The Girls I've Been

by Tess Sharpe

Paperback, 2021

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Publication

Hodder Children's Books (2021), 336 pages

Description

Romance. Suspense. Thriller. Young Adult Fiction. HTML:Soon to be a Netflix film starring Millie Bobbie Brown! 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. A BUSTLE, REFINERY29, COSMOPOLITAN, BUZZFEED and MARIE CLAIRE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK of 2021 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 hostag… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Twink

What an excellent premise! A bank robbery - three teens amongst the hostages - and one that has mad skills. Nora knows how to read people, how to manipulate them. She knows what needs to be done and adapts as things change. Her grifter skills are well honed.

I love kick butt female characters and

Nora is most definitely one! Her background lends her to many talents, mind sets, strengths, weaknesses and more. The three supporting players are all just as well drawn, coming in with their own unique skills and histories. The relationship between the three teen characters is real and really well portrayed. The reader can't help but be on their side in all things.

"Me, I was born into the con. Came into the world with a lie on my lips and the ability to smile and dazzle, just like my mother. Charm, people call it. Useful is what it is. To see into the heart of someone and adjust accordingly, instantaneously, to mirror that heart? It's not a gift or a curse. It's just a tool."

Sharpe draws out the revelation of Nora's life (lives) in detailed chapters interspersed between the current day's events. We come to know how she became the girl she is today - and why.

The situation in the bank is a non-stop page turner and reads like an action movie - which I loved. But amongst all that action are some weightier issues. Gentle readers, there are some triggers.

This reader loved The Girls I've Been .... and I'd like to know what happens after the final pages. Maybe we could have another book with Nora, Wes and Iris? What do you think Tess Sharpe?

And this! "Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown is set to lead the cast in a Netflix film based on Tess Sharpe's novel, The Girls I've Been, which will be published in 2021. The 16-year-old actress is producing the project alongside Ozark actor-director Jason Bateman." Oh yeah!

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LibraryThing member sennebec

If you take three teens who have all been severely hurt by parents, drop them into a complex friendship that also involves romantic ties, then put them in the lobby of a bank for a seemingly uneventful deposit of funds from a charity event, you're at the start of this incredibly good story. Two

bank robbers start what becomes a back and forth look at Nora's, Iris' and Wes' lives leading up to the soon to go south event in the bank. While most of the earlier chapter events focus on the insanely complicated and confusing years that Nora and her mother (if you could call her that)ran cons, what happened to the other teens also factors into how everything shakes out. It's tension-filled, painful, and forces you to keep reading, even when you're cringing at just how awful Nora's earlier years were. In sum, one heck of an adventure!

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LibraryThing member thereserose5

I flew through this. A unique plot with a really strong main character!

LibraryThing member ewyatt

Nora has a past and lots of secrets. Being raised by a con artist mother she had to pretend to be lots of different girls and was always on the grift. But she's reinvented herself with the help of her older sister and found love, friendship, and real connections. When she walks into the bank one

morning and finds herself a hostage in a robbery gone bad, she has to tap into all her survival skills to get through the experience. Told in flashbacks and memories to peel away the layers and stories of the girls that Nora has been. She's sassy, tough, and traumatized. The audiobook captured her personality(ies?).

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LibraryThing member nogomu

Wowza! Read this in two sittings. Un-put-downable.

LibraryThing member BDartnall

Strong voice for the main protagonist 17 year old Nora O'Malley- matches her grit & steely resolve to power through whatever situation she finds herself in, and in spite of an incredibly inappropriate upbringing by a grifter mom and menacing stepfather/criminal. The novel is at its best in the step

by step moments when Nora, her friends Wes & Iris, & a few others are trapped in a local bank by two robbers. Author shifts back and forth from the present moment of danger & imminent death to Nora's past - not as well done? But tense and jaw dropping. Some scenes of violence may be difficult; abuse alluded to without any graphic details.

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