen and you just want to yank her and protect her from all of the messed-up things she encounters. I don't know if I would say she's naive. More like willfully ignorant because she wants to believe the story in her head. She wants to prove her mother wrong. She wants to be beautiful.

There are a lot of trigger warnings in this. Grooming, sexual assault, murder, abuse. And it gets graphic.

The reason why it got 3 stars was because I'm just not ok with that ending. If you read this, please chat with me about that ending. I can totally see how this mirrors the whole Epstein and Maxwell nightmare, by the way. Finally, I feel like this should be marked as adult fiction, not YA. I get that it's supposed to be hard to read, but I just don't know if teens can actually comprehend the kind of social commentary on this kind of world.

Got an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gosh this book was wild from start to finish. I listened to the audiobook of it and it was so compelling. Georgia's life is far from an easy one, having lost her mom and her sense of identity after waking up on the side of the road to find a 13 year old's body dumped next to her. After the trauma of that, she gets herself mixed up with some horrible people in an effort to redefine her worth. A story of nightmares brought to life, survival of the strongest (a teenage girl of girl), and shedding guilt over your traumas done to you, Summers wows readers with a harrowing novel in the post #MeToo era. Take your time with this one.

Wow! This book is dark, bold, and masterfully written. I obsessively listened to every word - no warp speed 3x for this book. The power, greed, and obsession for beauty felt dirty. As the reader, I knew where this privilege was headed, but it punched me in the gut nonetheless. The consequences led to abuse which was misconstrued as power in its own right.

In so many ways, the book broke my heart! The raw display of how a naïve teenager was no match for a soulless predator played true to reality, giving me Jeffrey Epstein vibes. This book covered many discussion-worthy topics, but the content won’t be for everyone - physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of teenage girls.

I loved Lori Prince’s narration. She wholly captured Georgia: her naivety, teenage angst, and desire to be “seen” and loved. Prince brought a hardness to the predators that invoked anger in me and softness and sometimes sweetness to Georgia and Nora that had me rooting for these two. I highly recommend this format!

I have really enjoyed Courtney Summers' past books but really did not care for this one. It is extremely disheartening, dismal, depressing, and lacks any positivity. It is quite dark for a YA as well.