Girls Like Her

Publication Date: June 2024 |Thanks Netgalley for an ARC

Overall Verdict: Heart wrenching story of a young girl on trial for murder, and the trauma she has faced from childhood. Excellent representation of this topic.

4/5 Stars

Book Summary: Fifteen year old Ruby Monroe is on trial for murder. She has no one who she can count on her entire life, until she meets her court appointed social worker Cadence. With her trial drawing nearer and life in prison on the line, Cadence must work with Ruby to determine exactly what happened the day a rich philanthropist died. Ruby’s past has been one challenge after another, and she must work to convince a jury that this trauma has impacted her and make them hear her truth.

My Analysis: I started reading this one expecting a mystery/thriller but what I got was more realistic fiction. Not to say that is a bad thing, it just wasn’t what I anticipated based on the synopsis. I also actually thought this was the authors debut book based on her writing, but it is not. Not to say the writing was bad! But I would have expected a little more from a seasoned author. I really liked the fact that the author was a lawyer in the Texas court however and drew this character together based on her experiences. She has a nice authors note in the beginning which explains this, as well as the fact that this book does contain mention of trauma and some trigger warnings for readers. This novel was a combination of court transcripts, letters and narrative, which I thought was a great way to present Ruby’s story. I did find the narrative a little repetitive though, until things really picked up toward the end. This was a heart wrenching story and I think it is a needed representation of the girls like Ruby who find themselves in a cycle of trauma and can’t navigate their way out alone.