Week 21 Review: Girls Like Her

From Goodreads:

A raw, gripping, authentic, and boldly original novel about a fifteen-year-old Texas girl set to stand trial for murder—and the one person who might be able to help her clear her name.

A wealthy businessman is dead, and fifteen-year-old Ruby Monroe is in a Dallas jail awaiting trial for his murder. Ruby has no one she can count on—no one, except her state-appointed caseworker, a woman named Cadence Ware. In Ruby's experience, that's not anyone she can trust.

Cadence is familiar with the cold reality of Ruby's situation, even before Ruby was arrested. Angry and alone, homeless and hungry, breaking the law just to survive, she is the kind of girl no one wants to listen to, especially not the prosecutor who wants to put her away for life. 

But no one knows the story—the real story—of what happened the day Ruby met the man who would end up dead. As the layers of truth are peeled away and time is running out, Ruby and Cadence will both have desperate choices to make—choices that could mean the difference between Ruby spending her life in prison or her name being cleared.

Told through a collection of letters, meeting notes, news articles, court transcripts, and more, Girls Like Her is a riveting and unflinching tale of the truths so often lost in the American justice system, and one girl's fight to be heard.

My Review:
I really enjoyed reading this book! It was really hard at times, because Ruby has had a hard life, but her story deserved to be told, of all the girls in real life who went through similar circumstances. I'm really glad that this story exists! 

This books is partially told in mixed media and part epistolary, and part regular novel, and it came together really well, giving us a variety of information, like the interactions between Ruby and Candence, as well as notes, letters, memos and newspaper clippings. Which I really enjoyed, and made it fast and pretty intense to read! Plus we went back and forth between the months leading up to the trial with Cadence and Ruby's sessions, and the trial, which was so well done! 

Ruby is a girl whose life has taught her that adults aren't to be trusted, and if someone offers kindness, they want something from you. Life has been hard on her, and then there's this situation where she's on trial for murdering a man, and she's in the lock up for adults who have been arrested, but haven't been tried yet, which is not a great place for a 15 year old to be. 

But that last chapter? I mean, we were given hints that it was important, but I was not expecting that! But it made total sense, and I'm so glad that it was a part of the story, because man, it packs a punch, after everything that had happened previously! 

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to read more by Melanie Sumrow! 

Author: Melanie Sumrow
Read: May 23rd, 2024
Source: Edelweiss 
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2024 Book!
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Expected Publication: June 25th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars