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    Girls Like Us
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    Girls Like Us
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    Girls Like Us
    Audiobook3 hours

    Girls Like Us

    Written by Gail Giles

    Narrated by Lauren Ezzo and Brittany Pressley

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A 2015 Schneider Family Book Award Winner

    With gentle humor and unflinching realism, Gail Giles tells the gritty, ultimately hopeful story of two special ed teenagers entering the adult world.

    We understand stuff. We just learn it slow. And most of what we understand is that people what ain't Speddies think we too stupid to get out our own way. And that makes me mad.

    Quincy and Biddy are both graduates of their high school's special ed program, but they couldn't be more different: suspicious Quincy faces the world with her fists up, while gentle Biddy is frightened to step outside her front door. When they're thrown together as roommates in their first "real world" apartment, it initially seems to be an uneasy fit. But as Biddy's past resurfaces and Quincy faces a harrowing experience that no one should have to go through alone, the two of them realize that they might have more in common than they thought-and more important, that they might be able to help each other move forward.

    Hard-hitting and compassionate, Girls Like Us is a story about growing up in a world that can be cruel, and finding the strength-and the support-to carry on.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateOct 13, 2015
    ISBN9781491588437
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Girls Like Us

    4/5

    89 ratings15 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Quincy and Biddy are "Speddies": special ed students who are placed, post graduation, to live together independently. Other than their "speddie" label, the girls are very different. Quincy was normal at birth but brain injured by her mother's boyfriend. Biddy is cognitively impaired as a result of birth trauma. Quincy has a chip on her shoulder and is "mean" all of the time (sometimes not knowing why). Biddy is sweet but afraid of men. Miss "Lisabeth" is their "boss" for whom they cook and clean in exchange for living in her carriage house. Slowly, the girls mature and learn to live together. The dialogue is realistic and the character growth palpable. The character of "Lisabeth" is well drawn as an adult who wants to do the right thing but missteps at times. Sadly, both girls suffer traumatic sexual abuse. (The under-riding message seems to be that impaired girls are at risk for this; however true this may be, it perpetuates the notions of victimization and danger. All of the "tea" and "hugs" in the world can't dispel this.) If the reader can get past that, this is an uplifting, important story.
    • 5/5
      Biddy and Quincy are high school seniors in the special ed program. Biddy has been raised by her cold grandmother, and Quincy has bounced around foster homes since her mother’s boyfriend bashed her face with a brick. Once they turn eighteen and graduate school, they’re on their own - together. A guidance counselor finds an apartment for the girls to share, and jobs to keep them busy and pay their own bills. Biddy works for the old lady who rents them the apartment, and Quincy walks into town to the grocery store. It sounds hokey, but the strength of the story is how the girls - and the old lady - learn a lot about each other and themselves. Another must read
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book. It was so different from any other book I've read. I'm also assuming the author did her work on researching girls with the mental problems Biddy and Quincy had to portray them accurately. Another note, I listened to this on audiobook. I'd imagine if I read it, it may have taken a couple of chapters to get comfortable for their different speech patterns. But in audio I did't have to worry about it. The two girls were so different with completely different voices. The book made me want to cry and then on the next paragraph want to laugh. Both girls had graduate high school as special needs kids. Biddy was often seen as a fat white trash girl with a reputation for being easy with boys. Quincy was a mixed-up race foster kid who had been hit with a brick when she was younger. Their stories were so sad. But the book itself was amazing. The story was really about acceptance and friendship and helping each other out. The girls (and the woman who had hired them) also learned a lot about not assuming the person on the inside is the same as the person on the outside or what is said of someone else.As a mother, one thing to note is the book dealt with rape and pre-teenage pregnancy and how some people are taken advantage of because they are perceived as "dumb". Just something to be aware of as these are pretty intense topics and might be unfamiliar to teen readers. But I came away with how well the characters handled their situations and leaned on each other.
    • 4/5
      This book really shows that the world is not just black and white and there are little splashes of individual colour that all intertwine to help it go round.
    • 2/5
      Liked the premise of it and the styles of this book. If it was more intimate and didn’t spend such little amount of light on the bigger events, I would’ve probably gave it maybe 3-3.5 stars. It didn’t give the punch in the emotions I expected to be there. It definitely would’ve had a greater impact if that was there for at least the big incident. It also could’ve talked of more problems besides the majorly focused one from the incident. Also, the two narrators voices were so similar it was disconcerting. 2.5/5 ⭐️’s
    • 4/5
      Finished [Girls Like Us] by Gail Giles which was a free audio from the AudioSync Summer Program in 2018. I really enjoyed this young adult story that covers issues of special ed, abuse, foster care and resiliency.
    • 5/5
      This follows two girls named Biddy and Quincy who have disabilities. These “spedies” eventually end up having to become roomates. I actually really enjoyed this book. I thought Gail gave a voice to those who usually don’t have a voice. I understand why it has such negative reviews but it really makes you think and appreciate the work of Gail Giles.
    • 5/5
      Following graduation from their high school’s special education program, Biddy and Quincy share an apartment and face traumatic events together as they launch the next chapter in their lives. Biddy and Quincy’s narratives are a fresh, honest, painful, and necessary addition to the canon of young adult literature. Giles uses alternating first person narration to capture Biddy and Quincy’s unique voices, immersing the reader in a world view likely different from their own. It is impossible to read Girls Like Us and not feel empathy for both main characters, who both read very believably and evolve throughout the story. Girls Like Us is a short novel with a big impact and will leave its readers with a fuller view of the world and people in general. Topics covered range from in-school bullying, to broken families, to rape, making this novel geared towards older readers. With at least one tissue on hand, Girls Like Us is very highly recommended for readers ages fourteen and up.
    • 3/5
      I don't have a lot of experience with intellectual disabilities so this was good for me. It's from the POV of 2 girls. Both have disabilities of varying degrees. Definitely pulled on my emotions.
    • 4/5
      Biddy and Quincy are both in the Special Ed program at school, but that doesn't mean that they have anything in common. When their social worker arranges for the two of them to live together after graduation, both girls have their doubts, but they will soon learn that they can be stronger together than they were on their own. This is a skillfully written book with a lot of heart. Biddy and Quincy's struggles are touching and relatable, and there are surprising flashes of humor as well. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      This is a YA book that i read for work. It had great reviews and won an award(s?). It was a short read.

      There are 2 narrators and we hear the story as they journal by recording their thoughts into a tape player.
      I am not a huge fan of diary style books. i either love it or hate it.
      this i loved. some of the journal entries (aka chapters) were just 3 sentences!

      I am also not a huge fan of bad English or dialect in writing. Mr. Twain and Ms. Beecher Stowe gave me a headache in middle school that i have never forgotten.
      But in this book i could understand them without having to read it out loud twice. the way they talked really helped me to start thinking a lil like how they might.

      i didn't read any synopsis, summary, review, or anything about this book. i didn't ask coworkers about it until after i was almost finished with it.

      so i shall not say anymore except it really helps you to see life through a very different perspective. I like books that let me"walk a mile" in someone else shoes. Helps me to be more sympathetic and patient.
    • 5/5
      This winner of the Schneider award that champions the stories of its two mentally challenged protagonists conveys the power of kindness to make changes in the world and the power of kindness to breed kindness in others.
    • 4/5
      This story is told alternately by two girls, graduating from high school and the special ed program. They are given a place to share above the garage of a wealthy woman. One of the girls has a job to clean and take care of the woman and the other girl works in the bakery department of a supermarket. The reader is given insight to the fears and struggles of girls deserted by family, preyed upon by able bodied perverts, and slow to accept friendship and love without fear of rejection or betrayal.
    • 5/5
      After Biddy and Quincy, two special education students with no functioning families, graduate high school they are sent to live with an elderly woman who needs assistance. Quincy cooks and works in a local supermarket. Biddy cleans and assists with personal tasks. Sharing a small apartment above the garage, they discover they have a lot in common after a vicious attack.
    • 5/5
      Biddy and Quincy are Special Ed girls who just graduated high school. They were each given a job and a place to live…together. Biddy is obese and can’t read. She also has a ‘reputation with the boys’. Quincy has brain and facial damage from being hit in the head with a brick when she was little, by her mother’s boyfriend. Not the best of pairings, according to each of them.They will live in a separate cottage on the grounds of sixty-plus year old Miss Lizzy. Biddy will help with cooking and cleaning while Quincy has a job at the local bakery.Girls Like Us by Gail Giles is a heart-warming story of intergenerational bonding. No one is perfect in this story, including Miss Lizzy. But they all adapt to less-than-perfect circumstances. Told in alternating chapters by Biddy and Quincy, they each have distinct voices. They each learn a little bit about the other and learn, to some extent, to stand in the others’ shoes. You will come to love these girls. They have big hearts and a lot of gumption.DeadGirlsMy only other Gail Giles book is Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters. What a great psychological thriller.So, here are two books to put on your summer reading list.