Courtney Summers is known for pushing boundaries and exposing the cruel realities young women face. I'm the Girl, her eighth YA novel and an Indie Next List pick, is no exception.
Sixteen-year-old George finds the body of 13-year-old Ashley, who was raped and murdered. When Ashley's 17-year-old sister, Nora, shows up at George's house wanting to be told everything, George is pulled into an amateur investigation. At the center of this thriller is a murder mystery that Summers unravels piece by piece, parallel to the events taking place around George. She makes the case that the paths of the two very similar young women, George and Ashley, could've easily been swapped, adding to the novel's visceral dread and unease. The relationship between George and Nora is a bright spot--it evolves naturally and brings some levity to an otherwise dark and heart-wrenching novel. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader