Review: Girls Like Us by Gail Giles

Girls Like UsGirls Like Us by Gail Giles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Picked this book up and couldn't put it down till I had finished it. Two developmentally disabled girls ("speddies") graduate from high school and are placed as roommates in a wealthy older woman's home. Quincey, a great cook, gets a job as a cook in a market and Biddie cleans house and takes care of the woman, Elizabeth. Told in the alternating viewpoints of Biddie and Quincey, the girls learn from each other and become a family with Elizabeth.

The text is spare and you need to make inferences to fill in blanks which makes it a satisfying read. It shows a deep appreciation for individuality, personal strengths and people's ability to learn and grow.

Some might be disappointed by how neatly the story falls together, but I enjoyed seeing how all the pieces came together like a jigsaw puzzle.

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