Book Review: I’m The Girl by Courtney Summers

This was a hard review to write. It took me almost five hours to create some kind of cohesive post. I’m here with a book review for I’m The Girl by Courtney Summers, which takes place in the same universe as Sadie. I really liked Sadie, and loved The Project so I was excited to receive an arc from Netgalley for I’m The Girl. Sadly, this was just okay. I think there is an audience for this book and I will try to help you figure out if this is a book you’d like. This is a long review, if you want to cut to the chase scroll down to where I list CAWPILE score and read my Final Thoughts.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: grooming, sexual assault, rape, dead bodies, death of a parent, sexual abuse, pedophilia

About The Book 📚

Title: I’m The Girl

Author: Courtney Summers

Publication Date: September 13, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books)

Suggested Reader Age: 18+

Genre: Thriller

About The Author

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1487748.Courtney_Summers

“Courtney Summers is the author of several novels, including the breakout hit Sadie, which appeared on over 30 ‘Best of’ lists and was published in 26 territories. In 2018, Electric Literature proclaimed her “a master of the bitch” for her years of writing “nuanced, wrenching stories about angry [and] unlikable girls.” Her work has been released to critical acclaim, multiple starred reviews and has received numerous awards and honors, including the Edgar Award and the Odyssey Award. Courtney has reviewed for The New York Times and is the founder of the 2015 worldwide trending hashtag #ToTheGirls. She lives and writes in Canada. You can follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her newsletter. “

“Preorder I’m the Girl by 9/13 to receive an exclusive art print by Jenifer Prince (available in two editions), an original short story epilogue to Sadie, and a signed bookplate. Preorder the audiobook from libro.fm and receive the short story in audio immediately, then submit receipt to Wednesday Books to claim all other incentives.” https://www.courtneysummers.ca/

My Review

› I’m The Girl was inspired by “the patriarchal power systems that protected Jeffrey Epstein and helped enable his abuse of young girls.” It takes place in Ketchum and is told in the first person from Georgia Avis’s perspective. Georgia is sixteen years old. Her mother, Katy, worked in housekeeping at Aspera. She didn’t want her daughter to work there, but Georgia was determined to be an “Aspera Girl”. Katy recently died of cancer and Georgia is now living with her thirty-year-old brother, Tyler. He’s a hard worker and is very patient. He doesn’t even get really angry after finding out Georgia stole four thousand dollars from him. A man at the mall told her she could be a model and gave her the contact info for a photographer who is a creep and takes nude photos of her. Riding home on her bike she’s hit by a car, her photos are stolen, and Georgia finds Ashley James dead in a ditch on the road that leads to Aspera. Ashley James was thirteen years old when she was raped and murdered. Her father, Justin, is a police officer. Ashley’s sister is Nora – a girl that Georgia has had a secret crush on for years. Nora and Georgia team up to try and find Ashley’s killer.

› Georgia convinces Tyler to let her get a job at Aspera so she can pay him back. Aspera is a rustic 12,000-acre members-only mountain resort with a golf course. The owners are Matthew and Cleo Hayes. Matthew is a financier – he helps the rich become richer. Cleo helps him serve the elite and train the “Aspera Girls”, a select group of beautiful girls who attend to members of the “executive floor”. The resort is meant to be a place for rich people to retreat from the world. The whole idea of Aspera is discretion.

› Georgia lands a job at the resort as a digital switchboard operator – basically just reading on-screen requests that guests input on a tablet in their room then she contacts the appropriate department at the lodge to fill the request. One of the important staff members is Kel. He helps train Georgia and is basically Matthew’s right-hand man.

› I’m The Girl is marketed as an LGBTQIA+ mystery thriller for teens and YA and I have to disagree with some of that. As a mother and Educational Assistant, I feel like this book is for adults. I have a fifteen-year-old and a thirteen-year-old and I wouldn’t want either of them reading a book lacking consequences for rape and murder. What would it teach them?

› I’m The Girl is a thriller because the protagonist is in danger from the beginning and there is a threat to her physical safety throughout, but the pacing and reveals didn’t feel like a well-written mystery. From the reviews I’ve read from queer people, the protagonist’s relationship with Nora felt like a plot device and I’d have to agree.

› This book takes place in the same world as Sadie, but I found only one instance that mentions Sadie. Sadie was a likeable, smart, resilient character and we were rooting for her. Georgia is written as naive, makes stupid mistakes, and you constantly find yourself incredibly frustrated with her decisions. I did have empathy for her and I was rooting for her – but in the end, I was left feeling unsatisfied.

› There are on-page descriptions of grooming, sexual assault and rape. One or two felt necessary for the plot or character development, but there were some that felt just plain gross and unnecessary.

› In a newsletter post written in May Courtney Summers said:

“Despite my reputation, I’m not really here to push the boundaries of likability, but to understand the limitations of empathy, to see what happens when I offer readers a space where there is no perceived risk, nothing to lose or gain by supporting a traumatized girl in crisis, and to see if my work can tip the scales in a fictional girl’s favor.”

› I’m The Girl DID NOT “tip the scales in a fictional girl’s favor”. Did it make me care about Georgia? Yes. But the scales were not “tipped” in Georgia’s favour. She was used and abused with no retribution or consequences.

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 3
Georgia had a goal, I didn’t quite understand her motivation. I needed more character development, more internal conflict, backstory, characteristics, and better side characters. All of the characters felt flat to me.
› Atmosphere: 2
I needed more descriptions and world-building. I didn’t feel appropriate emotions or mood.
› Writing Style: 6
Beige writing (direct, brief descriptions), good readability, but didn’t connect with the dialogue and some parts felt repetitive.
› Plot: 5
Great beginning, okay middle, anti-climactic ending. It is a page-turner. The ending was horrible for me. Extremely unsatisfying.
› Intrigue: 5
› Logic: 2
There are parts that are confusing and elements that don’t make sense.
“…my breasts always, a little, preceding me.” What does this mean?
“…or the way I’d glimpse myself in a mirror and lose my breath at what my image seemed to be hinting toward.” Lose your breath at your own image? That is just plain ridiculous.
With everything that Tyler knew why did he let Georgia work there?
HOW did Georgia steal four thousand dollars from Tyler?

› Enjoyment: 4
overall experience: This might be my most disappointing read for 2022. Maybe there are problems in this arc that have been fixed for the final copy. What is the point of this book? Just to show us rich people getting away with horrible behaviour? We already know this exists. How is this book adding anything to that conversation?

Average 3.8

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★

› Final Thoughts
• I’m The Girl is a depressing and disturbing book. If you’re picking this up just because it’s marketed as taking place in the same universe as Sadie then don’t. Sadie is only mentioned in passing. If you’re looking for a provocative fast-paced thriller and you’re okay with a bitter ending then this might be a good read for you. Other reviewers have said the audiobook is really good.

Other Books by Courtney Summers:
Debut: Cracked Up To Be (2008)
Some Girls Are (2010)
Fall For Anything (2010)
This Is Not A Test (2012)
All The Rage (2015)
Sadie (2018) My Rating ★★★★
The Project (2021) My Rating ★★★★★
I’m The Girl (2022) My Rating ★★★

Short Stories:
PG
Defy The Dark (2013)
Please Remain Calm (This Is Not A Test #1.5 – 2015)
Violent Ends (2015)
Here We Are (2017)