Sidekick Short Review: Girls Like Her (2024) by Melanie Sumrow

cover image of Girls Like Her by Melanie Sumrow, published by Clarion Books, 2024.

The Basics

Page Length: 368

Audiobook Length: ~9 hours

Grade Reading Level: 7+

Target Audience Age: 12-17+

Goodreads Score: 4.09 out of 5

Buy it HERE

Setting: Contemporary Dallas, TX

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, Crime Drama

Topics: Abuse, Neglect, Human Trafficking, Justice System, Trauma, Survival, Poverty, Trust, Advocacy, Identity

Plot: Fifteen-year-old Ruby Monroe is accused of murdering a wealthy and well-known man in Dallas. As she sits in juvenile detention—and later in the Dallas women’s prison after it’s decided she will be tried as an adult—she writes letters to a friend on the outside, clinging to the hope of escaping a life sentence. Through these letters, she recounts the past that led her there, what it’s like to be a young teenage girl in a prison filled with violent adult women and male guards, and how she seems to have only one possible ally: a social worker assigned to her case, Cadence.

Cadence works with Ruby for months, trying to uncover the truth of what really happened. What she learns is shocking. What Ruby has endured is horrific. Her past is haunting, and the proceedings of the court trial are deeply distressing. As the reader pieces together each part of Ruby’s story, the truth about what happened the day Erik Hansen was murdered slowly begins to emerge—and even more appalling realities about human trafficking and the treatment of youth in the justice system come to light.

Written by a former lawyer, Ruby’s story is told entirely through letters, meeting notes, court transcripts, and news reports. It’s a devastatingly sad story, but one that needs to be heard. What really happened to Erik Hansen—and what will become of Ruby?

You might like this book if you like:

• Activities that show an interest in justice and advocacy:

  • Debate, Mock Trial, Student Government

  • Learning about legal system reform/wrongful convictions

  • Volunteering for causes related to youth and justice

  • Following real life cases/true crime

• Books like: Allegedly, Crank, Sold, The Female of the Species, Monday's Not Coming, All American Boys, Long Way Down

• Movies/books like: Just Mercy, A Time to Kill, Precious, Gone Girl, The Hate U Give

• Shows like: Maid, 13 Reasons Why, Euphoria, When They See Us, Unbelievable

Other books written by this author: The Prophet Calls, The Inside Battle

Content

*This book addresses many topics that may be triggering for some readers. Please review the content carefully before recommending it to students. It could be a strong choice for a trauma-informed reading selection, as Ruby’s story may resonate with and even be healing for students who have experienced similar situations. While it is a difficult and emotionally intense read, it tells an important story that deserves to be heard.

• Language: Mature language throughout

• Sex/Romance: The book includes discussions of sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation involving a minor. Most perpetrators are adults, including parents, close family friends, romantic partners, and prison staff/inmates. It also depicts toxic and violent romantic relationships.

• Violence/Scariness: This book contains significant and often graphic violence. It includes domestic violence in the home and within romantic relationships, as well as neglect. The protagonist is removed from her mother’s care multiple times before being forced out and becoming homeless at age 13. There are depictions of physical abuse in prison, as well as physical and sexual abuse and trafficking of a minor. The story also includes references to murder, gun violence, and forensic details involving a dead body. Abortion is mentioned. Even when not described in extreme detail, many of these scenes may be difficult to read.

• Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: The book contains drug and alcohol use and abuse by both adults and minors. It includes references to addiction, drug dealing, and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Book Talk Read Aloud Section

*What is a book talk? (Watch a how to video here. Read my blog post here)

*Because of potentially triggering topics discussed in this book, you should read the above section before doing a read aloud or suggesting to students.

If you have the physical book, read pages 1-4 (beware of some mature language you may have to skip over for a class read aloud. Or you could just read pages 1-2 to avoid it)

If you don't, read the same pages in the Kindle reading sample here.