Happy Wednesday everyone! I'm back with another review as part of the RockStar Book Tour. Keep reading for my review, information about the author, and a giveaway!
# of Pages: 320
Publication: October 29th, 2019
Source: ARC from Publisher
Genre: Historical Fiction
Set in the summer of 1972, this moving YA historical novel is narrated by teen girls from different backgrounds with one thing in common: Each girl is dealing with pregnancy.
Four teenage girls. Four different stories. What they all have in common is that they’re dealing with unplanned pregnancies.
In rural Georgia, Izella is wise beyond her years, but burdened with the responsibility of her older sister, Ola, who has found out she’s pregnant. Their young neighbor, Missippi, is also pregnant, but doesn’t fully understand the extent of her predicament. When her father sends her to Chicago to give birth, she meets the final narrator, Susan, who is white and the daughter of an anti-choice senator.
Randi Pink masterfully weaves four lives into a larger story – as timely as ever – about a woman’s right to choose her future.
Girls Like Us is very much an unexpected novel , a gem of a novel that should receive much more exposure. Set in 1972, Girls Like Us follows the narrative of 4 young girls as they navigate their lives after 3 of 4 find out that they are pregnant. It is a historical fiction that hits close to home especially when our country is in the process of debating whether a woman has a right to choose what to do with her body. While this book doesn’t necessarily explore the political aspects of Roe V Wade, it does give clear and heartbreaking insight to what happens when women don’t have the ability to choose what happens to their bodies. Please keep in mind that this book has trigger warnings for rape and incest.
"Why had she done this to herself? Handcuffed herslef to the asshole, while letting go of the good one a week before."
This book for me was more about character insight and development than plot development. It is told in four unique perspectives that provided the heart breaking reality of what it was like for women who had no right to decide what happened to their bodies. Instead of talking about character development as a whole it’s divided up based on the perspective.
Izella/Ola
Reading the perspective of these two women was intriguing because it reminded me of the experiences of black women in books like The Color Purple. Their narrative was difficult at times but meaningful because their experience with Ola’s pregnancy is true of many poor black women who not only could not choose what happened to their bodies but also could not afford the luxury of having their babies in private. Wile Izella is constantly angry at Zola for getting pregnant, the reader sees a bond between them that is undeniably beautiful. It just hurt to see such young spirits racked by such dire circumstances.
Mississippi
Mississippi’s character had the most shocking and painful narrative. While I cannot explicitly define her experience, I connected to and felt the most for her character. The innocence she possessed illustrated how there are women who have to face the consequences of pregnancy even when they’re not ready or they’re too young to not only understand the magnitude of its importance, but they can’t even begin to comprehend all that comes with having sex. I believe that this character was chosen to highlight how important it is for a woman to have the right to choose especially when her body has been taken from her without consent. I loved that despite her circumstances Mississippi was able to see a light in everyone no matter how mean or evil they were. She was positive and so sweet to have been going through so much.
Sue
In comparison to the other characters, Sue lived a life of privilege. Wealth and race set her in a different lifestyle then the other 3 characters. Nevertheless, the importance of Sues character was to illustrate that even financial and racial make up doesn’t stop one from feeling the effects of teen pregnancy. Even then, when a woman seems to have better circumstances quite often she does not because she’s still not capable of determining what should and shouldn’t be done with her body. The final decisions that Sue must make in reference to her pregnancy are choices that some women are still forced to make today.
"But I see something different. I see me---an old, strong, resilient, powerful thing that may not be work much of nothing to the world, but to God, I'm worth everything."The plot of this novel is not irrelevant but not as important as how the characters deal with and evolve and grow from being pregnant. Watching their development and growth due to their circumstances is the most rewarding aspect of the book. While I was able to identify the importance of some parts of the plot, I found that I still resonated more with character growth. This isn’t to say that the plot wasn’t well written or developed, I just found myself gravitating more towards these young women.
"Abortion was very much illegal. Girl had to have their babies and put them somewhere. But where?"I truly believe that Girls Like Us hits home because of the fact that I just had a baby of my own. Now while I still have the right to choose, I still understand that my ability to choose is in jeopardy especially since I live in one of the states that is attempting so hard to take away that right. At 28 even my decision was difficult. I’m unwed and actively chose not to have the father involved due to his inability to take care himself let alone a child. 50 years ago I would have probably had to marry him to maintain the idea that women shouldn’t have had children out of wedlock. Even now being a single mother has stigmas. The beauty of this novel even made me recognize my own circumstances. I can only imagine what my ancestors went through. If you’re looking for a timely and powerful book I would definitely recommend checking this out.
A native and
resident of Birmingham, AL, Randi Pink leverages her unique experience with her
southern roots when she writes. Randi is a mother, a wife, a writer, an advocate,
a fighter, a friend, and so much more. Through a platform of encouragement,
advice, and love, Randi loves connecting with the community around her and her
loyal community of readers.
Randi Pink
is a proud student of University of Alabama at Birmingham’s creative writing
program. In 2013, Randi gained her inspiration for her first novel when working
on an assignment for a Children’s Literature course. Although it was originally
titled “TOYA”, Randi’s first novel “Into
White" was published in 2016 and can be found on the shelves of Barnes and
Noble and Amazon. Read more about this novel here.
After
publishing her first novel, Randi started got right to work on her second
novel, “Girls Like Us”. Inspired by the passing of shocking policies for abortion
and other threats to women’s rights in her home state as well as her nation,
Randi decided it was time to humanize the faces behind abortion. “Girls Like
Us” will hit the shelves in October 2019.
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a hardcover of GIRLS LIKE US, US only.
Tour Schedule:
Week
One:
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10/28/2019
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Excerpt
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10/28/2019
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Excerpt
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10/29/2019
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Review
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10/29/2019
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Excerpt
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10/30/2019
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Excerpt
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10/30/2019
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Review
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10/31/2019
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Review
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10/31/2019
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Excerpt
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11/1/2019
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Review
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11/1/2019
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Review
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Week
Two:
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11/4/2019
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Review
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11/4/2019
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Review
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11/5/2019
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Excerpt
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11/5/2019
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Review
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11/6/2019
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Review
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11/6/2019
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Review
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11/7/2019
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Review
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11/7/2019
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Review
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11/8/2019
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Review
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11/8/2019
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Review
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