Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl

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But after two years together and secretly trying dozens of times, unsuccessfully, to have intercourse, Dom ends the relationship. Not that there's anything wrong with estrangement or cutting off a community, but I appreciated the nuance and hopeful loose ends. The emphasis on being a ‘good girl’ and obeying rules is instilled into her from a young age and we witness the detrimental effect it had on her growing up.

As described in a note to readers, Monique’s story does much to raise awareness of vaginismus and directly confront toxic views about sex.There is mention of religion as it is a part of the storyline but it is well written and very relevant, especially as the main character Monique is the preacher’s daughter so thinking of having sex is a no no especially before marriage! Goffney infuses her narrative with humor and Black culture and beautifully expands on Monique's relationships with her family. Monique’s depth and dimension as a character was superb and her conflicting emotions (fear, guilt, shame, anxiety) surrounding her body and sex will definitely resonate with readers currently facing similar experiences or situations, and hopefully encourage them to seek help or a safe space to talk about it.

Infact, I saw the shift happening before my eyes as a teen and it made some of my experiences so much easier knowing my mum was trying to see things through a wider, more understanding lense. Thank you to Rachel Random Resources and Hot Key Books for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily. It was my favourite thing about the book as neither were Monqiue’s parents portrayed as unwilling to listen.Maybe it's not the choice I would've taken, but it felt true to Monique's character arc and that particular family. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself. With the help of her frenemy, Sasha, the overly zealous church girl Monique’s mum pushes her to hang out with, and Reggie, the town’s bad boy, Monique must go on trips to unknown and uncomfortable places to find the treatment that will help her.

But in doing so, she must face some home truths: maybe she shouldn't be fixing her body to please a boy, maybe Sasha is the friend she needed all along and maybe Reggie isn't so bad at all. In high school, she challenged herself with to-do lists full of risk-taking items like 'hug a random boy' and 'eat a cricket,' which inspired her debut novel, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry.The Romance was lovely to watch blossom, sometimes the person who you least expect, to be the most supportive, turns out to be the rock you never knew you needed! Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.