Short & Sweet Review: If I Was Your Girl

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (May 2016)
288 pages
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary/LGBTQ
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Source: The library.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school in Lambertville, Tennessee. Like any other girl, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret. There’s a reason why she transferred schools for her senior year, and why she’s determined not to get too close to anyone.

And then she meets Grant Everett. Grant is unlike anyone she’s ever met—open, honest, kind—and Amanda can’t help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself…including her past. But she’s terrified that once she tells Grant the truth, he won't be able to see past it.

Because the secret that Amanda’s been keeping? It’s that she used to be Andrew.

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My Review

If I Was Your Girl may not be perfect, but it is important. So very important. We need more diverse books like this.

Amanda is one amazing girl. She has been through so much and I was rooting for her from the very first page. She seems so real, which made her story that much more intense. I really felt for Amanda throughout the novel. The writing was excellent. This story broke my heart and mended it.

My only wish was that this book went a little further into Amanda's life. It was a little too short to fully explore all the different important issues If I Was Your Girl highlights. I think that it could have been even better, a little stronger, if it was a little longer.

When someone tells me they want to read a powerful LGBTQ book, or any book for that matter, I will hand them If I Was Your Girl.