Book Review: The Girls I've Been

 Hello again, fellow bloggers! I'm back, with another book review.

I was excited about reading this book for two reasons. Firstly, because I enjoyed the other Tess Sharpe book I read, and, secondly, because I heard that Netflix will be adapting this into a film starring Millie Bobby Brown, and, since I'm almost certainly going to see it when it comes out, I wanted to read the book first. 

Despite the fact that I wanted to read this book, I didn't want to read it right away, since it was just released this year, and was only available as a hardcover, which I don't usually buy because they're more expensive. However, I saw this at Barnes and Noble, and decided it would be worth buying [and, also, I have no self-control in bookstores]. 

Enough of my rambling, though. Let's get on with the review.

Summary [taken from Goodreads]: 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 protege. But when her mom falls 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 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.......

My Thoughts: 

I have now come to the conclusion that I need to read every book Tess Sharpe has ever written. I really enjoyed this book, though there are a few things I would change about it. 

What I Liked:

-The writing style. This book jumps right into the action, and alternates between the story of the bank robbery and Nora's past as a con artist. It was full of action and suspense, but the character development didn't suffer, which can sometimes happen with action thrillers. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. 

It was one of those books where I just stopped multiple times and thought, ''Wow, this was really well-written.''

-The characters.

Do you really think I'd like a book if I didn't like the characters? Nora is a morally grey character [and you all know how much I love those], and a really great heroine. She's likable, and you get to really understand her and her motivations. The supporting cast was all really great, too. My favorite was Iris, the super smart vintage girl, who's soft and sweet but still tough, and just a really great character.

-The flashbacks. I mentioned this before when I was talking about the writing style, but I felt like it deserved its own category. Some stories don't use flashbacks well, but it actually made this book even more interesting. 

-The diversity. 

Nora is bisexual, Iris is bisexual/pansexual and suffers from chronic pain. I always love more diversity [as long as it's done well, which it was in this case], so I liked that.

-The focus on con artistry. 
Con artists [in fiction! Not in real life] have always been intriguing to me, so I really liked that. 

-How emotional it was. 

Tess Sharpe is really good at writing feelings and emotions, so I liked that part of this book.

-Also, this is a very small part of the book, but I loved all the descriptions of Iris's vintage clothes. It just made me happy. 

What I Didn't Like:

-The ending. 

Don't get me wrong, it was a good ending, but it felt a little abrupt, and I didn't really like that. 

-This is more of a wish than a complaint, but I wish there could've been more Wes. I really liked him, and I think he didn't get enough page-time. Also more Iris. Because Iris is the best. 

-There was also one little part that kind of bothered me. I'm not going to say what it is, because I'm trying not to give spoilers, but it was there. 

Content: There was a lot of content in here, as well as some things that could be triggering for some people. Here's what I noticed:
-Some language, including the F-word. Language doesn't bother me that much, so I wasn't paying attention to how much there was, but it seemed pretty standard for a YA book. 

-Someone accidentally eats cookies with drugs in them in a flashback.

-Violence related to being a hostage in a robbery, as well as murder and arson. I don't think anything was too bloody, but it was still there. The setting was very intense, so don't read it if you think that would bother you.

-Mentions of child abuse, abortion and sexual abuse. 

I think that was all, but I might have missed something.

My Rating: 4 1/2 stars. 

So, let's talk. Have you read this book? Do you want to?