I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

After accepting a ride home, sixteen-year-old Emma Kennedy is raped by a boy from school.

This book tackles some very tough topics and I really felt for Emma. Good read .

A quick read about an important topic. It doesn't go into a lot of detail, but that's deliberate for the format, and it could easily lead onto other titles like Asking for It or Speak. Characters were good, if thin, again because of the length.

A good read for schools, if any of them can.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

This is not really the best book for those who have had the same experience. Very painful, probably better for those who have committed rape to read than those who have survived rape.

This is a quick read and touches on a subject matter that is important that no one really talked about. The character development could have been built up more but all in all I would say this is a good read.

Almost everyday there are cases of boys and men being accused of rape and women who just want to be believed but in this world the victim often gets blamed and it isn't without it's reasons thanks to those few that have made false accusations. Ms. Butcher has explored the topic of rape with the characters that have been brought to life through her carefully and well crafted story line and dialogue throughout the story. It is a great book for both female and male teenagers to read right at the beginning of their teen age years as a way of introducing the topic and to make them aware of situations that happen and how the scenario might be play with some warning signs as well as scenarios of how to handle it if it does happen to them as well as the consequences of being the perpetrator of a rape. The ending was good but definitely a cliffhanger and I am not sure if there is another book in progress to resolve it or not. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reading copy of this book via NetGalley!

One of the most abrupt endings I've ever read... and the whole thing was really forced and surface and abrupt.

It didn't really make any points that arent already known.

I'm not trying to diminish anyone who has experienced this situation in real life, as a rape victim myself I could never ever do that. But not a lot of care or thought went into this.

When I first requested this book I wasn't aware that it was a hi-lo type of novel. Hi-lo basically means that it's topics of high interest written in a manner that's easy to read for readers that have a low reading level. So for someone like me, I managed to fly through this book in a couple of hours. But just cos it's a hi-lo book doesn't mean it wasn't good. I actually enjoyed it a lot and it discussed a timely topic. The only thing that I wish was that the ending hadn't been so abrupt.

Girls Like Me is a quick read dealing with heavy but important subject matter. The book tells the story of two high school friends who are both raped on different occasions by the school's star athlete. Butcher does well at writing Emma's shame and guilt surrounding the rape and the events that follow.
While the book has good readability, it often felt forced. The ending was also very abrupt

I found this book to be such an easy and interesting read. I see a lot of reviewers complained about the lack of character development, but I feel like maybe it was done intentionally so anyone can relate to the characters. So you can see yourself in them. The book was well written and kept moving at a good pace. The only complaint I have is about the abrupt ending. I would have loved to see the outcome. Other than that, I think it’s a great book to read as a family and discuss the topic of rape. Being that the book is about rape, It’s actually not graphic or inappropriate at all. There’s maybe one curse word in the book. I’d definitely recommend reading it as a group and discussing.
I received a copy of Girls like me from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Girls Like Me" is an important book. It is written in a shorter format and is very easy to read and understand. That makes it a great book to target the horrible topic of rape. The problem with the book are probably more due to my age and what I expect as a reader. I thought that the book was too short and we never get to know the main character Emma Kennedy nor her family or friends. Therefore the impact may be a bit lesser than it could have been....then again a longer book could turn away the very audience that can most benefit from the story. Emma was raped by popular Ross. Everyone thinks she was 'easy' and turns against her. She is completely bullied at school because of this and wants to save her ex-friend from a similar fate. As an avid reader I called everything that happened in the book from the very start to the final chapter. It was a sad look at how far we need to grow as a society to stop the shame and fear that a rape victim goes through. So the book is necessary but not necessarily as complete or developed as it could have been for a greater impact.

16 year old Emma accepts a car ride home from Ross a guy from the boys volleyball team. In turn he ends up raping her and she is left to deal with the consequences alone.

I started reading Girls like me and the beginning had my heart breaking and tears streaming down my face. The hurt that Emma feels Kristin Butcher does such a great job writing it. I felt like the story was written during the times where when things like this happened you kept everything Hush hush. Her mother doesn't believe her, they dont tell her father and he acts naive about what happened. I wanted more from this 144 page story because I felt like there was not enough detail and everything happened to fast and was wrapped up to fast.

I do want to thank Orca book publishers and Netgalley for providing me with this arc for an honest review.

16 year old Emma and her best friend Jen make the senior volleyball team and it's going to be AWESOME! They get to go to away games with the boy's team, and it's going to be one big party, especially when Ross, the cutest boy of all the boys notices Emma.
The party ends when Ross offers to take Emma home one night. She hides the rape ad the resulting pregnancy as best she can and tries to move on with her life. Then the rumors start. Rumors so terrible even her best friend believes them. But Jen might be next, so Emma desperately tries to get through to her.

Girls Like Me is timely and quick to read. It perfectly describes the attitude of victim blaming/slut shaming. Emma is a nice girl who never had a boyfriend, but people including her best friend and her mom are so willing to believe she must have done something to encourage Ross. It's ridiculous, but terrifyingly common.
I finished the book in a few hours and liked it, but I did wish that there was more closure with the ending.

*I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for my review.

Girls Like Me
by Kristin Butcher

Orca Book Publishers

Teens & YA

Pub Date 27 Aug 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Girls Like Me through Orca Book Publishers and Netgalley:

Girls Like Me is a High Interest Novel geared towards teen.

Sixteen year old Emma is raped after accepting a ride home from a boy at school. Ross Schroeder who is handsome and popular tells everyone the sex was consensual. Even Emma’s best friend Jen, does not believe what Emma tells her. Jen feels betrayed because she liked Ross first.

When Ross starts showing interest in Emma’s best friend Jen she knows that she must somehow convince Jen of the truth before it’s to late.

I give Girls Like Me five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Emma accepted a ride home from a high school class mate. She didn't make it home as she expected. Ross, a popular guy at her high school raped her and told everyone it was consensual. Emma's best friend is jealous because she likes Ross and feels her best friend deceived her.
This story is one that happens more often then we would like to think. This is about Emma and how her class mates view her after only hearing one side of the story. How, everyone believes the popular guy and not her.
It is a story of how a family wants to sweep it under the rug and act like nothing happened even when there are consequences to the action.
I'm glad Kristin Butcher wrote about this topic and I wish more authors would be willing to right about this topic to show teens that it is not ok.......That you need to tell someone.

Girls Like Me is a startling novel about rape and slut shaming in high school. The pacing of this book moves like a runaway train and never slows down at any point, it is a very easy book to read in a single sitting. The book is aimed at younger readers, and uses simplistic language that is easier to follow, it will definitely appeal to its target audience.

The subject matter presented in this story is troubling, and I wonder if it sacrifices believably in exchange for a dramatic plot. There is almost no character personalities beyond the immediate trauma they have faced, so you never get much of a sense of who Emma and Jen were before the opening of the novel. Everything takes place a couple of months after the event, and it starts off with Emma suffering from trauma and bullying as she grapples with what has happened, it actually started off decent all things considered. After that things just sort of drop off, the rumors and bullying literally vanishing completely overnight. It just didn’t make any sense if I were to be frank.

Even so, with the easy readability of this novel, I think that it does highlight some important topics. It can be the right book for the right reader that can bring awareness of rape culture and slut shaming that is an unfortunate reality for many people. It has a good message about believing victims, and seeking help because a danger for one person can quickly become a danger to all.

Girls Like Me by Kristin Butcher- This is a quick read, high interest, low level book that deals with a topic that is becoming all too common. Emma and Jen are popular juniors, best friends, and crushing on the same popular senior guy named Ross. One afternoon Ross pays Emma some extra attention and the two girls, best friends since forever, suddenly find themselves growing apart. Ross takes Emma home after a game, but decides to rape her before dropping her off. Faced with the guilt and shame of having sex the first time she’s out with a guy (because that’s what he told all his buddies), Emma finds herself being slut-shamed by the whole school. Now, it looks like Ross has his eye on Jen next. Emma tries to warn her, but even Jen thinks Emma is a slut who was asking for it. Heartbreakingly real....so often the victim is blamed before the attacker (if he is ever blamed at all). With few characters, struggling readers will be able to follow easily. My struggling teens love finding books like these about real-life topics. #girlslikeme #Kristinbutcher #netgalley

I tried reading it but couldn't get into it. The idea was good but I wasn't a fan of the writing. I have previously read books about rape that were much better than this one.

This book surprised me a bit. First, I didn't know that this was more of a novella when I requested to read it. I feel with a topic like the one that this book covers, it could have made for a full length novel. In fact, Emma's story felt rushed to me. I really enjoyed the message behind this and what it was intending the say but it could have been a full length novel with more details and have the events of the story drawn out further. Emma and Jen deserved the chance to have a longer story. That being said, I did enjoy what I did read despite the hard message. The characters of this book just deserved many more pages and much more time to connect with the readers.