Top Girl

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There are considerable trigger warnings for this book including severe violence, guns, weapons, prison, drugs, rapes, sexual assault, statutory rape and police misconduct but it is a searing, eye opening, hard hitting and vividly insightful story that I simply couldn’t put down. Her bravery in getting out of drug dealing, rebuilding her life and in telling her story needs to be applauded. Manipulated and groomed at the age of twelve Danielle is soon drawn into the seedy underworld of drugs.

Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation, running drugs to satellite towns all over the UK from the gang's London HQ. A turning point comes when Danielle is arrested and - with the help of a probation officer - she begins to question whether she really is 'top girl' after all. But after five years deep in the high-earning street hustle, can she really leave it all behind? The intensity of the narration and the emotional trauma the author must have suffered made this book a gut wrenching experience. Its not pretty, its very disturbing, there really are some awful scenes in this(I call them scenes but this is real life!). It was hard not to empathize with Danielle. She came across as both ruthless(she admits being in it for the money)but also incredibly fragile and traumatized. The fact that she led the lifestyle she did and came out the other side while carrying all that emotional baggage shows an incredibly strong woman, a real survivor. She later enrolled at university and graduated with a 1st. She has since advocated within the criminal justiceI tried hard to empathizes with Danielle, but I just became frustrated with her manner towards anyone who was not in her immediate circle. Top Girl is relatable for all readers, of all ages, with its modern and relevant tone it will appeal to YA readers, as well as those who love true crime reads. I can not praise this enough, and the awareness that Danielle brings, is not only extremely courageous, it is also very admirable. The street lingo throughout the book ( a bit like Ali G on steroids) does get rather tedious at times, and leaves you feeling a bit grubby. Red flags abound to her, now, as an adult and as a parent, but, as a child, those you turn to for advice, or those who could have, and should have seen warning signs of grooming, abuse, sexual assault and violence encroaching on this young, very young, girl and acted accordingly. And no one did. As she says at one point -bearing in mind she was 15 at the time-she went from an exploited victim of prolonged sexual assault, to looked down upon child sex worker in the space of 24 hrs.

Danielle’s gritty, emotional, no-holds-barred memoir lays bare the reality of a county lines insider and reveals the truth about life on the frontline of Britain’s biggest drug threat for a generation. Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation, running drugs to satellite towns all over the UK from the gang’s London HQ.

Danielle has a safe, happy childhood growing up in West London. But her bright future fades when, betrayed by the police after a brutal assault, she finds the protection she needs under the wing of organised criminals.”