The Girls I've Been
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4.6 • 89 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller * A USA Today Bestseller * In this feminist, suspenseful thriller the daughter of a con artist is taken hostage in a bank heist—and will need to tap into all her skills in order to survive.
“If you’re looking for a queer YA contemporary book with complex characters, loads of action to keep you reading WAY past your bedtime — and a story so well written I might have shed a tear over it — you need to read The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe. It will keep you captivated until the last page.” —Culturess
Nora O'Malley's been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men, she grew up as her mother's protégé. But when her mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape.
For five years Nora's been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems:
#1: Her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend. Even though they're all friends, Wes didn't know about her and Iris.
#2: The morning after Wes finds them kissing, they all have to meet to deposit the fundraiser money they raised at the bank. It's a nightmare that goes from awkward to deadly, because:
#3: Right after they enter the bank, two guys start robbing it.
The bank robbers may be trouble, but Nora's something else entirely. They have no idea who they're really holding hostage . . .
A FORBES, BUZZFEED, BOOK RIOT AND KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This YA thriller is so exciting you might just blast through the whole thing in one breathless sitting. Teen Nora O’Malley and her friends Wes and Iris are waiting in line at a bank when robbers burst in and take the kids hostage. But nothing is what it seems in this tense standoff. Nora’s abusive childhood at the hands of her grifter mom left her with lightning-fast wits and utter fearlessness. We were instantly smitten with this jaded-beyond-her-years teen, who hides a wounded vulnerability under an irresistible dash of self-deprecating humor. Author Tess Sharpe keeps the pace fast and the tension high. It’s no surprise that The Girls I’ve Been is being adapted into a film that stars Millie Bobby Brown as Tess (perfect casting!). But there’s no replacement for experiencing this nail-biting treat in its original form.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ex-grifter Nora O'Malley, who's 18 and bisexual, finds herself in an uncomfortable situation after her ex-boyfriend Wes walks in on her kissing their mutual friend and her girlfriend, Iris. Before the three can work things out, they're taken hostage during a bank robbery in their small California town and there's no guarantee they'll make it out alive. In order to save Wes and Iris, Nora must confront and make use of a past she's tried to leave behind. The first-person narrative gracefully shifts between Nora's childhood as her con artist mother's apprentice and the present, a structure that reinforces how inextricably the two are intertwined. Nora is a survivor of domestic, psychological, and sexual abuse, and was forced by her mother to adopt multiple identities, leaving her relationship with herself unsteady, and Sharpe (Barbed Wire Heart) focuses as much on her trauma and the systems of power that enable and excuse abuse as on mystery and heart-pounding action. Pacing is off in the book's final act, somewhat undermining an otherwise affecting conclusion, but the small, complex cast of characters and emotional core make this a poignant thriller. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
My niece couldn’t put it down
My niece got this out from the library. In the two weeks that she had it, she read it at least four times. She is ten and a mature reader, who has been through a lot in a short life, particularly the past few weeks. I think that she enjoyed the escape from her own life and enjoyed getting to think about a bisexual lead character.
Fast YA read
Easy read. style that made the pages go by very fast.
Thrilling. Psychological. Emotional.
I love books that start off in action. I like being thrown into the plot and watching the explanation slowly unfold as you read more. It really kept me on my toes the hole time! If you like the three words I used in the title, this book is definitely worth the read!!