The Girl Who… – Andreina Cordani
Welcome to my first review of 2021!
This is also happened to be the penultimate book I read of 2020.
I requested this when it popped up on Netgalley purely because there is a character called Leah and for some reason seeing other people with my name makes me weirdly sentimental. I don’t even like my name, I did like this book though.

The girl who… survived
The girl who… inspires
The girl who… has something to hide
People can’t bring themselves to say what happened to her. They just describe her as ‘the girl who… you know…’. But nobody really knows, no one sees the real Leah.
Leah is the perfect survivor. She was seven years old when she saw her mother and sister killed by a troubled gang member. Her case hit the headlines and her bravery made her a national sweetheart: strong, courageous and forgiving.
But Leah is hiding a secret about their deaths. And now, ten years later, all she can think of is revenge.
When Leah’s dad meets a new partner, stepsister Ellie moves in. Sensing Leah isn’t quite the sweet girl she pretends to be, Ellie discovers that Leah has a plan, one she has been putting together ever since that fateful day. Now that the killer – and the only one who knows the truth – is being released from prison, time is running out for Ellie to discover how far Leah will go to silence her anger . . .

This is one of those books that you look at, see is only a couple of hundred pages long and think, yes, that’ll pass a few hours, but once you start, it has such a strong opening, you end up racing through it and kind of loving it. I read it in two sittings.

My only real gripe with the whole thing was that I wanted more of Leah’s chapters, her story was fascinating and while Ellie was an interesting character and her thoughts and feelings about her new family, her new home and her hopes and dreams being dismissed, wasn’t something I disliked reading about, I’ve never really read anything like Leah’s chapters before.

If you’re wondering what to read as we get further into 2021, and you want an action-packed, thrilling read to distract you from reality, this is one to keep your eye out for, it’s publishing on 14th January. It also has a fabulous acknowledgment, seriously, Andreina Cordani and I had very similar relationships with PE while we were at school, which makes me feel seen.

“The girl who .... survived. The girl who ... inspires. The girl who ... has something to hide.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

People can't bring themselves to say what happened to her. They just describe her as 'the girl who... you know...'. Leah is the perfect survivor. She was seven years old when she saw her mother and sister killed by a troubled gang member. Her case hit the headlines and her bravery made her a national sweetheart. But Leah is hiding a secret about their deaths. And now, ten years later, all she can think of is revenge. When Leah's dad meets a new partner, stepsister Ellie moves in. Sensing Leah isn't quite the sweet girl she pretends to be, Ellie discovers that Leah has a plan, one she has been putting together ever since that fateful day. Now that the killer - and the only one who knows the truth - is being released from prison, time is running out for Ellie to discover how far Leah will go to silence her anger

Both main characters, Leah and Ellie, have conflicting personalities. And whilst they were relatively true to their ages, I did feel they were far too whiny occasionally. Yes, Leah has gone through some trauma and Ellie has had to deal with things in her life too, but I just felt neither had the overall level of maturity I’d expect.

This book had the potential to be really good but it just missed the mark completely for me, which is such a shame. There was a lot of evading from each character’s plans and ideals, despite being in their heads. I felt confused through a lot of the story and then just felt underwhelmed. I had really hoped to enjoy this book more, but I sadly didn’t. However, this book could be someone else’s cup of tea.

Overall, The Girl Who is an interesting twist on the typical YA story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an advanced copy of this book.

A tense, exciting book. Cutting between points of view and between time frames ensures that revelations are spaced out and not overwhelming. I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen at several points.

It's a very clever look at the victims of crimes like this and what can become of them as years go by. Although David clearly meant well by his daughter, he didn't handle things very well (though, admittedly, neither did she.) It's a very difficult situation, of course, and there's no right way to handle it.

The only, very minor problem I had: I couldn't always follow the flow of time. It didn't seem like very much had happened, but then the narration would say it had been months. Near the end, we're told it's been nearly a year, I couldn't have guessed that if you'd paid me.

Otherwise, though, brilliant. I loved the characters, the tension - this was a great read, really well handled. Fantastic.

A gripping, immersive and compulsively readable story, told from three distinct perspectives.

Full review to come on my blog.

Everything you want from a YA thriller that had me turning pages into the early hours of the morning

Leah suffered a terrible tragedy when she was younger loosing her mother and youngers sister. Everybody thought they knew her from her image helping with the charity he dad set up.

Ellie is the only one who can see through the public face of Leah to what she is hiding, and she is scared.

I liked how Andreina built the story up and revealed bit by bit what and how if affected Leah, and also how Leah has felt trapped by trying to be the perfect daughter for her father.

Ellies story was relatable trying to fit into the new family but with strict rules concerning Leah to protect her - Ellie found out that not everything is what it seems and she needs to look at her life as well.

So, this book follows Leah and Ellie. Leah is a victim of a knife attack which killed her mum and younger sister when she was 8 years old. Everyone thinks it was a random attack.. except Leah, who knows the truth. She's been carrying her guilt around for years, pretending to be the textbook survivor. But when her father proposes to his new girlfriend, her whole life is turned around. Enter Ellie, dramatic vlogger who loves glitter and all things fun. Ellie never asked to move into a poky, rundown bookshop. But she soon finds out there is more to her to-be stepsister than meets the eye. What ensues is a tumultous journey of forgiveness, revenge and relationships.
This book started out a little slow and I was nearly tempted to drop it but I carried on for the sake of this review and OMG it got better and better. The author built up the suspense through the novel and you literally feel the tension through the pages. The climax was slightly disappointing but very satisfying, but the ending felt a little too rushed. All in all, a very interesting book which explored some important themes.

I really didn't know what to expect from this book. Even when I was reading it, I didn't know where it was going.
I knew one thing for sure though... I wanted to find out!
I felt like I was on this journey with the characters.
There was so much depth to these characters. Leah, on the surface was just a damaged girl. Ellie, was shallow and self centred on the surface. But there was so much more to both of these girls.
People make you see what you want to see a lot of the time and not who they truly are.
Very well written book overall.

A riveting read, edge-of-your-seat YA thriller. Tackles some very difficult subjects sensitively, but doesn't back away from showing the harsh realities of the situation. The characters feel very realistic, particularly Ellie and it's easy to empathise with them. There is definitely a place for this book in our collection, and can see it appealing to readers of Juno Dawson, Patrice Lawrence and Sara Barnard.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ebook to read and review.

A gripping unique read focusing on a child who survived an attack on her family and the guilt she carries as a result. The author does a great job of contrasting Leah's struggles with Ellie's somewhat more banal interests. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Strong themes inside this book.
It takes a lot for me to give an ARC a five-star review but when I say I was up all night reading this book, I mean it. This book was powerful. Probably some of the toughest themes were detailed in this book and I felt connected to Leah's character in a way I can't describe.

Here's what I loved:
- The characters: First of all, Ellie was such a likeable character. I really liked her upbeat personality and she chats for England (which I relate to). I thought the way she went about things was true to her age and her character and she developed so well over the course of the book. Leah was also interesting. I felt weirdly invested in her in a way I can't explain. At first, I was honestly convinced she was a budding psychopath and played a part in her mother and sister's murder but by the end, I could see how much pain she was putting upon herself. I thought Leah was such a unique person.
- The plot: This book dealt with some hard issues and some very relatable ones. I thought the concept was original and the way the author went about it was also very unique. I liked the structure of the book and how we got some backstory to what happened to Leah and the aftermath of those terrible events.
- The writing: Andreina really knows how to write from a teenage girl's point of view. Both Leah and Ellie had distinct personalities and this was shown through her writing. I felt like this book had a way of making the story feel very real.

I think the chapters we saw from Boyd's perspective really made the book. I felt so many conflicting emotions towards him and the scenes between him and Leah were really gut-wrenching. I think Andreina depicted mental illness very well and I am glad to have got an insight into his head.

Overall, a powerful book that brings across the message of the importance of family and having each other.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The two female characters are increadilby unlikeable at the beginning which makes this read all the more compelling. The story of what Leah is struggling and dealing with and the mission she has bestowed upon herself contrasting with Ellie's utterly normal interests are very well done and point out how different two people of the same age can be when they are actually expected to 'get along' simply because they had that in common. I found the mental health of this book very interesting and how easy it is to manipulate people who only want to see what they are looking for. Overall, I enjoyed it and will highly recommend for anyone lookign for a good thriller. The mind games played in between Leah and Ellie are incredibly well written and shows just how cruel teenage girls can be and how they can actually become the strongest when together.