Title: Confessions of An Alleged Good Girl
Author: Joya Goffney
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Pages: 384
Release Date: 3 May 2022
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Today I’m sharing my review of the incredible, Confessions of An Alleged Good Girl by Joya Goffney which is an utterly incredible, coming of age YA that brilliantly explores body and sex positivity, the toxic views on sex and sex education which, through Monique and her experiences help to raise awareness of vaginismus.
It’s a beautifully crafted and compelling story that I know will be invaluable to many readers who may—like Monique—not have access to sexual health services or information.
Synopsis
Monique lives a perfect life - a preacher's daughter and the girlfriend of the town's golden boy. But it's not that simple. She's torn between her parents who want the pure virginal daughter, and her boyfriend, Dom, who wants to explore the more intimate side of their relationship.
Tired of waiting, her boyfriend breaks up with her, spurring Monique to discover she has a medical condition that makes her far from perfect and she concocts a plan to fix her body and win him back.
With the help of her frenemy, Sasha, the overly zealous church girl Monique's mum pushes her to hang out with, and Reggie, the town's not-so-good boy, Monique must go on trips to unknown and uncomfortable places to find the treatment that will help her. But in doing so, she must face some home truths: maybe she shouldn't be fixing her body to please a boy, maybe Sasha is the friend she needed all along and maybe Reggie isn't so bad at all.
Review
I found Confessions of An Alleged Good Girl both utterly riveting and thoroughly entertaining! And although Joya Goffney’s own experiences with vaginismus allow her to expertly and sensitively delve into such sensitive subject matter with gusto, she still manages to keep the plot lighthearted whilst bringing awareness to a condition that isn’t widely known (or talked about) about and I loved that.
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.
I honestly loved both Sasha and Reggie-who were two of Monique’s biggest supporters throughout and I’m soo glad she had them both, cheering her up and being there to confide in when she needed it the most. One of the characters I didn’t particularly like in the beginning does get a redemption arc that I enjoyed (don’t worry it’s not who you think) and I really appreciated that they owned up to their mistakes in the end and sought to actively help.
The love triangle aspect was interesting but I have to say, the contrast between Monique’s ex-boyfriend Dom and Reggie was a really interesting one and proves that people’s perceptions of others aren’t always accurate. This is also the case for Sasha as well, who despite Monique’s initial judgement is actually pretty amazing.
Overall, this is a heartfelt, inspiring and thoroughly insatiable story of self love, body positivity and reclaiming your sexual identity that YA romance lovers simply must read!
Also, thanks to Hot Key books and Netgalley for the e-arc.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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