Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl

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

I enjoyed seeing Mo grow and go on a journey of dismantling her feelings of self worth and identity that was negatively impacted by factors such as religion, dealing with parental pressure expectations and learning about her medical condition. Mo doesn't feel like she can go to a medical professional about her condition which adds another layer to the story about sexual health education and how this can have a negative impact. As a consequence, we see Mo struggle to overcome with the stigma and shame she feels, how this impacts her self worth and how she views her relationships with those around her. This story was memorable and Unputdownable I loved the characters they were very relatable, ( not Dom of course as anyone that makes someone feel not good enough for not being able to have sex in my eyes is a scumbag! ) 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. Monique’s depth and dimension as a character was superb and her conflicting emotions (fear, guilt, shame, anxiety) surrounding her body and sex will definitely resonate with readers currently facing similar experiences or situations, and hopefully encourage them to seek help or a safe space to talk about it. There's so many layers to Monique, you find out right away why she is so devastated by Dom breaking up with her. He's been all she's had since her older sister left home. And Monique thinks if she can just have sex with him, everything will get better. But her listening to Sasha and Reggie as well as reading things, leads her down a path to discover her own body and to listen to her own wants and needs.

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It took me a while to warm to her parents and as for Dom, hmm, well, I will let you make up your own mind. I can honestly say I’ve never read such a sex positive and inclusive YA fiction book before, and this was so pleasantly surprising. This is also the first time I’ve ever seen vaginismus recognised and discussed at length healthily in teen fiction - which is so incredible!! This is going to be so pivotal for so many young women who are going to finally understand themselves and their bodies for the first time, but also a myriad of other young people who have most likely never been told about the condition.

The hotly anticipated second book from Joya Goffney, author of the 2021 YA romcom Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry. I loved the trios unlikely Friendship and how they supported each other, but I really liked Reggie's Character he stole my heart!!... Monique's too 😏 But what I will say is that I learnt a bit about a medical condition I had never heard of before called Vaginismus, and in my eyes that means we need to be educating younger people more on sexual health and conditions.

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Deeply empowering. Sweet yet candid. Ms. Goffney's fearless story about the path to self acceptance and the unexpected people who help on the journey is the perfect antidote to purity culture. A necessary tale that reads like a secret that everyone should hear about." — Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan, authors of Unpregnant and Save Steve 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! This is the second book by @joya.goffney that I’ve read that solidifies how important it is to see your self in art because i enjoyed it sooo much!

The diversity is wonderful, including different races, sexualities, even having a nod to gender pronouns. And, of course... the main focus of the book, her vaginismus. I'd heard of this condition before but not by name, and I think it's so important that a topic like this is the MAIN FOCUS of a YA book! Not only do you get a great story, but you get educated, too. Even better that it was based off the experiences of the author! Like with Goffney's debut, I enjoyed very much the character arc / growth of the main character as they explore their identity, everything that makes them feel uncomfortable, like an outsider, like they don't fit in, like they're too much or too little, and learn to be comfortable with themselves - and to learn how to be comfortable with the 'uncomfortable'. There is not a single thing wrong with this, except the fact that Dom exists and I hate his guts. You can definitely save me a spot in the Dom punching line.Monique has the perfect life. She’s the Pastor’s daughter and is dating the town’s golden boy, Dom. As an adult, and not the target audience, I want to defend the parents in the story, who are simply trying their best to help their daughter navigate the complexities of growing up. The story is as much about their self discovery as the parents of a teenager as it is about Monique herself. Overall, I did really enjoy this book. Goffney has talent and skill as a writer, she writes sensitively and boldly, exploring all areas of a subject with grace, humour, and emotion. Thus, Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl was a heartfelt, emotional and humourous journey about learning to love yourself for who you are and not who you want to be. Goffney captures humanity - Mo and co still have a long way to go at the end of the book, but the novel set about a character arc where you can imagine them past the books end, as if they were real, and tangible, people. And that is her talent as a writer. 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.