The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Summers, Courtney. I'm The Girl. Wednesday Books. 2022. Kindle.

I’m the Girl is a YA novel by Courtney Summers narrated by 16-year-old Georgia Avis, the protagonist of the story. Georgia meets a man at the mall who tells her he is an agent and offers to represent her if she takes photographs with a professional, who he recommends. Georgia goes home straight away and steals 4000 dollars from her older brother, who works hard to support them both ever since their mother died from cancer. She meets the photographer at a house and ends up taking erotic pictures that she is very proud of because she is obsessed with her own beauty. Still, she feels bad about what she has done to her brother, so she goes back to the mall afterwards and tries to get her money back. The "agent” offers to give the money back in exchange for oral sex. Georgia initially agrees, but then she remembers that when she was 13 she met Matthew Hayes, the wealthy owner of the exclusive resort, Aspera, which looms high over her smalltown in the mountains. He told her that she is beautiful and that she should come work for him and be an “Aspera Girl.” Georgia only knows that Aspera Girls are beautiful and spend all their time with wealthy men—because of her naivety, she does not realize they are sex workers. However, Georgia decides she really wants to be one and rides her bike up to Aspera. On the isolated mountain road, she is hit by a car. She passes out and wakes up to find her photographs, cell phone, and bike have been stolen. She walks up the road and discovers the body of Ashley James, the 13-year-old daughter of Sherriff Justin James. Cleo, the wife of Matthew Hayes, drives by and picks Georgia up.

A week later, Ashley’s sister, Nora, comes to Georgia’s house and demands that she show her where Ashley was found. Nora reveals that Ashley was drugged and raped, but the police claimed she had overdosed by accident during the rape. Nora said she was going to find out who was responsible. Cleo comes to Georgia’s house to question her about the car that hit her and then invites her to come to an interview with Matthew. Georgia does so and is hired as an “Aspirant” who works on room service dispatch. She hates that she is not an Aspira Girl and blames her dead mother, who worked as a maid at the resort before stealing from a guest and being fired. However, Georgia likes that her office is right next to Matthew’s and is connected through a small, hidden door. Georgia has lunch with Cleo, who gives her a necklace and tells her she must win Matthew’s trust by being nice to him and bringing him chocolate cake. Georgia does as Cleo suggests.

Georgia starts spending more time with Nora, and she becomes wary of Justin James, who is grieving his daughter’s death with alcohol and constantly demanding that Georgia tell him who was driving the car that hit her—even though she tells him she cannot remember anything. While at work, Georgia meets the film producer Aidan Archer, who tells her she is beautiful and that she could be an actress before sexually assaulting her. A coworker walks into her office, interrupting the assault, and Georgia leaves in tears, terrified she will be fired. The next day, Cleo talks to Georgia and tells her she should be using her sexuality to wield power over men like Aidan Archer. Georgia does as Cleo suggests and gets Aidan to give her his personal business card and a promise to help her start an acting career.

Nora picks Georgia up from work and they meet with Ashley’s best friend, Liv, who reveals that Justin was planning to send Ashley to a rehabilitation center. Ashley had discovered his plan and wanted to run away. She had met a mysterious man who promised to help her run away. Liv and Ashley had attended a party on the last night Liv had seen her, and Ashley had driven away in a car with a golden compass hanging from its mirror. Georgia recognizes the house Liv describes as belonging to the photographer, so she goes there by herself and discovers that a child pornography scam had been running illicitly out of the home. Georgia keeps this news from Nora, who finds out on her own and becomes enraged at Georgia. Georgia goes home and finds Justin with one of her photographs. He attacks her and demands that she listen to him, but then Tyler arrives and chases him away.

Two days later, Justin is discovered in a motel with a suicide note and Georgia’s bike in his trunk. The media reports that Justin raped and murdered his own daughter. Tyler learns the nature of Georgia’s photographs (which she had initially told him were just professional headshots) and demands that she go to the police. Georgia refuses and runs away to Aspera, where she stays with Matthew and Cleo. Cleo leaves for Miami and Georgia decides to seduce Matthew. He tells her that he must fire her because she is too tempting. She begs him not to fire her and instead suggests she willingly have sex with him so she can stay.

Matthew promotes Georgia to his own personal assistant, but then Georgia runs into Liv. Liv notices Georgia’s necklace and tells her that Ashley was given the same one by the mystery man. Georgia goes back to Aspera to talk to Cleo about why she gave Ashley the necklace, but then she finds all her photographs in Matthew’s drawer. Matthew admits that Ashley came to Cleo for help, so Cleo took her to the resort, but he pretends as if Ashley stole drugs and overdosed on her own, and he ignores the rape in his explanation. He insists that he had to protect the resort, and then he violently rapes Georgia. Cleo comes in and tells Georgia she must accept the world as it is. Georgia goes home and talks to Nora, who tells her she will never accept the world as it is. Georgia touches her necklace, ambiguously signaling either her desire to take it off or to continue to wear it.