You Know I'm No Good

by Jessie Ann Foley

Overview

This razor-sharp novel from Printz Honor winner and Morris Award finalist Jessie Ann Foley will appeal to fans of Wilder Girls and The Grace Year.

Mia is officially a Troubled Teen™— she gets bad grades, drinks too much, and has probably gone too far with too many guys.

But she doesn’t realize how out of control she seems until she is taken from her home in the middle of the night and sent away to Red Oak Academy, a therapeutic girls' boarding school in the middle of nowhere.

While there, Mia is forced to confront her painful past at the same time she questions why she's at Red Oak. If she were a boy, would her behavior be considered wild enough to get sent away? But what happens when circumstances outside of her control compel Mia to make herself vulnerable enough to be truly seen?

Challenging and thought-provoking, this stunning contemporary YA novel examines the ways society is stacked against teen girls and what one young woman will do to even the odds. 

* A Chicago Public Library Best Teen Fiction Selection * A Banks Street Best Children's Book of the Year *

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062957085
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/13/2020
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	468,540
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jessie Ann Foley is the Printz Honor–winning author of the YA novels The Carnival at Bray (also a Morris Award finalist), Neighborhood Girls, Sorry for Your Loss, and You Know I’m No Good. For middle graders, she has written Breda's Island and Severe and Unusual Weather. Her work has been named to best-of lists by Kirkus Reviews, ALA Booklist, YALSA, Entertainment Weekly, and many other outlets and has been featured on school and library recommended reading lists all across the United States. Jessie lives with her family in Chicago, where she was born and raised. You can visit her online at jessieannfoley.com.

Editorial Reviews

08/24/2020

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. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"When I love a book, I just inhale, absorb, consume. This book is so good and beautiful and true."  — Carrie Mesrobian, William C. Morris Award Finalist 

"An instant winner, reminiscent of the classic Speak, with a caustically funny and searching teen protagonist." — School Library Journal

“This is a thoughtful examination of sexual assault, trauma, and misogyny. . . Remarkably moving.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Arresting dialogue and tender moments showcase the girls’ distinct and lively personalities while offering striking examples of the way society ignores teenage girls’ experiences.” — Publishers Weekly

“For teens—especially girls—still finding that place between vulnerable and armored, this will be a balm.” — Booklist

"A captivating portrait of a girl at war with herself, this novel grapples with complex social issues in the guise of one young person’s trauma . . . Recommend this to readers who want a more contemporary, inclusive alternative to Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

For teens—especially girls—still finding that place between vulnerable and armored, this will be a balm.

Booklist

"A captivating portrait of a girl at war with herself, this novel grapples with complex social issues in the guise of one young person’s trauma . . . Recommend this to readers who want a more contemporary, inclusive alternative to Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"When I love a book, I just inhale, absorb, consume. This book is so good and beautiful and true." 

Carrie Mesrobian

For teens—especially girls—still finding that place between vulnerable and armored, this will be a balm.

Booklist

"A captivating portrait of a girl at war with herself, this novel grapples with complex social issues in the guise of one young person’s trauma . . . Recommend this to readers who want a more contemporary, inclusive alternative to Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A captivating portrait of a girl at war with herself, this novel grapples with complex social issues in the guise of one young person’s trauma . . . Recommend this to readers who want a more contemporary, inclusive alternative to Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

08/01/2020

Gr 9 Up—In therapy, 17-year-old Mia Dempsey refers to her first sexual experience at 14 as a "crusty old wound," but it was rape. Mia thought that because she didn't say no, she had given consent. But she didn't give consent, and Scottie Currie, a senior, didn't stop. He also didn't stop his friends from bullying Mia mercilessly after the fact, until she started skipping classes and trading her education for "the chalky, numbing pop of cocaine." For three years she hung out with boys who drugged and assaulted her, all stemming from the first event, says her therapist, because "humans are often unconsciously drawn to the repetition of painful experiences." That's a clinical explanation for a shocking reality that too many young people experience. Denial is the core narrative of this novel. Harsh and unblinking, this is the story of one smart, tough, and funny girl who acts out, until she gives her stepmother two black eyes and winds up at Red Oak Academy, where the privileged send their troubled daughters. A few of them begin to heal: For Mia, getting better involves imagining something better for herself. It's a nearly impossible task, but her therapist, a new friend named Vera, and her parents believe that she can do it. The book features Mia's lengthy—and compelling—reading and listening list, ranging from Joy Harjo, Sylvia Plath, and Danez Smith to Kesha, Cardi B, and Amy Winehouse, from whom Foley has borrowed the book's title. VERDICT An instant winner, reminiscent of the classic Speak, with a caustically funny and searching teen protagonist who's in denial following her rape at the age of 14.—Georgia Christgau, LaGuardia Community Coll., Long Island City, NY

School Library Journal

2020-07-27
A teen regarded as troubled is sent away to a therapeutic boarding school.

High school junior Mia Dempsey started having sex, drinking, and doing drugs when she was 14. But after punching her stepmother in the face, Mia is sent to Red Oak Academy, a strict boarding school for troubled girls in Minnesota. Her dorm mates—impulsive Poppy, who stalked her ex-girlfriend; Vera, who self-harms; and Trinity, who shared naked photos of herself on the internet—provide a sense of camaraderie. Their friendly banter often lightens the mood while Mia processes her traumatic past (her mother was murdered by a boyfriend when Mia was 3) and contemplates how to get out of Red Oak. The arrival of a Danish girl named Freja, who cheerfully proclaims she’s attending the school simply to evade the publicity that follows her celebrity mother, sparks trouble. Throughout the introspective first-person narrative, Mia is fierce and smart, but she is also vulnerable and lashes out, not always learning from her mistakes. The characters are fully realized and memorable, with both tender moments of friendship and emotional breakdowns. This is a thoughtful examination of sexual assault, trauma, and misogyny. Mia and most other characters are White; Mia’s Red Oak therapist is described as half White and half Ojibwe, and two fellow students are people of color.

Remarkably moving. (list of poems) (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

Narrator Hayden Bishop delivers a dynamic performance of this audiobook about a troubled teen who is sent to a therapeutic boarding school after punching her stepmother. Despite possessing a gifted mind, Mia, who is voiced with bitter sarcasm, has bad grades, drinks and does drugs, and would rather spend time with boys than talk about her pain. Bishop emotionally connects with Mia’s introspection, shifting between intense anger at circumstances outside her control and a gentle tone when she allows herself to be vulnerable. Performing with distinct voices, Bishop varies her pitch and adopts accents to create recognizable characters. She narrates at an unhurried pace, allowing listeners the full impact of Mia’s unsettling yet relatable story. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Hayden Bishop delivers a dynamic performance of this audiobook about a troubled teen who is sent to a therapeutic boarding school after punching her stepmother. Despite possessing a gifted mind, Mia, who is voiced with bitter sarcasm, has bad grades, drinks and does drugs, and would rather spend time with boys than talk about her pain. Bishop emotionally connects with Mia’s introspection, shifting between intense anger at circumstances outside her control and a gentle tone when she allows herself to be vulnerable. Performing with distinct voices, Bishop varies her pitch and adopts accents to create recognizable characters. She narrates at an unhurried pace, allowing listeners the full impact of Mia’s unsettling yet relatable story. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile