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A review by xangemtheelibrarian
Girls Like Her by Melanie Sumrow
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This story left me with so many complicated feelings. I thought it had resolved beautifully, until I came to the very last entry in the book, right before the acknowledgments. (I hesitate to call it the "last chapter" because this book isn't exactly formatted by chapters, but rather by letters, court transcripts, and sparse narration.) If I hadn't've read that very last entry that explained all the ripped fragments of paper we see scattered throughout the book, I would have been totally sold, completely sympathetic towards Ruby.
What hurts the most about this story is the veracity behind it. I used to work for Tarrant County Jail, once upon a time. And while this story is set in the neighboring Dallas County Jail, there's two things I remember so clearly. The first is that, as much as we were intentionally spiteful and difficult to visitors and inmates, we were always thanked for being "so much nicer" than the Dallas County jail system. I honestly believe that the author was not exaggerating Ruby's experience in jail in the slightest. Because I know firsthand how the "nice" Tarrant County Jail employees acted.
Overall, this book is incredibly well-written. I love the format. It's so unique and made reading a breeze on my eyes. I enjoyed the frequent breaks in the text. This isn't the kind of book you enjoy. This is the kind of story that makes you want to cry or throw up. I'm in such a huge book hangover, I'm not even sure what to read next, but I'm definitely giving myself time to recover from this book first.
Warning to potential readers, this review might get slightly spoiler-y from this point forward, but I will do my best to keep it at a minimum. Read at your own risk.
To call this story complicated honestly feels like an understatement to me. Part of me wonders if teens are the right audience for this book. But maybe I'm underestimating teens too, because look at Ellen Hopkins and Laurie Anderson. Look at people who have written stories for teens about sexual assault, teenage pregnancy, and drug use. Teens experience these things just as much as adults do, and most of the time, they simply do not talk about it with their parents. Sometimes a book is the only outlet they have to feel seen. Ruby's story is absolutely raw and unflinching. It doesn't hold back.
It's common knowledge but never acknowledged that inmates are treated as less than human. As something to be used and thrown away. The food isn't good (they serve that nastiness to both inmate and employee alike), the cells are crowded, and the guards take advantage of inmates where they can. This is a dangerous place for a teenager to be placed. And it shows in Ruby's stress and reactiveness as the story progresses.
As far as Ruby's trial went, I hated seeing the State Attorney motivated by politics instead of seeing a fifteen year old girl who has lived a life of being taken advantage of. Every inch won for Ruby in her case felt like a milestone. Every little crack the DA managed to form in the prosecutor's case made me cheer. And every damning piece of evidence the prosecutor brought up made me sick with worry. I don't know what it is, whether it's the fact that I live in DFW or have experience in jails, but I read Ruby's story like it was personal. And side note: the fact that I couldn't separate myself from the people I saw brought into jail every day was the biggest reason that I could not work in the jail for very long. It was killing me.
Ruby is incredibly lucky. So, so very lucky. Her DA, Tate, legitimately cared about her. So did her social worker, Cadence. But I have strong reservations about Cadence after reading the entirety of the book. I also have mixed feelings about Ruby. Cadence got too close, too personal. But if she hadn't, she would've immediately written Ruby off as undeserving of a second chance. Cadence wouldn't have fought as hard as she did, nor would she have taken the questionable actions that she had if she didn't see herself in Ruby. And I think where I keep getting hung up is in how Cadence decided to help Ruby.
I just honestly wish I had never read the very last entry. But there is no world in which I wouldn't have read it, unless it had simply never been written at all. Anyways, thanks for reading a semi-cohesive, wine-fueled rant about a book that makes me unsure how to feel about it.
What hurts the most about this story is the veracity behind it. I used to work for Tarrant County Jail, once upon a time. And while this story is set in the neighboring Dallas County Jail, there's two things I remember so clearly. The first is that, as much as we were intentionally spiteful and difficult to visitors and inmates, we were always thanked for being "so much nicer" than the Dallas County jail system. I honestly believe that the author was not exaggerating Ruby's experience in jail in the slightest. Because I know firsthand how the "nice" Tarrant County Jail employees acted.
Overall, this book is incredibly well-written. I love the format. It's so unique and made reading a breeze on my eyes. I enjoyed the frequent breaks in the text. This isn't the kind of book you enjoy. This is the kind of story that makes you want to cry or throw up. I'm in such a huge book hangover, I'm not even sure what to read next, but I'm definitely giving myself time to recover from this book first.
Warning to potential readers, this review might get slightly spoiler-y from this point forward, but I will do my best to keep it at a minimum. Read at your own risk.
To call this story complicated honestly feels like an understatement to me. Part of me wonders if teens are the right audience for this book. But maybe I'm underestimating teens too, because look at Ellen Hopkins and Laurie Anderson. Look at people who have written stories for teens about sexual assault, teenage pregnancy, and drug use. Teens experience these things just as much as adults do, and most of the time, they simply do not talk about it with their parents. Sometimes a book is the only outlet they have to feel seen. Ruby's story is absolutely raw and unflinching. It doesn't hold back.
It's common knowledge but never acknowledged that inmates are treated as less than human. As something to be used and thrown away. The food isn't good (they serve that nastiness to both inmate and employee alike), the cells are crowded, and the guards take advantage of inmates where they can. This is a dangerous place for a teenager to be placed. And it shows in Ruby's stress and reactiveness as the story progresses.
Ruby is incredibly lucky. So, so very lucky. Her DA, Tate, legitimately cared about her. So did her social worker, Cadence. But I have strong reservations about Cadence after reading the entirety of the book. I also have mixed feelings about Ruby. Cadence got too close, too personal. But if she hadn't, she would've immediately written Ruby off as undeserving of a second chance. Cadence wouldn't have fought as hard as she did, nor would she have taken the questionable actions that she had if she didn't see herself in Ruby. And I think where I keep getting hung up is in how Cadence decided to help Ruby.
I just honestly wish I had never read the very last entry. But there is no world in which I wouldn't have read it, unless it had simply never been written at all. Anyways, thanks for reading a semi-cohesive, wine-fueled rant about a book that makes me unsure how to feel about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion