Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Girls I've Been” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Girls I've Been

Tess Sharpe (Goodreads Author)

4.23 · Rating details · 133 ratings · 85 reviews

A slick, twisty YA page-turner about the daughter of a con artist who is taken hostage in a bank heist.

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 mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape.

For five years Nora’s been playing at normal. Bu ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 336 pages

Expected publication: January 26th 2021 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

More Details... Edit Details

Win a Copy of This Book

The Girls I've Been

Tess Sharpe (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Jan 26, 2021

Enter to win a hardcover copy of THE GIRLS I'VE BEEN by Tess Sharpe!

(No PO boxes please)

A slick, twisty YA page-turner about the daughter of a con art ...more

Enter Giveaway

Format: Print book

Giveaway ends in: a

Availability: 5 copies available, 3756 people requesting

Giveaway dates: Dec 26 - Jan 25, 2021

Countries available: U.S.

View details »

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Girls I've Been, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

YA Novels of 2021

686 books — 1,306 voters

YA Releases of January, 2021

49 books — 166 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.23 ·

Rating details

· 133 ratings · 85 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Girls I've Been

Sep 07, 2020 theresa rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs-review-copies, wlw-mc, 21-releases, lgbtq

The Girls I’ve Been is a gripping, twisty thriller unlike anything I’ve ever read. Taking place over the course of only a few hours, Sharpe takes her readers on a high-stakes journey through past, present and six very different girls.

Nora O’Malley, our main character, is truly the star of the show. She’s a morally grey badass ex con artist who would die for those she loves, what more could you want? The narrative style created a real connection with her and was both effortless and enjoyable to r The Girls I’ve Been is a gripping, twisty thriller unlike anything I’ve ever read. Taking place over the course of only a few hours, Sharpe takes her readers on a high-stakes journey through past, present and six very different girls.

Nora O’Malley, our main character, is truly the star of the show. She’s a morally grey badass ex con artist who would die for those she loves, what more could you want? The narrative style created a real connection with her and was both effortless and enjoyable to read. I loved seeing how Nora’s past influenced her, both helping and hurting her. Sharpe handled discussions of trauma, recovery and therapy with incredible sensitivity while refusing to sugar coat the horrific nature of Nora’s past. I also adored Nora’s chosen family and her relationships with them: her sister, Lee; her girlfriend, Iris and her ex-boyfriend turned ‘franken-friend’, Wes. Through these characters, The Girls I’ve Been touches on other forms of trauma and their impact, as well as medical conditions through Iris’s endometriosis and sexuality through a bisexual main character and sapphic main relationship.

This book is intense. Sharpe expertly wields a dual timeline to maximise tension and explore Nora’s past identities. I had worried that so much flashing back would take me out of the main story but the chapters from Nora’s past perspective actually ended up creating even more suspense and left me unable to put the book down. The structure of short chapters flashing between past, present and reflective asides worked really well to aid the development of Nora’s character. This book is just so cleverly crafted and unique, with the stakes just getting higher at every twist and turn.

I really don’t have any complaints about this book, the only thing I would have liked is to spend a bit more time with Wes and Iris in the present. We get quite a bit of backstory and development of their relationships in the past and I’d have liked to see this continue into the present a bit more, partly just because Iris and Nora were adorable together and I wanted to see more of their relationship.

Overall, The Girls I’ve Been is an utterly unique book. Sharpe combines all the typical elements of a high-stakes thriller with a nuanced look at trauma and the power of choosing your own family, all while exploring the question, ‘what makes you who you are?’.

content warnings

I also talk about books here: youtube | instagram | twitter

*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley* ...more

flag 30 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2021 Angela Staudt rated it it was amazing

Thank you PenguinTeen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Girls I’ve Been was nothing like I was expecting and I mean that in the best way possible. I don’t even know what genre this falls into, as I swear it had every single one in this book. Such a unique book full of twists, but also full of tough subjects. The writing was spectacular and once I got a little way into the book, I didn’t want to stop reading. The past and present chapters and how short the chapters were had me flip Thank you PenguinTeen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Girls I’ve Been was nothing like I was expecting and I mean that in the best way possible. I don’t even know what genre this falls into, as I swear it had every single one in this book. Such a unique book full of twists, but also full of tough subjects. The writing was spectacular and once I got a little way into the book, I didn’t want to stop reading. The past and present chapters and how short the chapters were had me flipping pages.

Nora O’Malley is the main character, and what a bad ass main character she was. She has had a very strange childhood; her mother was a con artist and would find gullible men and con them into loving her and she would steal from them. She used Nora in all of her cons and would make her the perfect daughter to fit the con. Their latest con her mother doesn’t want out of, she falls in love with the man and Nora wants out. She makes a plan and she gets out, and for five years has been living a somewhat normal life with her sister. Until she goes into the local bank to drop off money and a bank robbery is taking place. Now she is stuck in the bank with her ex-boyfriend, her new girlfriend, and no way out. She might have one more con up her sleeve though.

“I don’t want to love them, and I’ve never needed to be loved by them. I learned very early, the best thing you can expect from them is pain. And the best thing you can do with a bad man is destroy him.”

This book was so freaking good, I honestly don’t even know how to describe it or what to say about it. I loved the multiple timelines and how we get the present time in the bank and slowly are discovering who exactly Nora is. We also get back stories of each of the girls Nora has been during the cons that her mother did. I loved how bad ass Nora was and the more backstories I got about Nora, the more I cared and loved her. She has gone through some down right horrible things and is still processing what happened during her childhood. I loved her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend. They are both such amazing side characters that had so much depth to them. I really enjoyed how this ended and I am hoping there is another book because that ending has me wanting more. ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Jul 30, 2020 Elle (ellexamines) marked it as 2021

I can't wait for the new Tess Sharpe god BLESS ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

May 25, 2020 Katerina Kondrenko rated it it was ok

Shelves: target-upper-ya, read-in-english, read-for-work, friendship-bromance, genre-thriller, writing-nice-humor, pov-1st-person, format-standalone, pov-female-only, characters-antiheros

5.5 out of 10

I'm struggling with the genre this book is written under. It's a mystery, contemporary, thriller, romance, queer story, heist... As if the story can't decide which way to take for good and tries all genres it can.

What I Liked
- How mother and daughter problems are portrayed without sidestepping, with all love, cruelty, and truth.
- How a love triangle that is not a really love triangle is held.
- Queer romance feels right and not far-fetched like in many books I've read befor ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2020 charlotte, (½ of readsrainbow) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-put-the-b-in-lgbt, favourite-authors, mystery-thriller, let-s-talk-diversity, maybe-review, f-lgbt, lgbtq-authors, found-family, lgbt, just-read-it

On my blog.

Rep: bi mc, bi/pan li with endometriosis

CWs: child abuse, domestic abuse, violence, threats of rape, implied torture, implied child sexual abuse

Galley provided by publisher

Tess Sharpe is the author of probably two of my favourite thrillers: Far From You and Barbed Wire Heart. So, it comes as no surprise that I loved The Girls I’ve Been just as much. The book covers darker topics than Far From You did, closer to Barbed Wire Heart in terms of tone, and it does so with respect and gr ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Aug 25, 2020 Tess Sharpe added it · (Review from the author)

Hi everyone!

Tess Sharpe here. I thought I'd drop a link to the Content Warnings for this book, for anyone who needs them.

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THE GIRLS I'VE BEEN

Take care,

--TS ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2019 Aslee marked it as to-read

please be good

...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2021 Kelly added it

Shelves: read-in-2021, ya-fiction

What happens when the daughter of the Queen of Grift is held hostage during a bank heist? The answer is she knows how to get her and everyone else out safe while scaring the ever-living shit out of the two hostage takers.

Sharpe's book is sharp, twisted, and fast-paced. Told primarily in a single day, the story begins as Nora, ex-boyfriend Wes, and current girlfriend Iris are in line at the bank when two men begin a robbery and take everyone inside hostage. They want keys to the vaults downstair What happens when the daughter of the Queen of Grift is held hostage during a bank heist? The answer is she knows how to get her and everyone else out safe while scaring the ever-living shit out of the two hostage takers.

Sharpe's book is sharp, twisted, and fast-paced. Told primarily in a single day, the story begins as Nora, ex-boyfriend Wes, and current girlfriend Iris are in line at the bank when two men begin a robbery and take everyone inside hostage. They want keys to the vaults downstairs, and they can only get those through the manager. The manager, though, has been in a car accident on his way to the bank and won't be able to make it. From there, we see Nora start to figure out how she can use her knowledge of deceit to get everyone out safely.

Between the moments of the hostage, we get flashbacks to all of the girls Nora's been. All of the identities carefully crafted by her mother, who has lived a life of grifting. She finds a man with some money, plays him, and uses Nora as a tool to make it happen. We learn through the course of this, though, Nora's played the game, too, and may be responsible for why her mother and former step-father are no longer in her lie . . . or free at all.

At the heart of the story is an incredible sister relationship between Nora and her older sister Lee, who is a Private Investigator. They're close not just because of the shared lives they've had with their mother -- they didn't grow up together, as there's a big age difference -- but because of the knowledge they share about getting things done via any means necessary.

A twisty, super satisfying thriller/heist story with a side of grifting. Smart, well-crafted characters keep the pages turning and readers looking for great bisexual representation will do well here, as Nora is bi and it plays a nice size role in the story. Likewise, Nora's girlfriend lives with endometriosis, and that, too, plays a clever role in the story, without downplaying how serious that reproductive challenge can be.

I read this after The Project and think they'd make for some fun back-to-back reading, especially in exploring complicated and compelling sister relationships. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 14, 2020 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, mystery-thriller, edelweiss

Many thanks to EdelweissPlus and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book. It checked all of the boxes that mystery/thriller needs for me: interesting heroine, complicated back story, multiple timelines, twists and turns, and an ending that gives closure but also leaves the possibility of another book . . . at least that's what I'm telling myself because I NEED another book with this cast of characters. I NEED IT.

Nora has settl ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2020 Siobhan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Girls I've Been is a tense YA novel about a seventeen-year-old ex-con artist who gets stuck in the middle of a bank robbery with her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend. For twelve years, Nora had to live a life of deception, as her con artist mother needed her to play the part when tricking criminal men—until her mum felt for one of these men. Then, Nora had to use her skills to escape, and since then, she's been living as close to a normal life as possible. After a charity event, she meets The Girls I've Been is a tense YA novel about a seventeen-year-old ex-con artist who gets stuck in the middle of a bank robbery with her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend. For twelve years, Nora had to live a life of deception, as her con artist mother needed her to play the part when tricking criminal men—until her mum felt for one of these men. Then, Nora had to use her skills to escape, and since then, she's been living as close to a normal life as possible. After a charity event, she meets with new girlfriend Iris ex-boyfriend and now best friend Wes to deposit the money raised, but suddenly, a man pulls a gun, and they're in the middle of a heist. In such a dangerous situation, can Nora keep all her secrets, even as she puts her skills to the test?

I didn't know what to expect going into the book, but it turned out to be immediately gripping and multifaceted. On the one hand, it plays out like a classic thriller as Nora tries to outsmart the bank robbers to allow her and her friends to escape, but with constant flashbacks to her past as the many different girls of the title. On another level, it's a novel that looks at trauma, what makes people who they are, and building your own family, going deeper than you might expect from the blurb. Nora has, expectedly from the concept, had a terrible life in many ways, and has had to try and rebuild things with the help of therapy, her sister, and finding friends. Both Wes and Iris have their own traumatic lives, and Iris especially is given chances to prove her ability to be useful in sticky situations, as well as being a character with a chronic illness (endometriosis).

Surprisingly, the love triangle element is actually much more of a found family situation, with the tension at the start being down to Wes not knowing the two of them were secretly together rather than him pining to have Nora back, and it's nice to have Nora's bisexuality acknowledged but not made a big deal of. Due to the mostly very condensed settings of the action in the 'present' of the novel (which until near the end is entirely over a few hours during the robbery), it may seem like a lot of information comes out at once, but it suits the genre, and in general the book feels like it looks beyond the action and thriller elements to actually consider the impact of things like Nora's childhood and some of the pace of revealing secrets during the heist.

Engrossing, sharp, and readable, The Girls I've Been was refreshing and more complex than expected, combining the enjoyable larger than life elements of a thriller (like quite how good at cons Nora is) with a look at the trauma of being a child crime prodigy type figure that has horrific things happen to them and that they have to do. It's certainly for the upper end of the young adult age group (and plenty of adults too), and it'll be interesting to see the film that's being made of it, because the book really drew me in. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2021 Dawn Kurtagich rated it it was amazing

This book was brilliant. It has my hearty blurb!

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2019 pauline marked it as to-read

Shelves: anticipated-releases, 2021-releases, 2021-wlw, 2021-january

god is real and she loves me

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 03, 2021 Amber rated it really liked it

Shelves: sapphic, lgbtq, thriller-crime-mystery

Tess Sharpe’s twisty new psychological thriller is a perfect, fast-paced read that will leave you reeling.

Nora O’Malley is used to a life of constantly being on edge, criminals and running from her past. But even she couldn’t have predicted the situation she finds herself in. When a normal day turns into Nora finding herself in a hostage situation at the bank, Nora knows the odds of survival are low. But she’s not just your average girl, Nora is the daughter of a con artist, and so, she has to Tess Sharpe’s twisty new psychological thriller is a perfect, fast-paced read that will leave you reeling.

Nora O’Malley is used to a life of constantly being on edge, criminals and running from her past. But even she couldn’t have predicted the situation she finds herself in. When a normal day turns into Nora finding herself in a hostage situation at the bank, Nora knows the odds of survival are low. But she’s not just your average girl, Nora is the daughter of a con artist, and so, she has to find a way to con her way out.

Each girl was me, but different. The best con has a seed of truth.

After reading Sharpe’s ‘Far From You’ last year and absolutely loving it, I knew I had to pick up this new book, and was beyond thrilled when the publisher sent me a copy to review. The premise of this book is so intriguing; a morally grey con artist’s daughter who has lived multiple different lives and now finds herself in a hostage situation!?!?! Sign me right up.

What I loved:
- Wes, Iris and Lee, our side characters, with whom I think I fell in love with even before I loved Nora. They’re all so close and the dynamic Nora has with Lee (her sister) and Wes is so sweet. Iris is Nora’s girlfriend and she is BADASS!! I absolutely loved her and every scene that she was in was so fun to read!
- Menstruation representation. Might sound odd to some, but I think this is quite possibly the first book I’ve ever read where there is positive representation of periods!! It just made the characters seem more real to me, and I loved how open Iris was about her Endometriosis with both Wes and Nora.
- Finding out about Nora’s previous ‘lives’ and all the different names she has taken on with them. These chapters were great to provide some backstory on how Nora has become who she is today, and it was enlightening to see how she had grown up with her mother and just some of the crazy things they got up to together.
- Nora during the hostage situation. We really got to see her personality, and learn that, even though Nora thinks it multiple times throughout the book, she isn’t some heartless girl who had a horrible and abusive upbringing who is now broken and cruel; she’s actually so caring and brilliant. Everything she does is so thought through and intentional, which made it shocking at times when certain things got revealed about her.
- The pacing of the book. I think the pacing of this book was really well off-set with the chapters that told us about Nora’s past. For the majority of the book, it takes place over those few hours in the hostage situation, but it never felt like it was going too fast because it was broken up with the other chapters, which I think was a great way to ensure that readers are kept interested.

This thriller is SO shocking at points, you really do have to expect the unexpected because just when you think you’ve got something clued out, the plot will suddenly shift and you’ll be right back to not knowing where it’s going. I loved the characters and especially learning about each of the con’s Nora had lived through, and I think this book is perfect for anyone who enjoyed ‘Far From You’ or likes twisty thrillers! With a found-family that will melt your heart and crazy turns in the plot, this book is definitely one you should have on your radar.

A huge thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2021 koh rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fans of aftg

Shelves: bi-bi-bi, trope-found-family, arcs, four-and-a-half-stars, women-women-women, wlw, lgbtq-rep, young-adult, mystery-thriller

someone gave me a book with a bisexual abuse survivor with an thrilling plot and sapphic established relationship and wow?? absolutely loved it

We follow Nora, the daughter of a con-artist who finds herself trapped in a bank during a robbery with her girlfriend, Iris and her ex-boyfriend, Wes. The narrative is non-linear and we see flashbacks to the past and the robbery, seeing how the girl's she's been have helped shape who she is now. I wanted to know more about both her past lives and the pres ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2020 booksneedcaffeinetoo marked it as to-read

from what i’ve gathered from tess’s twitter account this book:

✨stars a bisexual con artist (hi nora)
✨is non-linear
✨poor iris is on her period at literally the worst time: during a bank robbery (plus she has endometriosis so it’s extra sucky)
✨wes (nora’s ex) is basically a teen captain america (i do love a good himbo)
✨it explores trauma and surviving abuse

i loved Barbed Wire Heart and this book sounds like it will have some similar underlying themes but made YA and queer and have heists and con ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 21, 2020 Mariong rated it it was amazing

AMAZING BOOK! I loved absolutely everything about it, from the story to characters, the suspense, the twists, the representation, the things I felt while reading it, etc. Just loved it all.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2020 rafia ✿ marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2021-releases, for-mbb

2021 can't come any quicker, bye 2020 we don't want you <3
ALSO - mbb in an adaptation of this? yes pls
my request for a copy for a review was denied brb gonna CRY ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 22, 2020 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: edelweiss, ya-fiction

Pub date: Jan 2021
This fast-paced YA thriller set in the middle of a bank robbery is stupendous! We are introduced to the main character, Nora, her ex-boyfriend and BFF, Wes, and her current girlfriend, Iris, just before things go down, all of whom are smart and funny! Nora isn't just a regular girl, as the reader finds out when her past is juxtaposed with the robbery. In these alternating chapters, we see her past aliases and what she learned as a kid with her con-woman mother as they moved fro ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 08, 2020 LeaReadsandRants rated it really liked it

Shelves: f-f, 2020

RTC but Sharpe's writing is still amazing and mind-blowing (but also my girl Iris deserved as much on-page time than my golden boy Wes) ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 09, 2020 ☀︎El In Oz☀︎ marked it as might-read-tbr

Idk if I really want to read this but Millie Bobby Brown is starring in the film adaptation so I’ll see...

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2020 Kat Ellis rated it it was amazing

Watch out for this one in early 2021 - this is an intense, thrilling rollercoaster of a book, and I can’t wait to relive it when the Netflix adaptation comes out starring Millie Bobby Brown.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2021 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This has been on my radar for quite a while now and I'm so excited that I was able to read an early copy! I'm happy to report this is my first 5-star read of the year! There was so much good in this book and it was utterly addicting, I could not stop turning the pages (well...tapping the right side of my screen, but you get the point). Only the threat of work in the morning kept me from staying Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This has been on my radar for quite a while now and I'm so excited that I was able to read an early copy! I'm happy to report this is my first 5-star read of the year! There was so much good in this book and it was utterly addicting, I could not stop turning the pages (well...tapping the right side of my screen, but you get the point). Only the threat of work in the morning kept me from staying up all night to finish, though I did stay up way later than I meant to. The nonlinear timeline of this book kept me hooked as I was desperate to see what would happen in the present during the bank robbery and very interested in learning about each girl Nora had become in her mother's cons and how those experiences shaped her.

I really enjoyed the characters. Nora is clever and slick; a few years out of the con game hasn't made her rusty in the slightest. When she needs to recall her mother's teachings they come right back to her. I adored her relationship with Wes but that may be because Wes is the best and I just want to keep him close and protect him from everything. Wes is just so genuinely good. This is demonstrated multiple times in the first few chapters when he keeps trying to put himself between the robbers and the other victims trapped in the bank. I think the synopsis implies that this book is a sort of love triangle situation and that's not the case. Wes and Nora were close friends who dated in the past but they remain best friends, even if the relationship had to heal around Wes's broken trust when he learns Nora's secrets. Wes is hurt at the start of this book because Nora has been keeping another secret from him, her relationship with Iris. Even though he would have been happy for both of them. Iris was absolutely fantastic, a whip-smart girl with a penchant for fifties fashion (right down to the proper undergarments) and just a bit of a fire obsession. She also suffered from endometriosis and I really liked seeing that and the discussion around how debilitating it can be in this book.

I was fascinated by Nora's relationship with her mother. The evolution of the relationship was so interesting to read. The manipulation and the gaslighting all wrapped up and twisted with Nora's hero-worship of her mother made for such an interesting read. This book does an excellent job of balancing a classic thriller story of a girl trying to outwit bank robbers to ensure she and her friends escape while also offering a deep examination of trauma and what it takes to survive. That said there are content warnings to look out for including psychological and emotional abuse, child abuse, domestic abuse, child sexual abuse, and violence. Tess Sharpe goes more in detail about the content warning on her Tumblr and there is a link to the specific post on Goodreads from her. ...more

flag Like · see review

Dec 26, 2020 Madison rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, young-adult

Looking for a thriller novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat? The Girls I’ve Been is an exciting novel that is part heist novel, part mystery. It is unique, romantic (lgbt+), and will have you desperate to uncover the truth about the girls Nora has been (and what that even means).

I adore mystery/thriller novels. And sometimes, it is a little hard to find good YA mystery/thriller novels. Books that justify why the teenager is involved in the crime/crime fighting. The Girls I’ve Been d Looking for a thriller novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat? The Girls I’ve Been is an exciting novel that is part heist novel, part mystery. It is unique, romantic (lgbt+), and will have you desperate to uncover the truth about the girls Nora has been (and what that even means).

I adore mystery/thriller novels. And sometimes, it is a little hard to find good YA mystery/thriller novels. Books that justify why the teenager is involved in the crime/crime fighting. The Girls I’ve Been does that and so much more. Two main mystery threads run through the story and are told in alternating chapters that span the past and present. It kept me hooked to the pages and eager to learn what had transpired to make Nora the girl she is today (kind of scary, totally cool, wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley, but also totally in awe of her).

Our story starts with Nora, her ex-boyfriend and her new girlfriend stopping by the bank to make a deposit. It’s awkward, thanks to Nora’s ex discovering her new relationship mid kiss. When two armed men rob the bank, Nora starts to draw upon her specialised skill set to get the three of them to safety. But doing so means revealing her past to her girlfriend and the robbers, which might have dangerous consequences.

There is lots to love about this book. First of all, let’s talk about Nora. I love it when strong, talented young women take centre stage and all of Nora’s smooth-talking, devious planning skills are totally justified - as a reader we just don’t know why yet. But you will.

I loved that as the action in the bank unfolded, we also get to flick back and forth to Nora’s past. This is done by skipping back to each of the girls she has had to learn to be while her mother conned men. It was a dangerous and sometimes horrific childhood. I found myself torn between wanting the action of the present to continue and wanting to learn more about Nora’s past, and couldn’t put the book down.

The romance is awesome. Much of it has already happened - the beginning and the end of her romance with Wes - and her new romance with Iris. But despite the tension and high stakes, they still find time to spill some pretty big secrets and grow closer during the bank heist. Wes and Iris are both awesome characters, and they have their own backgrounds and depth of character to bring to the story, but my favourite side character has to be Nora’s sister who is fantastic and a little scary.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 07, 2021 Meghan rated it liked it

Shelves: queer

Thank you to PenguinTeen and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Girls I've Been follows Nora O'Malley, the daughter of a con artist, as she finds herself held hostage in a dangerous bank robbery gone wrong with her girlfriend, Iris, and her ex/best friend, Wes. As Nora struggles to get all of them out alive, her past is laid bare. The girls she has been - the ones her mother raised her as for various cons, and the ones she has tried so hard to keep secre Thank you to PenguinTeen and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Girls I've Been follows Nora O'Malley, the daughter of a con artist, as she finds herself held hostage in a dangerous bank robbery gone wrong with her girlfriend, Iris, and her ex/best friend, Wes. As Nora struggles to get all of them out alive, her past is laid bare. The girls she has been - the ones her mother raised her as for various cons, and the ones she has tried so hard to keep secret - are forced to resurface. Dangerous secrets are great for keeping people alive during a heist. Not so great for maintaining stable relationships.

First off: Sharpe has an absolutely fantastic voice. I loved the writing style of this novel. The sharp wit and relatable emotional lashes pull you in from the very beginning. On a similar note, the formating was super cool: I love stories that pop from present to past, and that format was done very well here!

As for the characters: they're wonderfully unique, and I adored getting to know them. Iris in particular owns my heart with her vintage aesthetic hiding (metaphorical) daggers beneath. We learn early on that Iris has endometriosis, which I've never seen in YA book before. So, that was genuinely awesome. Nora intrigued me from the get-go, too. Her personality, her quirks, her history: they're are all things seen more commonly in men in YA fiction. It's honestly my favorite character type, so I was delighted to see that 'detached-but-emotional, cool, level-headed' persona shown in a young woman instead.

The main issue I had stems from the genres of this book. As a mystery/thriller, it's fantastic! But it tries to balance this out with equal levels of romance. I love a good side-romance, especially when it's queer (the representation in this book was wonderful, by the way), but in a story like this, I think the romance needs to be just that: a side. As it is, it feels just a bit too cluttered. The romance abruptly cuts off the thrill and mystery, and vice versa, significantly disrupting the flow of the book. As a result, I found it hard to stay engaged. I wasn't bored necessarily, but my attention often strayed with each new chapter, so I found it rather difficult to actually get to the end of the story. I adored the relationships, and certainly wouldn't want that content to be excluded, but I just felt they needed to be integrated in different ways.

Overall, The Girls I've Been is a great read! I don't know if I would have picked it off a shelf based on the description alone, but I did enjoy it, and I loved the messages carried throughout. Pop this on your TBR, pick it up when you get the chance! ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 02, 2021 Kera (featherboundbooks) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lgbt, arc, contemporary-fiction, netgalley, young-adult, 2021-reads, thriller

Tess Sharpe paints a vivid picture about a young girl forced into the life of conning and grifting by her mother and how even when she has gotten herself out of that life, must put all the tools she learned to use when a routine trip to the bank turns into a hostage situation.

Nora has had a very tough life. She has been through so much at the hands of her mother, the woman who made her all the girls she has been. But, even after living through some of her mother’s most heinous marks, she is subj ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 08, 2021 Kristi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2021-release, thriller, penguin-teen, arc, suspense

“What didn’t kill me didn’t make me stronger; what didn’t kill me made me a victim. But I made me stronger. I made me a survivor.”

Tess Sharpe outdid herself on this YA thriller featuring Nora O’Malley, a girl who assisted her grifter mother, Abby with sweetheart cons until she was rescued by her older sister Lee at the age of 12. Because of Nora’s testimony, Abby is now in prison along with Nora’s sociopathic step-father, Raymond, who wants nothing more than to see Nora dead. Nora, not her real ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2020 Sophie rated it liked it

TW for violence, murder, sexual assault, rape, gaslighting, emotional and physical abuse

‘The Girls I’ve Been’ is a mystery/thriller/heist Young Adult novel following Nora, a teenage girl who holds a huge secret. Nora and her mother used to be con artists and Nora is the reason why her mother was caught and put in prison. Nora ends up as a hostage in a bank robbery with her friend Wes and girlfriend Iris, and this is where Nora’s secrets begin to unravel.

I really enjoyed getting lost in the story ...more

flag Like · see review

Dec 27, 2020 Emily Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Crime thrillers with queer and chronic illness rep? Yes please.

Hodder books have put out some seriously awesome lgbt+ reads this year and I’m HERE FOR IT.

This book is intriguing with a ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ style, queer con artist romance that pulls on the tension of a love triangle with her ex boyfriend.

It’s great queer rep (f/f) and (f/m) , and the romance isn’t 100% the focus of the story. It’s apparent but very much just one part of a larger plot, with the heist acting as a tool for pause up ...more

flag Like · see review

Dec 27, 2020 ♣Bel♣ rated it really liked it

The Girls I’ve Been

4 stars

I started this one on a whim, simply because it sounded interesting and the cover drew me in. Initially, what I was expecting was a clever, teenage heist novel that would be, at most, entertaining. And yet, I got so much more from this novel and it far exceeded my expectations.

The way the novel starts off instantly had me completely engrossed. As the story unfolds and we’re taken back into Nora’s past, I was hooked on the mystery of her life and fervently anticipating The Girls I’ve Been

4 stars

I started this one on a whim, simply because it sounded interesting and the cover drew me in. Initially, what I was expecting was a clever, teenage heist novel that would be, at most, entertaining. And yet, I got so much more from this novel and it far exceeded my expectations.

The way the novel starts off instantly had me completely engrossed. As the story unfolds and we’re taken back into Nora’s past, I was hooked on the mystery of her life and fervently anticipating uncovering her secrets.

First and foremost, Tess’ writing is absolutely incredible. It’s intellectual and drawls beautifully with a metaphorical prose that I couldn’t help but highlight passages upon passages all throughout the novel. It carries and details Nora’s life trauma in a subtle yet strong way that makes it the perfect novel for all readers regardless of its targeted audience.

Speaking of trauma, what I loved most about this novel was the way it delved into Nora’s development as a character who is struggling to figure out who she is in a world where she’s only ever been someone else. As well as her development in coming to terms with realizing she is not at fault for actions that have been done against her person. It’s an experience and intellectual journey of discovery that I feel many can relate to.

THE GIRLS IVE BEEN portrays sexual assault, grooming by a loved one, physical abuse at the hands of someone you trust, found family, self discovery, and the positive effect of therapy all in a clever yet subtle way. I especially liked that each of these were introduced in the novel in a way that felt very natural. Each character has their own traumatic experience that are not automatically revealed but rather shown in a way that a reader ‘sees’ rather than ‘reads’ about. All this while a riveting heist is occurring and thus made the novel completely unputdownable for me.

I highly recommend if you’re looking for a refreshing, thrilling, well written and structured YA novel that goes more in depth on teen emotional and psychological trauma. ...more

flag Like · see review

Dec 30, 2020 Aisha rated it liked it · review of another edition

The Girl I’ve Been follows Nora who is taken hostage during a bank robbery however Nora has a lot of secrets from her past working with her mother who was a con-artist, secrets which can help her survive.

The book is a fast paced and exciting read, a lot of things happen quickly and right from the start we get thrown into the action. The book is split into different parts and Nora’s past is told throughout the book, I really liked how things were set out and it made the story interesting as infor ...more

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Young Adult

92 users

Contemporary

70 users

Thriller

49 users

LGBT

47 users

Mystery

30 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

29 users

GLBT > Queer

20 users

Fiction

18 users

Young Adult > Young Adult Contemporary

6 users

Romance

4 users

See top shelves…

About Tess Sharpe

Tess Sharpe

593 followers

I do not read my goodreads mail, but if you'd like to contact me the best way to reach me is tess(at)tess-sharpe.com

Born in a mountain cabin to a punk rocker mother, Tess Sharpe grew up in rural California. She lives deep in the backwoods with a pack of dogs and a growing cabal of slightly feral cats.
...more