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Tess Sharpe
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The Girls I've Been Hardcover – January 26, 2021

by Tess Sharpe (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,322 ratings
Editors' pick Best Young Adult
See all formats and editions
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A New York Times Bestseller * A USA Today Bestseller * 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.

Soon to be a Netflix film starring Millie Bobbie Brown!

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 hostage . . .

A FORBES, BUZZFEED, BOOK RIOT AND KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Previous page
  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
  4. Publication date
    January 26, 2021
  5. Grade level
    9 - 12
  6. Reading age
    14 - 17 years
  7. Dimensions
    5.9 x 1.17 x 8.55 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0593353803
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0593353806
  10. Lexile measure
    HL670L
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Until she was 12 years old, Nora, who is white, had many names. Each came with a unique personality designed to help her mother complete the con she ran with the men she targeted. Beautiful and blonde, athletic with dark braids, and other appearances, each girl served a purpose to pull the most money out of the game. The last con ended when her mother fell in love with a man who knew the game far better than she, leading to a disastrous confrontation that sends him and Nora's mother to prison. Rescued by her older sister, Lee, who escaped the same family dynamic, Nora is helped by therapy, her white best friend Wes, and her new love, freckled brunette Iris. Also children of abuse, they help her to regain a sense of who she really is. All of this is threatened, however, when one day they happen to be in a bank as a robbery unfolds. This action-packed story sizzles with suspense as Nora quickly grasps that this is a situation she not only understands, but all that she has learned until now can work in her favor. She is going to run a daring con to facilitate their escape. Told in alternating chapters as the bank con unfolds, readers meet each of the girls that Nora became, the results of their cons and how each shapes her, giving her the skills she uses now to escape. But Nora can't do this alone. VERDICT In this thriller, characters prove that they can rely on their strength, friendship, and desire to be the confident and caring people they know themselves to be.-Connie Williams, Petaluma, CAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

A FORBES, BUZZFEED, BOOK RIOT AND KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AND CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A BUSTLE, REFINERY29, COSMOPOLITAN, BUZZFEED AND MARIE CLAIRE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2021 

A BEST BOOK OF JANUARY 2021 ON POPSUGAR, E! ONLINE, BOOK RIOT, BITCH MEDIA, LGBTQREADS, AND CULTURESS

A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A COSMOPOLITAN 100 BEST YA BOOKS EVERYONE SHOULD READ, REGARDLESS OF THEIR AGE

AN ALA RISE: FEMINIST BOOK PROJECT AND ALA RAINBOW BOOK LIST SELECTION

★ “A captivating, explosive, and satisfyingly queer thriller.” —Kirkus, starred review

★ "An arrestingly incisive narrative . . . fiercely captivating and impressively characterized, this tightly plotted thriller is engrossing from start to finish." --Booklist, starred review

★ "Not since Veronica Mars have hardscrabble swagger, enormous grief and teenage noir been combined into such a satisfying piece of storytelling. The Girls I've Been is a heart-wrenching, perfectly paced, cinematic thriller . . . a romance, a tragedy and a story about reclaiming agency and power. It is a triumph." —Bookpage, starred review

"YA thriller fans, The Girls I've Been is the perfect read for you." —BuzzFeed

"This action-packed story sizzles with suspense . . . In this thriller, characters prove that they can rely on their strength, friendship, and desire to be the confident and caring people they know themselves to be." —School Library Journal

"Sharpe (Barbed Wire Heart) focuses as much on [Nora's] trauma—and the systems of power that enable and excuse abuse—as on mystery and heart-pounding action . . . the small, complex cast of characters and emotional core make this a poignant thriller." --Publishers Weekly

"The tension is absolutely nailbiting." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“A non-stop thrill ride… This book is so INTENSE. It jumps back and forth from the robbery in progress to Nora’s earlier life with her mother, a con woman married to a dangerous man. It’s so well done, extremely cinematic.” —Book Riot

“If you’re looking for a queer YA contemporary book with complex characters, loads of action to keep you reading WAY past your bedtime — and a story so well written I might have shed a tear over it — you need to read The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe. It will keep you captivated until the last page.” —Culturess

“Quick, full of plot twists and reveals that will have the reader on the edge of their seat . . . Strong female leads and well-written characters.” —Screen Rant

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (January 26, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593353803
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593353806
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 - 17 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL670L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.9 x 1.17 x 8.55 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,322 ratings

About the author

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Tess Sharpe

Tess Sharpe

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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.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
2,322 global ratings
Daughter of a con-artist finds herself in the middle of a bank heist !
4 Stars
Daughter of a con-artist finds herself in the middle of a bank heist !
Looking for a thriller novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat? The Girls Ive Been is an exciting novel and will have you at the edge of your seat, desperate trying to uncover the truth bout the girls "NORA" has been.Although, I did have a hard time trying to connect to this book, I still believe it was a great book. It kept me on edge a bit and had me wanting to know what's gonna happen next as every chiller/mystery should.I felt like could relate to NORA in away, with just different personalities and just how crazy and traumatizing her life was/has been. It was nice to see and hear side of every story from each person she was named to be by her mother.
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Top reviews from the United States

Paige
5.0 out of 5 stars A thrill ride from beginning to end
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten! My copy was an eARC I got as a staff reviewer for YA Books Central.

Everyone loves a good con artist story. It’s why we’ve got series about Anna Delvey and the Tinder Swindler. It’s why We got so many Ocean’s movies (which are dearly beloved in my family), When the con artist’s targets are terrible people, we love it all the more.

Well, Nora grew up the daughter of a con artist, but it’s all behind her now thanks to a rescue by her sister Lee and a few things she doesn’t talk about for a while. Then Nora, her best friend Wes, and her girlfriend Iris walk into the wrong bank at the wrong time and become hostages in an armed robbery—and since these robbers aren’t covering their faces, it’s clear they don’t intend to leave witnesses behind. Nora’s got a plan, though. She has several. It’s time to run a little con of her own.

I knew I was going to adore The Girls I’ve Been before I ever started it. How could I not love a robbery-thwarting thriller starring a bisexual con artist? It’s just good gay science! Even so, it still blew me out of the water. I’ve barely read anything the past few weeks because things at my job have ramped up, but this is a book I made time for.

Nora is whip-smart, able to come up with new plans on the fly based on what turns the situation takes and the few things she has at her disposal, like Iris’s petticoat, a lighter, and a few bottles of alcohol. The robbers’ plan is already off to a bad start since the bank employee they need isn’t there and Nora works hard to make sure they can’t get back on their feet. When she realizes the perfect hostage is in the building, her first order of business is to get them out to safety.

Between each turn in the rapidly devolving situation, readers get insights into Nora’s past as the daughter of sweetheart scam-running Abby Devereaux, being used as an accomplice and tool in her mother’s cons. Learn a new name while her mother brushed her long blonde hair, develop her character based on three key words, and do whatever she was asked to. This was her life for girl after girl.

But then Abby fell for her mark and Nora gained a vicious criminal for a stepdad. The things Nora did as Ashley Keane are so incredible that Ashley has become something of a myth in criminal circles. So much so that revealing that she’s Ashley to one of the robbers changes their plans entirely because she’s a much better payday than what the robbers were looking for.

Is this a believable book? Goodness no, but it’s enough fun that most people aren’t going to care. You’re in for a good time, not a logical one. If the latter is what you want, maybe try another book. Come for the fast-paced thrills and get just what you were looking for.

Now quit wasting time here. Go read The Girls I’ve Been if you haven’t already. Also feel free to inform her publisher that you really, really want the sequel Tess has been working on. Also follow her on social media if you aren’t ready. If you’re a writer, she’s got a ton of informative posts and Twitter threads about the many facets of the publishing industry she’s experienced as an author with many more books to her name than just the ones with “Tess Sharpe” on them.
3 people found this helpful
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LitShit Podcast
4.0 out of 5 stars Wow this book is great!
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
First I love the way it’s told. In fragments. The tone and pace is quick which is perfect because the majority of the book takes place in a matter of hours during a bank robbery.

It’s a fitting way to tell a story and to explain why Nora is fragmented. It interweaves the girls she’s had to be in her past growing up with a con artist for a mom. Slowly while the mystery of the bank robbery unfolds we also piece together the second mystery—what happened to Nora? Why is she the way she is?

She’s had to pretend to be something she isn’t and has been abused thanks to her mom. She’s smart. She is her mother’s daughter but only to protect those she loves.

She and her friends get out of the bank robbery but only after she’s had to reveal so many secrets. Including who is after her—her step dad who was himself a con artist and so much more. So now her life is on the line.

She has to confront her mother with the truth and the blackmail she has in order to protect everything she cares about.
4 people found this helpful
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Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, fun to read
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2021
Verified Purchase
I really got sucked into this one. First it has a strong female character and is gender/sexuality inclusive, but also, just a great premise in general with time jumps and lots of action. Well thought out story, well executed. Probably leans towards a YA audience but as someone in their 30s, I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't wait to see how it ended. If someone is considering this for a young person, there is a considerable amount of abuse and violence. Excited to see the movie when it comes out.
One person found this helpful
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Vincent Savitz
5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2023
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Loved the entire book! It did get confusing at some parts because it does flip between past and present but its so good, already have recommended to my friends and have the 2nd book on preorder!
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Melinda
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun & Fast-Paced
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2021
Verified Purchase
3.5 stars

Daughter of a con-artist, our main character has been a lot of girls. Today as she walks into the bank with her girlfriend and ex-boyfriend, she is Nora O'Malley.

The three of them find themselves hostages in a bank heist, and unlucky for the bank robbers, all the girls she's been gives Nora the tools needed to fight deadly situations.

The Girls I've Been is a fast-paced - and mostly unbelievable - YA thriller. Between the current day chapters in the bank, we have flashbacks to Nora's life as she's groomed by her mother to play part in her cons.

Nora's character is definitely edging on morally grey and she'll do anything in the name of survival and protecting her loved ones. Iris, Nora's girlfriend, is a vintage-wearing angel. Wes is a bit dull but sweet. I did love that this book focused on strong female characters.

This would be a great book to get out of a reading slump - it's fast and entertaining but not to be taken too seriously.

Recommend if you enjoy:
- morally grey main characters
- bank heists
- bisexual representation (main character)
- female/female romance
- endometriosis representation
- fast-paced thrillers
15 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Riveting and complex YA novel
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
Rarely have I been so captivated from the first page. There are a lot of traumas covered in thus book so they might be triggers if you've experienced abuse. But the characters were all great. Even the bad guys were well written (how we love to hate them.) The friendships in this book were deep and the family unit was defined very poignantly. The story did slow its roll at any time. I was pleasantly surprised the entire read.
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TJ Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Great prose!
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
Always a lot of angst and lyrical prose from this author, and I hope the movie gets made. Only problem I had with the book was the much too frequent shifts back in time. Still, writing was too good not to give it a full five stars.
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Kenzie Zoch
5.0 out of 5 stars It’s good
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2023
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I’m not a big reader, but this book was recommended by my school district… so I bought it and came in 2 days
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
What an excellent book. Great characters, this author must have done so much work and research and boy it shows. Just such movement & depth to these characters. The action moved at exactly the right pace. Love this book. Highly recommend
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Emma Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars such a fast-paced read, loved it!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book was perfection. Think Gilmore Girls meets Ginny & Georgia, with a dash of those terrifying thrillers your dad makes you watch during family movie nights. It was also a gorgeous love story, had the kind of ex-to-friends sub-plot I'd honestly kill for, and presented so many themes and topics in such a subtle and clever way. I. Loved. This. Book.

TGIB tells the story of Nora, who has spent her whole teenage life running from the past - and from the girls she's been. These girls committed crimes and sin for their controlling mother, but she's past that now, moving on with her life and patching up her trauma...

Until she and her friends, ex-boyfriend Wes and current girlfriend Iris, get caught in a bank robbery, with two armed men unlikely to give up. Nora has to confront her past in order to face the future... learning from the girls she was before.

The book is told in flashbacks and lists and stories and reflections, and Nora's tone mediates these switches perfectly. I loved the flashbacks most, using them as a way to glimpse exactly who little Nora needed to be in order to survive a world filled with criminals and cons. But I also loved the sub-plots. Iris's endometriosis and Wes's abuse, and her mother's mental state, constantly reflected through a now seventeen-year-old Nora. It was perfect. Tess Sharpe's writing was quick and delicate and perfect, and this book was a brilliant standalone.

Which brings me to my current position, as an ARC reader of the sequel. TGIB ends at the perfect place, leaving us wondering, but not spoilt for answers. I personally think this book worked so well by itself, and was such a brilliant, fast-paced read. If you're a fan of Holly Jackson or others like her, I'm sure you'll love this book, too.
One person found this helpful
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Juliette Gerron
5.0 out of 5 stars But this SLAPPED!!! I can’t wait for the adaptation with Millie Bobby Brown.
Reviewed in France on April 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
Here’s what’s going on in The Girls I’ve Been: A girl gets trapped in a bank robbery with her two friends. But this isn’t your typical survival story, and she’s no ordinary target. She manipulates. She plays games. And she’ll stop at nothing to come out of this not just alive, but on top. How’d she get this way? Well, that’s for her to know and you to find out.

The book excels in terms of quality of the writing, in terms of suspense, and in terms of character work, but the latter two each thrive off the backbone of a much more key dynamic: the pacing of information. Tess Sharpe excels at holding back just enough and giving just enough that we gasp at every page, but still need more.
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Dora Sachet Ramos Quirino
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it!
Reviewed in Brazil on January 28, 2021
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I've been waiting to read this book since - I think - August 2020, and, still, didn't expect it to be this type of increbidle book you can't stop thinking about till is over. The whole plot is a masterpiece, i can't even tell what my favorite part or character is! Perhaps one of the best stories I ever read. Honestly, begin able fit such emotionally heavy scenes in a few words is a gif, this book is filled with that.
p.s: i won't chill down until there is a second book…
2 people found this helpful
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Kirti Makhija
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth buying
Reviewed in India on August 21, 2022
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One-time fun read, received the book in excellent condition.
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