“You have to occupy a space that does unquestioningly and unfailingly believe in a girl like Georgia, because you have no business writing her otherwise. And I was like, ‘People will see what I'm seeing’ but she's ended up one of the most divisive characters I've ever written—for exactly the reasons why I needed to write her.”
I’m the Girl is headed to paperback, the details of which will come momentarily. A little while ago, I invited my Instagram followers to ask any questions they might have about it in anticipation of this newsletter; I’d been thinking about a deep-dive along the lines of what I did for The Project. At the same time, I wasn’t sure what there was left to say about all that because I’ve written, and was encouraged to write, a lot about and for the book to prepare readers for its content.
Saturday, I did a virtual author talk and Q&A through Library Speakers Consortium that was dedicated to the book. (If you were in attendance, thank you!) It turns out much of what I was asked by my wonderful host, Brandon, and audience, overlapped with what I received in my Instagram inbox, so I’ve decided to share those answers here, with timestamps.
It’s rare I’ve made appearances for I’m the Girl where people can see me react and respond to its various interpretations. I think that adds a layer that words on the screen don’t always. And for those who can’t watch, I’ve transcribed a few moments, edited and condensed, throughout this letter.
TIMESTAMPS
3:18 - What is I’m the Girl about?
5:13 - Why do I write about such brutal and dark topics?
6:47 - On why it’s important to lean into discomfort.
7:53 - On the push-back over I’m the Girl’s sexual content.
“I'm the Girl has gotten a bit of push-back because it's a no-holds barred exploration of how one young woman feels in her body, and she’s being groomed by two people in a way that reflects Epstein and Ghislaine. She doesn't recognize she's being groomed. She thinks that her body is a tool of power, so it really delves deep into how she’s physically and emotionally responding to the situations they're intentionally putting her in, and that are exploiting her, and it's very confronting. Adult readers have really struggled with that, and I can't help them if they don't remember what it's like to be a teenager because teenagers are picking it up and going, ‘Oh my God, I'm seeing something here. I'm getting language for things I don't have the language for and I'm starting to understand.’ Anyone who thinks the book is titillating or gratuitous is speaking to their own discomfort to the material, and I think that's a really cheap way to reduce what the book is doing, and is irresponsible, especially if you have young readers in your life who need to ask these questions and need a safe space they can do it—because what safer space than a book?”
11:08 - What was the inspiration for and how did I develop Georgia?
14:21 - How difficult was it to write I’m the Girl? (And why it should be.)
16:19 - Why I think I’m the Girl has the ‘happiest’ ending I’ve ever written.
18:58 - What do the teardrops at the start of some chapters symbolize?
21:16 - Is Georgia’s confidence a consequence of patriarchal ideals?
26:00 - How do Nora and Georgia mirror one another?
28:21 - What’s the deal with parents in my novels?
32:14 - How long did it take to write I’m the Girl?
32:48 - How did we arrive at the title?
34:21 - Did I get to have input on the cover?
38:02 - What is the connection between Sadie and I’m the Girl?
41:06 - What was it like to write Sadie?
43:02 - On the Sadie audiobook.
46:35 - On Sadie’s dual perspectives and unique formatting.
47:53 - Why do I write about sisters so much?
49:50 - How did I get my start?
51:09 - Do I temper my writing for YA? (The editorial process for I’m the Girl.)
“I have never tempered my voice for YA. Ever. There's no limitation I'm willing to write to. I just want to tell a story that feels as honest as it can, and I will fight for that authenticity. There was a lot of push-and-pull in the I'm the Girl editorial process because there was a real concern about bad faith reads when it came to its depiction of rape and grooming. What it is depicting is real, it happens, it was thoroughly researched, it was vetted by sensitivity reads and outside readers who could speak to it and say, ‘Yes, this is correct.’ But when you put an imperfect victim in front of a larger audience they could decide that it's problematic because it's not moralizing at the expense of its main character . . . Every time I got something presented to me that would be in service of people who didn't want to empathize with Georgia, I rejected it.”
53:28 - Which of my books has the most personal significance?
54:56 - What is my book and character process planning like?
56:25 - What do I hope readers will take away from my writing?
57:50 - Authors I admire.
Little parts that make the heart—
Visual references: Sydney Sweeney for George, Matthew McConaughey for Matthew (with the understanding this is not why they share a name), Anya Taylor-Joy for Cleo, and—this has been suggested by multiple readers, so thank you to them, because she’s perfect—Maya Hawke for Nora. Storm Reid for Liv. Josh Segarra for Tyler. Miles Robbins for Kel.
If you want to know why the resort is named Aspera, look up its definition. Star symbolism plays no small part, too. Ad astra etc.
The DiMaggio cocktail is named for Marilyn Monroe’s ex-husband and famed baseball player, Joe DiMaggio. Marilyn was a visual reference for the cover. It has a coffee base because DiMaggio was a spokesman for Mr. Coffee.
The painting Georgia is so taken aback by at Cleo and Matthew’s cabin is of Leda and the Swan, specifically this version by Francois Boucher, which was suggested to me by my dear friend and incredibly talented writer, Diya Mishra.
Aidan Archer is an amalgamation of two very bad men in Hollywood.
Nora’s ex-girlfriend is named Chell, who is now in a relationship with Caroline, which is a nod to the two main characters of Portal, a video game that features GLaDOS, the first AI lesbian. Tyler also works on a house on Wheatley street. So, yes, in answer to the question I’m frequently asked: this book can function as both Portal fanfiction and a wildly accurate history textbook about lesbians in tech.
Devore Park is named for author Laurie Devore, who also writes gritty, uncompromising female characters. Detective Resnick is a nod to my cover designer, Kerri Resnick, who has designed all of my covers since Sadie.
The long prologue. Let’s break it down: the prologue represents Georgia’s falling under and into Aspera’s spell, the middle of the book her enchantment/entrapment, and the epilogue marks the moment the spell is broken.
ICYMI, the playlist is here. Agnes Obel was a huge influence.
If there’s anything else you’d like to know about I’m the Girl, feel free to make use of the comment section on Substack and I’ll respond.
Now onto the news portion of this letter: I’m the Girl will be available in paperback April 16th, 2024 with a new look and some bonus content.
You can’t really improve on a gorgeously devastating cover like the one Kerri Resnick and Kemi Mai originally conceived through the combined force of their incredible talents, but Kerri has given it the kind of visual—and visceral—punctuation that drives its story home.
I’m also happy to share the paperback edition of I’m the Girl will at last see the Sadie epilogue in print. Greetings from Sunny Los Angeles will be included at the back of the book. If you missed the preorder incentive or the audio version is not accessible to you, you will now be able to find out what happened to West in the years since his podcast, and how it connects to the gritty, glittering world of Aspera when you buy the paperback of I’m the Girl.
And if you’re a completionist and want to see the Courtney Summers 2008 - 2022 GIRLS era through on your shelves, you’ll need it—because it all ends in LA, with West.
THIS WORLD WAS MADE BY MEN.
Hidden in the mountains, beyond the poverty and hardship that defines sixteen-year-old Georgia Avis’s life, lies Aspera, an exclusive members-only resort catering to the nation’s wealthy elite. Aspera makes beautiful promises to beautiful girls willing to serve and keep its secrets, and Georgia’s dream comes true when she’s offered the chance to be one of them. But behind every dream lurks a nightmare and the grisly discovery of murdered thirteen-year-old Ashley James points to a killer amongst Aspera’s powerful membership. When Ashley’s older sister and Georgia’s long-time crush, Nora, enlists Georgia’s help proving it, Georgia will discover when power, money, and beauty rule, it's not always a matter of who is guilty—but who is guiltiest.
As the killer closes in, Georgia must reconcile her heart's desires with what it really takes to survive.
“After my agent read it, and my editor read it, they were like, ‘This is the happiest ending you've ever written.’ And I viewed it that way too because Georgia is believed in the eyes of someone who really matters to her and that’s a small kernel, a starting point, for her to reclaim her agency. And I think people really underestimate how powerful it is to be seen in the eyes of even just one person.”
And don’t forget about the paperback edition of The Project!
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I love your answers and feel them viscerally as a reader/person and as a writer. You're one of MY inspirations. Can't wait to have time to listen to the whole thing! As I get older and as I look around there's something so important to me about not being neat, about giving the full breadth of nuance and not pulling punches. We as people deserve that. We deserve to see the fullness of the human experience, not just the parts we feel good about. Shame breeds in silence. And if we as artists aren't the ones holding up the mirror and saying, no you have to look, no one else will.
The book that just went on sub has a fairly neat ending, a happy one. It's what this particular story and character needed, and that's fine, but I have an author's note at the end validating the messier ways it could have gone, and if it sells I'll want to revisit those layers in edits.
Also that email about struggling to read fiction I sent you? I had pre-ordered I'm the Girl, obvs, but hadn't read it (or anything else) and now I'm halfway and then plan to go back to The Project next. Thank you for everything. :)
I’m now kicking myself for not noticing the Portal references!!!