The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
This is the kind of book you want to read in one sitting. It was recently nominated for the Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award and follows the story of Nora, a young girl who has been to hell and back, and has learned to survive. It’s a good thing too, to have her particular skills ( and it is quite a skill set) when she and her friends are held hostage at a local bank during a robbery gone very wrong. Most of the story takes place in the course of a day while Nora who narrates the story also gives us snippets into her past life.
Nothing is off limits to Nora if it means saving the people she loves. It is not necessarily a coming of age story, but certainly a story where the protagonist goes through the challenging process of learning to love herself and to accept the love she is given. Feeling safe and being truly loved are things that Nora has never had in her life till recently. So, there’s a whole new set of skills Nora has to learn. This book is full of action, plot twists, and jaw dropping moments. It will have you rooting for Nora till the very end.