The Girls I've Been in What's the Name of That Book???

Mar 27, 2021 katayoun Masoodi rated it it was ok

Shelves: ebook, mystery-thriller, ya

it was definitely thrilling and you didn't want to put it down and read till the end, and yet for me it was the kind of a book that if i had lost it, i wouldn't worry about it too much and might have started another one. it was thrilling, in an action movie kind of a way, something you wouldn't dislike watching but yet are quite ok if you have missed it. i also didn't especially like the way the story was told, especially the back story, it felt kind of contrived and something the author made up ...more

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Mar 06, 2024 thefourthvine rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, heist

A page-turning YA survival and heist novel with a really large amount of abuse, sexual assault, and trauma. But then, this book is actually about how people become survivors, and what surviving looks like. I've never read Sharpe before, but I will again; she's good. ...more

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Jun 22, 2021 Kate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: psychological, 2021, age-ya, thriller, flume-isinglass-2023-longlist

Nora's trip to the bank with her ex-boyfriend and current girlfriend was supposed to be an easy con, but when two men arrive with guns, she has to think fast. Luckily, she's spent her whole life preparing for this: her mother was also a con artist and used Nora (not her real name) to help reel in her marks. Now Nora will have to con the two gunmen, her sister, and everyone else to try to get everyone out safely.

The way the story moves from the current action back through Nora's experiences as he ...more

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Feb 27, 2022 Pam rated it it was amazing

This was meant for audio. I loved it.

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Aug 25, 2021 Emma rated it it was amazing

"What didn’t kill me made me a victim. I made me stronger."

It was only supposed to be twenty minutes. Twenty awkward minutes. But then it would be over. They'd meet in the bank parking lot, go in, make the deposit of the money from the fundraiser, and twenty awkward minutes later it would be over. Nora O'Malley (not her real name, by the way) has survived a lot worse than spending twenty minutes with her new girlfriend Iris and her ex-boyfriend (always best friend) Wes.

Except Nora also wants to "What didn’t kill me made me a victim. I made me stronger."

It was only supposed to be twenty minutes. Twenty awkward minutes. But then it would be over. They'd meet in the bank parking lot, go in, make the deposit of the money from the fundraiser, and twenty awkward minutes later it would be over. Nora O'Malley (not her real name, by the way) has survived a lot worse than spending twenty minutes with her new girlfriend Iris and her ex-boyfriend (always best friend) Wes.

Except Nora also wants to smooth out last night's "makeout-interruptus" when Wes found out about Nora and Iris by walking in on them. So she gets donuts. With bacon. And sprinkles. Because everyone loves donuts. Then she has to get coffee. So then she's late and Wes and Iris are both waiting on her and there are two people ahead of them in line at the bank. Which usually wouldn't be a problem except the two people ahead of them are also robbing the bank. And they decide to keep everyone hostage.

Nora's survived a lot worse than some amateur hour bank robbery and she's had plenty of therapy to unpack all of it. But she's never had to survive anything with two of the three people she cares about more than anything, not to mention a lot of other innocent bystanders.

As the daughter of a con-artist, Nora has been a lot of girls. She's seen a lot of things. She's done worse. But she made it out. She's a different girl now. A smarter, stronger one.

Now, Nora is going to need every one of those girls she used to be to thwart this robbery, keep Wes and Iris and everyone else safe, and maybe also make it out alive herself in The Girls I've Been (2021) by Tess Sharpe.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Girls I've Been is a fast-paced, standalone novel; the audiobook is read by the author. All major characters are presumed white. Nora's bisexuality and Iris's endometriosis add intersectionality to the cast and serve as key elements of the plot.

The Girls I've Been is a tense thriller narrated by Nora. Time stamped chapters during the robbery and a running list of assets Nora has to work with in the bank underscore the urgency of the situation and maintain momentum as the hostage situation escalates. Nora's narration is pragmatic and laser focused as she works to keep the other hostages safe and tries to communicate with her older half-sister Lee (also not her real name) who is working with law enforcement on the outside. These chapters are interspersed with flashbacks of the other girls Nora has been under her manipulative mother's grooming and training highlighting the skills (and trauma) Nora has picked up along the way that will factor in during the bank robbery. Memories of her friendships with Wes and Iris add tenderness to the story although all three have scars (some literal, some psychological) from parental abuse.

Despite the tense situation, The Girls I've Been is a really fun, fast-paced story. Sharpe includes all of the best elements of a good heist or con story while also offering a well-drawn look at the steep cost of being immersed in that life--a cost Nora is still paying. Although the sense of menace and danger for Nora and the other hostages is palpable, the novel never becomes graphic or viscerally violent always focusing on the characters' survival rather than their trauma.

The Girls I've Been is a completely immersive, suspenseful novel that centers a bisexual protagonist and queer themes. The story is also refreshingly free of a love triangle or romantic tensions as Nora, Iris, and Wes all work to rebuild the trust between them and strengthen their friendship--while surviving a bank robbery.

Possible Pairings: A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhatena, This is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey, Heist Society by Ally Carter, Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart, Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud, Tell Me My Name by Amy Reed, The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons ...more

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