Just Like Us, Helen Thorpe
Just Like Us, Helen Thorpe
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Just Like Us
The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America

Author: Helen Thorpe

Narrator: Paula Christensen

Unabridged: 15 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/11/2011


Synopsis

Just Like Us tells the story of four high school students whose parents entered this country illegally from Mexico. All four of the girls have grown up in the United States, and all four want to live the American dream, but only two have documents. As the girls attempt to make it into college, they discover that only the legal pair see a clear path forward. A coming-of-age story about girlhood and friendship, as well as the resilience required to transcend poverty, Just Like Us is also a book about identity. The girls, their families, and the critics who object to their presence allow the reader to watch one of the most complicated social issues of our times unfurl in a major American city.

About Helen Thorpe

Helen Thorpe was born in London and grew up in Medford, New Jersey. Her journalism has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Texas Monthly, and Slate. Her radio stories have aired on This American Life and Soundprint. She is also the author of Soldier Girls and Just Like Us. Her work has won the Colorado Book Award and the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. She lives in Denver, Colorado.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Clif on September 12, 2017

This book takes the hot button issue of illegal immigration and examines it up close and personal, from every side including inside and out. The author describes the lives and experiences of four girls of Mexican heritage from high school through college; Two lack legal status, the other two have pa......more

Goodreads review by Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship on August 22, 2018

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot, though a number of issues bothered me. The author, a journalist, follows the lives of three young Mexican-born women living in Colorado for several years, beginning just before they finish high school. Two of the girls are undocumented, having been brought to the......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on December 11, 2024

This was not the book I thought it was going to be. Based its synopsis, I was hoping for a dive into Mexican culture and lifestyles from a female perspective. While some of these elements are included, the come across as secondary to the political messaging regarding US immigration policy. The book w......more

Goodreads review by K on April 06, 2010

In “Just Like Us,” Helen Thorpe attacks the complicated issue of illegal immigration from a variety of angles. Primarily, she focuses on the lives of four motivated young girls of Mexican background – two legal (one U.S.-born, one carrying a bona fide green card), two illegal – struggling to finish......more

Goodreads review by Richard on February 27, 2010

When I hear a book is 'heartbreaking' I am usually pretty leery of it -- suspect it is overly sentimental or maudlin. But that word sometimes applies to this deeply engrossing account of four Latina teenagers growing up in Denver. The insight into adolescence in contemporary Latina society alone mig......more