Synopsis

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?

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Review

This is the second book by this author that I have read, and it is definitely a book to make you stop and think about the impact of perceived beauty in our culture.

This wasn’t an easy book to read due to various situations. I say not easy as the topics are deeper such as exploitation of young girls, rape, assault, drugs, and self-worth.

Georgia has had to endure a lot in her life with the death of her mother, being lured into a seamy situation by an older man, death of a friend, and trying to find her place in this world. Sadly, she hinges everything on her perceived beauty. She may be beautiful, but she believes that she can become more based on this one attribute. As we learn in our lives, beauty is fleeting, and there has to be more to a person to make it in this world. I think she is lost and has not had the best role models or guidance from family members to realize that there is more to life than the outside package.

I did feel like the book was disjointed in various spots, and I sometimes wondered why the characters were so obtuse. That said, it is still a story that fits into our world, and I think there might be some that can relate to the character’s situations. It won’t be a comfortable read, so be prepared.

We give it 3 paws up.

About the Author

Courtney Summers is the bestselling author of several novels. Her work has been released to critical acclaim and multiple starred reviews, received numerous awards and honors–including the Edgar Award, the John Spray Mystery Award, the Cybils Award, the Odyssey Award, the Audie Award–and has enjoyed the recognition of many library, state, ‘Best Of’ and Readers’ Choice lists. Courtney has reviewed for The New York Times, is the founder of the 2015 worldwide trending hashtag #ToTheGirls, and in 2016, she was named one of Flare Magazine’s 60 under 30. She lives and writes in Canada.

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