I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers (ARC Review)

 

Synopsis:

The new groundbreaking queer thriller from New York Times bestselling and Edgar-award Winning author Courtney Summers.

When sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis discovers the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley's older sister, Nora, to find and bring the killer to justice before he strikes again. But their investigation throws Georgia into a world of unimaginable privilege and wealth, without conscience or consequence, and as Ashley’s killer closes in, Georgia will discover when money, power and beauty rule, it might not be a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.

A spiritual successor to the 2018 breakout hit, Sadie, I'm the Girl is a masterfully written, bold, and unflinching account of how one young woman feels in her body as she struggles to navigate a deadly and predatory power structure while asking readers one question: if this is the way the world is, do you accept it?

My Thoughts:

Courtney Summers is one of my favorite YA authors, but I have to steel myself before reading one of her books. It's always an emotional, brutal journey. Like Sadie, this novel is about how powerless teenage girls are in today's society. Here, we have Aspera, a prestigious resort shrouded in mystery, where celebrities and multi-millionaires go to "unwind." Georgia doesn't think that the death of Ashley has anything to do with Aspera - or, for that matter, the reason why she found Ashley in the first place, but things aren't what it seems in this small town. 

I loved this novel, but I wish there had been more about Georgia's relationship to her mother. I know that what that her mom's relationship to Aspera (and how this is revealed) is pivotal to the plot, but Georgia's outlook on life was shaped by relationship with her mom, and I wanted to lean in more. 

If you are sensitive to themes of rape and sexual trauma, this novel might be triggering to you. 

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC. I'm the Girl will be on bookshelves everywhere September 13, 2022.