We look forward to seeing you on your next visit to the library. Find a location near you.

The Girls I've Been
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

Book Cover
Average Rating
5 star
 
(5)
4 star
 
(0)
3 star
 
(1)
2 star
 
(1)
1 star
 
(0)
Published:
Penguin Young Readers Group 2021
Accelerated Reader:
IL: UG - BL: 4.7 - AR Pts: 13
Lexile measure:
HL: High-Low 670L
Status:
Checked Out
Description
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 hostage . . .
Also in This Series
Formats
Adobe EPUB eBook
Works on all eReaders (except Kindles), desktop computers and mobile devices with reading apps installed.
Kindle Book
Works on Kindles and devices with a Kindle app installed.
OverDrive Read
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Like This
Other Editions and Formats
More Copies In LINK+
Loading LINK+ Copies...
More Details
Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
01/26/2021
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780593353813
ASIN:
B08FH98S41
Accelerated Reader:
UG
Level 4.7, 13 Points
Lexile code:
HL: High-Low
Lexile measure:
670
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Tess Sharpe. (2021). The Girls I've Been. Penguin Young Readers Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Tess Sharpe. 2021. The Girls I've Been. Penguin Young Readers Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Tess Sharpe, The Girls I've Been. Penguin Young Readers Group, 2021.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Tess Sharpe. The Girls I've Been. Penguin Young Readers Group, 2021.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
LibraryOwnedAvailable
Shared Digital Collection20

There are 5 holds on this title.

Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
3c4ce5ac-58cb-d462-1f63-877ea7c33af7
Go To Grouped Work
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jan 20, 2021 18:17:26
Date Updated:
Oct 10, 2023 19:10:16
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 28, 2024 14:47:55
Last Metadata Change:
Mar 28, 2024 10:55:24
Last Availability Check:
Mar 28, 2024 14:47:57
Last Availability Change:
Mar 28, 2024 12:19:20
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 28, 2024 12:20:02

OverDrive Product Record

images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
formats
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780593353813
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780593353813
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B08FH98S41
      • name: Kindle Book
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780593353813
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • id: ebook-overdrive
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780593353806
mediaType
eBook
primaryCreator
    • role: Author
    • name: Tess Sharpe
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
The Girls I've Been
dateAdded
2021-01-21T04:46:00Z
contentDetails
      • href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=141&titleID=5678150
      • type: text/html
      • account:
          • name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
          • id: 1151
sortTitle
Girls Ive Been
crossRefId
5678150
id
BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F
starRating
4.3

OverDrive MetaData

interestLevel
UG
isPublicDomain
False
formats
      • fileName: TheGirlsIveBeen_9780593353813_5678150
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 2539551
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780593353813
      • rights:
            • type: Copying
            • value: 0
            • type: Printing
            • value: 0
            • type: Lending
            • value: 0
            • type: ReadAloud
            • value: 0
            • type: ExpirationRights
            • value: 0
      • name: Adobe EPUB eBook
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-epub-adobe
      • onSaleDate: 1/26/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=bdb1b1f1-1799-4a70-9c76-b0773344b68f&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheGirlsIveBeen_9780593353813_5678150
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780593353813
            • type: ASIN
            • value: B08FH98S41
      • name: Kindle Book
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-kindle
      • onSaleDate: 1/26/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=bdb1b1f1-1799-4a70-9c76-b0773344b68f&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
      • fileName: TheGirlsIveBeen_9780593353813_5678150
      • partCount: 0
      • fileSize: 0
      • identifiers:
            • type: ISBN
            • value: 9780593353813
      • name: OverDrive Read
      • isReadAlong: False
      • id: ebook-overdrive
      • onSaleDate: 1/26/2021
      • samples:
            • source: From the book
            • formatType: ebook-overdrive
            • url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=bdb1b1f1-1799-4a70-9c76-b0773344b68f&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
keywords
      • value: adult books
      • value: teen books
      • value: Young adult fiction
      • value: Young Adult
      • value: LGBTQ
      • value: Thriller
      • value: LGBT
      • value: books for teens
      • value: Books for girls
      • value: books for young adults
      • value: crime books
      • value: young adult books
      • value: ya books
      • value: books young adult
      • value: teen romance books
      • value: teen girl books
      • value: romance books for teens
      • value: lgbt books
      • value: mystery books for teens
      • value: LGBTQ books
      • value: books for adults
      • value: lgbtq books for teens
      • value: lgbt ya books
      • value: young adult romance books
      • value: murder mystery books for teens
      • value: good books for teen girls
      • value: teen books for girls ages 14-16
      • value: mystery books for teens 12-16 girls
creators
      • role: Author
      • fileAs: Sharpe, Tess
      • name: Tess Sharpe
imprint
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
publishDate
2021-01-26T00:00:00-05:00
isOwnedByCollections
True
title
The Girls I've Been
fullDescription
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 hostage . . .
gradeLevels
      • value: Grade 3
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        November 30, 2020
        Ex-grifter Nora O’Malley, who’s 18 and bisexual, finds herself in an uncomfortable situation after her ex-boyfriend Wes walks in on her kissing their mutual friend and her girlfriend, Iris. Before the three can work things out, they’re taken hostage during a bank robbery in their small California town—and there’s no guarantee they’ll make it out alive. In order to save Wes and Iris, Nora must confront and make use of a past she’s tried to leave behind. The first-person narrative gracefully shifts between Nora’s childhood as her con artist mother’s apprentice and the present, a structure that reinforces how inextricably the two are intertwined. Nora is a survivor of domestic, psychological, and sexual abuse, and was forced by her mother to adopt multiple identities, leaving her relationship with herself unsteady, and Sharpe (Barbed Wire Heart) focuses as much on her trauma—and the systems of power that enable and excuse abuse—as on mystery and heart-pounding action. Pacing is off in the book’s final act, somewhat undermining an otherwise affecting conclusion, but the small, complex cast of characters and emotional core make this a poignant thriller. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

      • premium: True
      • source: School Library Journal
      • content:

        December 1, 2020

        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, CA

        Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        Starred review from December 1, 2020
        Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* For the last five years, Nora O'Malley has lived with her sister, Lee, cobbling together a normal life. Her biggest problem now is how to apologize to Wes, her best friend and ex-boyfriend, for hiding the fact that she and their mutual friend, Iris, are a couple. When the three of them meet at the bank for an errand after Wes walks in on Nora and Iris, Nora's braced for an awkward scene, not a violent one--but life-or-death is exactly what she gets when two men initiate an out-of-control bank robbery. But five years ago? Nora wasn't Nora--she was a string of different girls, raised to help her mom con shady criminal businessmen; Nora has spent years recovering from the traumas those girls both endured and inflicted. She'll need every bit of cunning she learned from them if she's going to get Iris and Wes out of this bank alive--even if it means showing the girl she's beginning to love her darkest self. Sharpe (Far from You, 2014) puzzles together an arrestingly incisive narrative that darts between the past and present. With breathtaking precision, she tracks each moment Nora spends in the bank, while also layering in piecemeal the moments from her past, tinged with pain and resilience, that made her who she is. Fiercely captivating and impressively characterized, this tightly plotted thriller is engrossing from start to finish.

        COPYRIGHT(2020) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        Starred review from December 15, 2020
        When three friends find themselves in a hostage situation, they must share their biggest secrets in order to survive. Beginning at age 7, Nora (not her real name) molded herself into the perfect daughter personas her mother created for each of her high-stakes sweetheart cons. Each false identity taught her something new: creativity, deceit, fear, sacrifice, cunning. It's been 5 years (and many therapy sessions) since her half sister, Lee (not her real name, either), helped her escape their mom's toxic clutches, but at 17, Nora still can't quite settle into normal civilian life. So when she's taken hostage in an attempted bank robbery alongside her girlfriend, Iris, and her ex-boyfriend, Wes, who is also friends with Iris, she instinctively conjures up the girls she's been to get them all out alive. Bracketed by present-day phone transcripts, Nora's whip-smart, matter-of-fact narration unfolds in intricate, nonlinear layers to reveal just enough of her past for readers to understand exactly what she's capable of and what she's planning now. Though Nora's past drives the plot, her relationship with Iris dramatically shapes the present. Nora is openly and confidently bisexual, and while Lee's sexuality is ambiguous, she's also had a significant same-sex relationship. All major characters are presumed White. A captivating, explosive, and satisfyingly queer thriller. (Thriller. 13-18)

        COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

popularity
2776
links
    • self:
        • href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/bdb1b1f1-1799-4a70-9c76-b0773344b68f/metadata
        • type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
id
bdb1b1f1-1799-4a70-9c76-b0773344b68f
starRating
4.3
images
    • cover:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG100.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • thumbnail:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG200.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover150Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG150.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
    • cover300Wide:
        • href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1523-1/{BDB1B1F1-1799-4A70-9C76-B0773344B68F}IMG400.JPG
        • type: image/jpeg
isPublicPerformanceAllowed
False
languages
      • code: en
      • name: English
subjects
      • value: Romance
      • value: Suspense
      • value: Thriller
      • value: Young Adult Fiction
publishDateText
01/26/2021
otherFormatIdentifiers
      • type: ISBN
      • value: 9780593353806
mediaType
eBook
shortDescription
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...
sortTitle
Girls Ive Been
lexileScore
670
crossRefId
5678150
publisher
Penguin Young Readers Group
atos
4.7
bisacCodes
      • code: YAF029000
      • description: Young Adult Fiction / Law & Crime
      • code: YAF052040
      • description: Young Adult Fiction / Romance / LGBTQ+
      • code: YAF062000
      • description: Young Adult Fiction / Thrillers & Suspense