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Book Reviewed by:The next searing and groundbreaking queer young adult novel from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author Courtney Summers.
All sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis wants is everything, but the poverty and hardship that defines her life has kept her from the beautiful and special things she knows she deserves. When she stumbles upon the dead body of thirteen-year-old Ashley James, Georgia teams up with Ashley's older sister Nora, to find the killer before he strikes again, and their investigation throws Georgia into a glittering world of unimaginable privilege and wealth--and all she's ever dreamed. But behind every dream lurks a nightmare, and Georgia must reconcile her heart's desires with what it really takes to survive. As Ashley's killer closes in and their feelings for one another grow, Georgia and Nora will discover when money, power, and beauty rule, it's not always a matter of who is guilty but who is guiltiest--and the only thing that might save them is each other.
A spiritual successor to the breakout hit Sadie, I'm the Girl is a brutal and illuminating 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?
I'm the Girl is a novel for mature teen readers; not only due to its explicit descriptions of sexual violence, among other troubling topics, but also because of its sophisticated storytelling and prose. At times, Summers employs almost savagely precise descriptions, but elsewhere, readers must fill in the gaps for themselves. Throughout, the novel grapples with questions about the nature of power, especially for young women. Cleo Hayes contends that, even at places like Aspera that cater to rich and influential men, it's actually girls like Georgia who—thanks to the intoxicating effect of their physical beauty—can hold all the power. But as the nature of Georgia's situation—and of Aspera itself—becomes clearer, readers will have plenty more to consider, including whether contemporary consumer culture markets beauty to young women as a source of power and, if so, at what cost...continued
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(Reviewed by Norah Piehl).
In Courtney Summers' I'm the Girl, much of the plot focuses on the mysterious, imposing Aspera resort. Part of what gives Aspera its exotic and vaguely menacing atmosphere is the fact that its luxurious interiors are heavily decorated with deer antlers (the book's endpapers also contain images of antlers). For Matthew Hayes, the owner of Aspera, these trophies—and the game hunting they represent—symbolize power and virility. Aspera's interior design also participates in a centuries-old tradition of decorating with the antlers and horns of animals.
Chandeliers made from deer antlers date back to 15th-century castles and manor homes of European nobility, a rustic yet powerful contrast to the perhaps more obvious luxury of ...
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Danya Kukafka, author of Notes on an Execution
A lightning bolt of a novel. Courtney Summers delivers a harrowing, hypnotic examination of feminine power, and feminine vulnerability; with unparalleled wit and masterful pacing, she explores the deadly cost of a young woman's desire. I truly could not put this book down.
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