Confessions of an alleged good girl

Select an Action

Title :

Confessions of an alleged good girl / Joya Goffney.

Title:

Confessions of an alleged good girl

Author:

Goffney, Joya

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

358 pages ; 22 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9780063024847

Production / Publication Information:

New York : Harper Teen, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2022]

Summary:

As a preacher's daughter, Monique is expected to be an example at church although she hates its restrictive rules. When she discovers she physically cannot have sex, and after her boyfriend breaks up with her for that reason, two unexpected teens from church become her main supports as she desperately tries to break the rules against all the odds.

Language:

English

Genre:

Romance fiction.

Geographic Term:

Texas -- Fiction.

Subject Term:

Vaginismus -- Juvenile fiction.

Teenagers -- Sexual behavior -- Juvenile fiction.

Christian teenagers -- Juvenile fiction.

Children of clergy -- Juvenile fiction.

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

Social acceptance -- Juvenile fiction.

African American teenagers -- Juvenile fiction.

Vaginismus -- Fiction.

Teenagers -- Sexual behavior -- Fiction.

Christian teenagers -- Fiction.

Children of clergy -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Social acceptance -- Fiction.

African American teenagers -- Fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	TEEN FICTION GOFFNEY	31330009195847	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	TEEN GOFFNEY	32117002129447	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	YA/FIC/GOFFNEY	31482003054759	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	Y GOF	30470001733277	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	YA/GOFFNEY J	31479007114019	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library	YA GOF	31548003424117	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library	Y GOFFNEY	32126001870992	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	TEEN GOFFNEY	31478003681658	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	YA FIC GOFFNEY	31550002493572	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rockport Public Library	YA FIC GOFFNEY	32129002508686	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rowley Public Library	YA FIC GOF	32130001027934	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	TEEN FICTION GOFFNEY	32132003317693	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tyngsborough Public Library	YA/GOFFN	32137002169623	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	YA F GOFFNEY	31990005107847	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Wilmington Memorial Library	TEEN GOFFNEY	32136003636853	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Joya Goffney, author of the acclaimed Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, delivers a powerful second novel about a preacher's daughter in small-town Texas and her journey toward loving herself and her body, filled with heart, humor, family drama, and a dynamic love triangle. Perfect for fans of Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles and Calling My Name by Liara Tamani!

"Powerful, boundary pushing, and charmingly funny." --Camryn Garrett, author of Full Disclosure and Off the Record

"Deeply empowering, sweet yet candid. A fearless story about the path to self acceptance." --Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan, authors of Unpregnant and Save Steve

"A heartfelt, funny, and irresistible read...smart, sex-positive, and positively terrific." --Kirkus (starred review)

"A compassionate novel that encourages teens to prioritize the control, safety, and comfort of their own bodies." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Monique is a preacher's daughter who detests the impossible rules of her religion. Everyone expects her to wait until marriage, so she has no one to turn to when she discovers that she physically can't have sex.

After two years of trying and failing, her boyfriend breaks up with her. To win him back, Monique teams up with straight-laced church girl Sasha--who is surprisingly knowledgeable about Monique's condition--as well as Reggie, the misunderstood bad boy who always makes a ruckus at church, and together they embark upon a top-secret search for the cure.

While on their quest, Monique discovers the value of a true friend and the wonders of a love that accepts her for who she is. Despite everyone's opinions about her virtue, she learns to live for herself, inspiring us all to reclaim our bodies and unapologetically love ourselves.

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2022 List Nominee

"A triumph in not just dynamite contemporary fiction but also in critiquing purity culture and the harm it can do." --Buzzfeed

"[Monique's] journey toward recognizing her own value is hard-won, and her awareness of her own worth, when it comes, feels like a true victory. An empowering read." --Booklist

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Goffney's (Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry) sincere novel underscores conversations around sexual autonomy, purity culture, and internalized shame with earnestness and humor. Seventeen-year-old Black Texan Monique is a Baptist preacher's daughter and the prime example of a "good girl" who doesn't curse and never parties. Despite her conservative upbringing, however, Monique craves intimacy with longtime boyfriend Dom, 17. But after two years of trying, intercourse still proves too physically painful for her to endure, and Dom dumps her, leaving Monique feeling like "damaged goods." Searching for answers, Monique recruits fellow good girl Sasha, 15, who suggests Monique has vaginismus, an automatic and involuntary contraction of vaginal muscles. Joined by local "bad boy" Reggie, 16, Monique attempts to come to terms with her condition and interrogates the varying sources of shame that have cultivated her fear about her sexual desires. Safe spaces composed predominantly of Black women, discussions regarding sexual health education's importance, and tender, healthy depictions of romance that exhibit respect for personal boundaries populate this sex-positive read, a compassionate novel that encourages teens to prioritize the control, safety, and comfort of their own bodies. Ages 13--up. (May)

Kirkus Review

A Christian teen has a medical problem that makes it impossible for her to have intercourse. Monique is a 17-year-old Black Baptist preacher's daughter in a small Texas town. Everyone expects her and her boyfriend, Dom, to do everything properly (read: no sex before marriage). However, because they're in love and will eventually get married, Monique figures there's no need to wait. But after two years together and secretly trying dozens of times, unsuccessfully, to have intercourse, Dom ends the relationship. Reeling from the breakup, Monique learns she has vaginismus--her vaginal muscles contract involuntarily, preventing penetration. The condition is caused by trauma, fear, guilt, or shame, and Monique has been raised to think of sex as dirty and bad. She wants to "fix" herself quickly and win Dom back, so she turns to two unlikely sources for help: Sasha, a seemingly straight-laced church girl, and Reggie, a troubled kid Monique's father hopes to rehabilitate. Along her unorthodox healing journey, Monique makes some surprising discoveries about her family and, more importantly, about herself. As described in a note to readers, Monique's story does much to raise awareness of vaginismus and directly confront toxic views about sex. Thanks to Goffney's superb storytelling and dazzling prose, this candid exploration of a sensitive subject is also a heartfelt, funny, and irresistible read. Smart, sex-positive--and positively terrific. (Fiction. 13-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Monique is a preacher's daughter, and she tries to follow her parents' strict rules. But while she's never had sex with Dom, her boyfriend of two years, it's not for lack of trying--Monique physically can't get her body to cooperate. Finally, Dom breaks up with her. Monique is determined to get him back, even if that means--gulp---exploring her own body. But she'll need help from the unlikeliest of places: Sasha, perfect church girl, who also happens to work at a women's clinic. And Reggie, the "troubled youth" Monique's dad is mentoring, who's also the life of every party and is slowly showing her what it might be like to spend time with someone who likes her simply for who she is. Goffney (Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, 2021) infuses her narrative with humor and Black culture and beautifully expands on Monique's relationships with her family. Her journey toward recognizing her own value is hard-won, and her awareness of her own worth, when it comes, feels like a true victory. An empowering read for teens.