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Girl Tracy
Tracy June Leonard needs money now.
She's sending out applications and doing what she's supposed to, but her résumé is full of lies that she can't keep straight.
And it's hard to concentrate at the interviews with Gemini in her head, a loud and brutally honest alter-ego that won't shut up.
It's been years since Toronto legalized sex work. After the last disastrous job interview, Tracy takes weeks to prepare to become a contractor at Rosado House. With her alter ego and the perfect wig she plans to leave everything behind and start again.
But Gemini has their limits. When Tracy's worlds collide in the worst possible way she will discover just how much she'll need to sacrifice for the security and the life she wants.
She's sending out applications and doing what she's supposed to, but her résumé is full of lies that she can't keep straight.
And it's hard to concentrate at the interviews with Gemini in her head, a loud and brutally honest alter-ego that won't shut up.
It's been years since Toronto legalized sex work. After the last disastrous job interview, Tracy takes weeks to prepare to become a contractor at Rosado House. With her alter ego and the perfect wig she plans to leave everything behind and start again.
But Gemini has their limits. When Tracy's worlds collide in the worst possible way she will discover just how much she'll need to sacrifice for the security and the life she wants.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 27, 2020
I appreciate the author trying to demystify sex work & the people involved.
I am fully in favour of sex work becoming legal and agree it will make workers safer.
But, I wanted a more powerful female driving this forward; I don't think Tracy/Gemini was the right fit.
I feel like she didn't actually assert herself until she reverted back to her PR persona.
As a result it made all her time in the sex industry feel misguided.
I wanted a more resolute female walking us through this story.
Thanks to Narissa Martin via Booksprout for my DRC.
I am fully in favour of sex work becoming legal and agree it will make workers safer.
But, I wanted a more powerful female driving this forward; I don't think Tracy/Gemini was the right fit.
I feel like she didn't actually assert herself until she reverted back to her PR persona.
As a result it made all her time in the sex industry feel misguided.
I wanted a more resolute female walking us through this story.
Thanks to Narissa Martin via Booksprout for my DRC.
April 1, 2020
Girl Tracy is a book you can't put down. A fast paced and entertaining story about Tracy, a woman who is trying to put her life together, while working at a high end brothel in Toronto. Author, Nerissa Martin, has crafted an intelligent, in depth character study of what it means for a woman to work in the sex trade industry: the personal identity conflict, the friendships found and lost, family issues, the stigma in society through social media, and the political issues that revolve around it.
February 5, 2020
Girl Tracy was a thrill to read from beginning to end. Imagining a not-so-distant future where sex work is legal, this book realistically depicts the biases, struggles, and motivations to join a brothel that would come with the legalized society. The main character, Tracy (and her alter-ego, Gemini), was incredibly relatable which made it easy to get immersed in her story and follow her thought processes and desires that led her to begin her career at a brothel. I loved the backstories of the women she meets, the friends she had to drop to live a happier life, and the Johns she builds relationships with (even the creepers). I'm not going to spoil the climactic drama that ensues because of some of Tracy's (notably stupid, but believable) decisions, but it had me hooked and I wasn't able to put the book down until I found out how everything ended. I would love a prequel to learn about more of the characters' backstories and the beginning of legal sex work in Toronto! (hint hint to the author)
May 18, 2020
This is my first time reading anything by this author and I honestly didn’t know what to expect even after reading the blurb. I like the fact that the author is empowering the main characters and that she builds her career and her life in a way that she wants to and not one that society or her family tell her to. It’s a book that I found myself unable to put down once started. I suggest people give this book a chance, you may be surprised at how good it is.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 7, 2021
Tracy Leonard has had more jobs in PR than she cares to remember and now her CV is littered with half-truths and outright lies. Is another position in PR really what she wants? Or is her alter-ego, Gemini, going to finally get her way? After weeks of trying, high-end brothel, Rosado House, finally has an opening so armed with the best wig she can afford, Gemini, steps through the door but can she really leave Tracy behind?
I thought Girl Tracy was a really powerful and insightful novel that crackles with intensity and intelligence. The narrative opens straight into an interview which is not going well for Tracy and slowly a couple of untruths are unmasked. For anyone that’s ever blagged on their CV, these pages are spot on in their toe-curling excruciation and contempt. At times, in the early chapters, there is a struggle to find voice and the prose is a touch fractured but there is a clear, underlying strength and once Ms Martin finds that vocal strength and pulls it to the fore, Girl Tracy is hard to put down.
The story taps into a concept almost as old as the profession at the heart of the novel and that concept is human dichotomy. The split personalities we have for varying reasons and assume; our working face, our home face or whatever we need to face with a different persona. Gemini is that uber-confident, game-face persona but, as the novel progresses, Tracy and Gemini begin to work together; Tracy grows in confidence despite what happens and Gemini takes a back seat knowing that both egos can now exist together and Tracy is strong enough to survive on her own wits. It’s a really believable character arc that is so skilfully done; the first-person perspective and unflinching internal monologuing really define both characters and meld them together and consequently, you cannot stop reading. Ms Martin’s writing is stark, literal and raw with a driving rhythm that ably complements the message of the book. You may not agree with some of Tracy/Gemini’s choices but you empathise with her, one hundred percent and you feel compassion for her. As much as Girl Tracy may be a commentary on sex workers in Toronto, personally, I found the book to be a commentary on a woman, finding her voice, finding her way without compromise and accepting the consequences of her decisions; decisions that ultimately cost her friendships and relationships. But, in spite of those losses, Tracy has a profound integrity that many of the characters that shun her, do not; and Gemini has realised that before Tracy does.
The setting and other girls in Rosado House are brilliantly and authentically portrayed; I thought all the characters were excellently drawn; they were not just caricatured ‘contractors’ but their depictions were given individual care and attention. The reader gets to know their personalities as we do with the clients until you feel as if you sitting in Rosado House. The situation with Mike and the subsequent YouTube video is blistering and to see Tracy grow from the ashes of the situation into a confident, self-assured woman is credit to both Gemini and Ms Martin’s writing.
Girl Tracy is a fierce, powerhouse novel that imparts an age-old message in a fresh, compelling way. Highly recommended.
I thought Girl Tracy was a really powerful and insightful novel that crackles with intensity and intelligence. The narrative opens straight into an interview which is not going well for Tracy and slowly a couple of untruths are unmasked. For anyone that’s ever blagged on their CV, these pages are spot on in their toe-curling excruciation and contempt. At times, in the early chapters, there is a struggle to find voice and the prose is a touch fractured but there is a clear, underlying strength and once Ms Martin finds that vocal strength and pulls it to the fore, Girl Tracy is hard to put down.
The story taps into a concept almost as old as the profession at the heart of the novel and that concept is human dichotomy. The split personalities we have for varying reasons and assume; our working face, our home face or whatever we need to face with a different persona. Gemini is that uber-confident, game-face persona but, as the novel progresses, Tracy and Gemini begin to work together; Tracy grows in confidence despite what happens and Gemini takes a back seat knowing that both egos can now exist together and Tracy is strong enough to survive on her own wits. It’s a really believable character arc that is so skilfully done; the first-person perspective and unflinching internal monologuing really define both characters and meld them together and consequently, you cannot stop reading. Ms Martin’s writing is stark, literal and raw with a driving rhythm that ably complements the message of the book. You may not agree with some of Tracy/Gemini’s choices but you empathise with her, one hundred percent and you feel compassion for her. As much as Girl Tracy may be a commentary on sex workers in Toronto, personally, I found the book to be a commentary on a woman, finding her voice, finding her way without compromise and accepting the consequences of her decisions; decisions that ultimately cost her friendships and relationships. But, in spite of those losses, Tracy has a profound integrity that many of the characters that shun her, do not; and Gemini has realised that before Tracy does.
The setting and other girls in Rosado House are brilliantly and authentically portrayed; I thought all the characters were excellently drawn; they were not just caricatured ‘contractors’ but their depictions were given individual care and attention. The reader gets to know their personalities as we do with the clients until you feel as if you sitting in Rosado House. The situation with Mike and the subsequent YouTube video is blistering and to see Tracy grow from the ashes of the situation into a confident, self-assured woman is credit to both Gemini and Ms Martin’s writing.
Girl Tracy is a fierce, powerhouse novel that imparts an age-old message in a fresh, compelling way. Highly recommended.
June 25, 2020
I loved GIRL TRACY by Nerissa Martin. This is a gripping, emotionally intense novel about a woman seeking authenticity while working at a high-end brothel.
💥The plot is tight, the writing skillful, and the protagonist goes through a believable and satisfying transformation.
💥Martin’s work is also politicized, taking up anti sex-work bias, racism, classism and misogyny in an organic and true-to-the-story way.
January 26, 2026
Girl Tracy is a searing, unforgettable plunge into the messy reality of survival, self-invention, and the high-wire act of being a Black woman in a world that refuses to make space for her complexity. From the first page, Tracy’s unraveling is rendered with such honesty and precision that you can feel the anxiety threading through every line. Her relentless inner voice, Gemini, is both tormentor and protector—a brilliant narrative device that exposes the raw nerves of ambition, shame, and desire.
What sets this novel apart is its refusal to offer easy answers or tidy resolutions. Tracy’s journey into Toronto’s legalized sex industry is neither glamorized nor condemned; instead, it’s depicted as the complicated, deeply personal choice it is, shaped as much by external pressures as by Tracy’s own fierce will to survive. Authoritative and compassionate, the writing pulls no punches, immersing readers in the tension between self-preservation and self-betrayal, power and vulnerability, visibility and erasure.
Every character, from Tracy herself to the friends and family who orbit her, is drawn with empathy and nuance. The city of Toronto pulses in the background, at once a site of possibility and constraint. As Tracy builds Gemini into an armor—and a weapon—she confronts the cost of being seen in a world that polices women’s choices, especially those of Black women, with devastating scrutiny.
Girl Tracy is more than a novel; it’s a challenge: to witness, to empathize, and to question the tidy narratives we tell about labor, autonomy, and what it means to be seen. This is a book that lingers long after the final page—a triumph of voice, craft, and emotional resonance. It is well worth the read. Prepare to be changed.
Thank you, Nerissa Martin and NetGalley, for the ARC read.
What sets this novel apart is its refusal to offer easy answers or tidy resolutions. Tracy’s journey into Toronto’s legalized sex industry is neither glamorized nor condemned; instead, it’s depicted as the complicated, deeply personal choice it is, shaped as much by external pressures as by Tracy’s own fierce will to survive. Authoritative and compassionate, the writing pulls no punches, immersing readers in the tension between self-preservation and self-betrayal, power and vulnerability, visibility and erasure.
Every character, from Tracy herself to the friends and family who orbit her, is drawn with empathy and nuance. The city of Toronto pulses in the background, at once a site of possibility and constraint. As Tracy builds Gemini into an armor—and a weapon—she confronts the cost of being seen in a world that polices women’s choices, especially those of Black women, with devastating scrutiny.
Girl Tracy is more than a novel; it’s a challenge: to witness, to empathize, and to question the tidy narratives we tell about labor, autonomy, and what it means to be seen. This is a book that lingers long after the final page—a triumph of voice, craft, and emotional resonance. It is well worth the read. Prepare to be changed.
Thank you, Nerissa Martin and NetGalley, for the ARC read.
January 14, 2026
Girl Tracy is a gripping contemporary novel that follows a woman at a breaking point, caught between the life she was told to build and the reality she can no longer sustain. Tracy is unemployed, overwhelmed by anxiety, and unraveling under the weight of lies she has used to survive professional expectations. Her inner voice, Gemini, acts as a relentless narrator, forcing her to confront truths she would rather avoid. When an unconventional opportunity presents itself, Tracy chooses reinvention over collapse, stepping into a world that offers control but at a steep personal cost.
As the story unfolds, Tracy’s transformation becomes more than a financial decision. It is an exploration of power, autonomy, and the careful performances required to move through a judgmental society. Relationships strain as Tracy navigates secrecy, desire, and shame while balancing survival against self respect. The city of Toronto serves as both backdrop and pressure cooker, amplifying the tension between freedom and consequence.
This novel stands out for its emotional honesty and its refusal to simplify complex choices. Girl Tracy invites readers into an intimate portrait of a woman learning what it means to be seen on her own terms. It is a story that lingers long after the final page and challenges readers to consider the cost of reinvention in a world that rarely allows women full complexity.
As the story unfolds, Tracy’s transformation becomes more than a financial decision. It is an exploration of power, autonomy, and the careful performances required to move through a judgmental society. Relationships strain as Tracy navigates secrecy, desire, and shame while balancing survival against self respect. The city of Toronto serves as both backdrop and pressure cooker, amplifying the tension between freedom and consequence.
This novel stands out for its emotional honesty and its refusal to simplify complex choices. Girl Tracy invites readers into an intimate portrait of a woman learning what it means to be seen on her own terms. It is a story that lingers long after the final page and challenges readers to consider the cost of reinvention in a world that rarely allows women full complexity.
January 16, 2026
I consumed this book in two days. At the start of reading this book “Girl Tracy” I was a bit confused by who the Character Tracy kept referring to as Gemini. At first, I thought it was an app or AI. However, the more I read I finally came to the realization of it being her alter ego. Now, with that said, I must say, I truly fell in love with the character Tracy. She is very relatable in the posture she takes within society as a black woman trying to find her place in the world of work, and relationships. I could not help but root for her on throughout the story. I wanted to see her win, even when she was making a bad decision, or when the plot took a left turn, I wanted to shout, “No! Don’t do it!” And still… I wanted to be right there to help pick up her when she fell. At times, I felt like this should have been titled, “Gurrrllll Tracy!” instead. I think I said that out loud a few times.
The first-person narrative really helped draw me in. I felt like I was reading her personal diary the entire time. At one point I even felt like she was real, a sister to love. Each sentence is crisp, cool and palatable. I turned page after page; and did not want to go to bed, even knowing I still had to work the next day! Her story telling was written like the steady hand of a great artist. Thank you for an amazing read! Looking forward to a sequel! Part two please.
A copy of this book was made available through #NetGalley
The first-person narrative really helped draw me in. I felt like I was reading her personal diary the entire time. At one point I even felt like she was real, a sister to love. Each sentence is crisp, cool and palatable. I turned page after page; and did not want to go to bed, even knowing I still had to work the next day! Her story telling was written like the steady hand of a great artist. Thank you for an amazing read! Looking forward to a sequel! Part two please.
A copy of this book was made available through #NetGalley
June 28, 2020
Girl Tracy was the best novel I've read in a long time. The characters, especially the main duo of Tracy/Gemini have stayed with me, as well as the novel's themes, which have been turning through my head since reading it. Martin throws us headlong into a messy, but heroic journey to self-realization and authentic community, illuminating the inner and outer hurdles to be overcome along the way. Anyone struggling to find their way in Toronto, in family, in work, in love, in friendship will relate, though if you're like me and didn't know much about sex work, you'll also be in for an education. All the implications of a future or alternate Toronto where brothels are legal was imaginative, and completely convincing. On a universal level, it's a wise psychological portrait, with a satirical turn, that laser-cuts through the BS we realize through Tracy/Gemini we tell ourselves, and the BS that surrounds us. Given the pandemic we are all living through, it was really meaningful to read about human adaptation. Overall, I had been looking for a novel that was real, but had some vision for human potential, collectively and individually. If you need inspiration, and want an engrossing read, I highly recommend Girl Tracy.
August 31, 2020
In Nerissa Martin’s Girl Tracy, we learn that Tracy is an unemployed public relations professional who has been fired from almost every job she’s had. She’s bluffing her way through her latest interview, but after being caught in a lie, Tracy decides the corporate world may not be the best career path for her. With no other employment prospects, and emboldened by her alter-ego, Gemini, Tracy prepares for a new career as a sex-worker, and hopes to land a job at the upscale Rosado House.
After months of daily inquiries, Tracy finally lands the job, and she (and Gemini) go to work. While learning the ropes and building her client base, Tracy meets a man whose secret could destroy everything she’s worked for.
Girl Tracy was hard to put down. Ms. Martin’s skillfully creates a fallible protagonist, taking her on a journey that changes her life, and the lives of those around her. I enjoyed it.
Thank you to Nerissa Martin for providing me with a free copy of Girl Tracy to review. This is my honest review, and it was not influenced by this gift.
After months of daily inquiries, Tracy finally lands the job, and she (and Gemini) go to work. While learning the ropes and building her client base, Tracy meets a man whose secret could destroy everything she’s worked for.
Girl Tracy was hard to put down. Ms. Martin’s skillfully creates a fallible protagonist, taking her on a journey that changes her life, and the lives of those around her. I enjoyed it.
Thank you to Nerissa Martin for providing me with a free copy of Girl Tracy to review. This is my honest review, and it was not influenced by this gift.
July 2, 2026
Set in modern Toronto where sex work has been legalised, this story follows Tracy, who is fed up and down on her luck with the corporate world. Struggling with finances and feeling like she doesn't really fit in with the people she calls her friends, Tracy decides to follow the thoughts of her alter ego Gemini and go into work at the high end brothel Rosado's.
I think Nerissa covers the topic of the sex trade and how legalisation could definitely help keep the workers safer really well. Tracy's journey covers her conflict of people finding out, the effects on relationships, bias in the community, and the good and bad sides of social media on this topic.
As you find out more about Tracy's childhood you can start to understand why she may have wanted to go into sex work. The other workers have a great background to them too and as a scandal hits Tracy really comes into her own.
Overall it felt like a journey of discovery and learning for Tracy, and allowing herself to be who she truly is.
I think Nerissa covers the topic of the sex trade and how legalisation could definitely help keep the workers safer really well. Tracy's journey covers her conflict of people finding out, the effects on relationships, bias in the community, and the good and bad sides of social media on this topic.
As you find out more about Tracy's childhood you can start to understand why she may have wanted to go into sex work. The other workers have a great background to them too and as a scandal hits Tracy really comes into her own.
Overall it felt like a journey of discovery and learning for Tracy, and allowing herself to be who she truly is.
January 13, 2026
This book grabbed me by the collar and refused to let go.
I loved Girl Tracy because it does not sugarcoat anything. I felt every moment of Tracy’s stress, fear, and determination as she rebuilt herself piece by piece in a world that keeps judging her no matter what she does. This story is raw, bold, and honest in a way that feels rare. If you like books that make you uncomfortable in the best way and force you to think about power, survival, and identity, you need to read this one. I finished it feeling shaken, impressed, and still thinking about Tracy days later. 📖🔥
I loved Girl Tracy because it does not sugarcoat anything. I felt every moment of Tracy’s stress, fear, and determination as she rebuilt herself piece by piece in a world that keeps judging her no matter what she does. This story is raw, bold, and honest in a way that feels rare. If you like books that make you uncomfortable in the best way and force you to think about power, survival, and identity, you need to read this one. I finished it feeling shaken, impressed, and still thinking about Tracy days later. 📖🔥
March 5, 2026
This is a highly intense gripping novel about a woman seeking authenticity while working at a brothel. This is real - raw. Down to the last dot.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.
January 18, 2026
When Reinvention Gets Real
Girl Tracy is bold, unsettling, and unforgettable, a story that digs deep into identity, power, and what survival really asks of a woman.
Girl Tracy is bold, unsettling, and unforgettable, a story that digs deep into identity, power, and what survival really asks of a woman.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews