You Know I'm No Good

August 24, 2020
The brochure for Minnesota’s Red Oak Academy: A Therapeutic Girls’ Boarding School for Troubled Teens says it is a place for a young woman to grow “straight and tall and proud in the forest of her life.” When Chicagoan high school junior Mia Dempsey, who “can’t stand fakeness,” arrives after punching her stepmother in the face, she approaches family therapy sessions and therapy with Holden Caulfield–like snark. As she makes friends, though—influencer Trinity, whose provocative selfies cost her mother a congressional seat; Poppy, who placed a pipe bomb under her ex-girlfriend’s car; and Vera, who self-harms—Mia starts to unravel the reasons behind her own behaviors, which include drinking, drugs, and sex. Printz Honoree Foley (The Carnival at Bray) slowly, unfurls Mia’s memories of her mother, who was murdered by her boyfriend when Mia was small, and the teen’s own sexual assault. Yet in facing trouble after defending one of her friends, Mia must decide between reverting to her old life or trusting her newfound voice. Though some readers may be bothered by the ending’s swift resolution and tonal shift, arresting dialogue and tender moments showcase the girls’ distinct and lively personalities while offering striking examples of the way society ignores teenage girls’ experiences, especially of trauma and misogyny. Ages 14–up. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary.