Girls Like Us

by Alex Apostol

Do lifelong friendships really last forever? Hailey and Triss have been best friends since the second grade. Twenty-one-years later, the two girls are moving from Virginia to California for a fresh start. Road trips can be tiring, especially when the person you're with is irritating you. Hailey tries her best to have fun with Triss like they used to, but it gets harder with each passing day. Some people just don't know when to grow up. Can their friendship survive everything it's put through on their four day trip? Funny and touching, Girls Like Us is a must-read for the summer.

324 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2015

About the author

I have been writing as long as I can remember. I always knew I wanted to write books that someday many people could enjoy. I have a BA in English, a Masters in Business Administration and Marketing, and a Master's in Education.

I enjoy reading as much as I do writing and learned a lot while I was in school about the different forms of literature and the different genres all throughout the world. I only hope that people enjoy my books as much as I've enjoyed reading theirs.

When I'm not reading or writing I enjoy spending time with my family, going for walks or hiking, being outdoors, horseback riding, and watching movies.

Reviews

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it took me a while to get into this book, I liked it so much more than I originally thought I would. When I began reading this book, I figured that Triss was just an annoying, immature character with no likable qualities, but I was wrong. Although Triss's tendency of choosing men over Hailey was annoying, Triss was a nice person and never meant to intentionally hurt Hailey. For the most part, I liked Triss because she had a fun, carefree personality, and I liked Hailey because she still knew how to have fun even though she was the responsible one. I thought this novel was a fun read and once I got into the story I was always eager to read more. Although the ending was not what I expected, I appreciated that Hailey finally stood up for herself, and I thought that her situation was very relatable, seeing as I just went through a similar one. Hailey's struggle with the way Triss treated her was really relatable to me which made me like the book even more. This book was funny, well written, and full of surprises. If you're looking for a light read that's not too serious, I would recommend this book because it's honestly a fun read. Because of this book I am now interested in reading any other work by the author!

[Necole Moreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was an amazing tale of friendship. The author took us the the journey of their friendship and the reasons why they both needed each other. I related to this book so much because I thought I had a friendship that could last the end of time, but like these two friends, you can't ever be guaranteed that.

[Zelmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this novel and its characters. The dialogue was good and believable, as well as the characters and the story. I wish I could give it five stars, but I can't because of several noticeable formatting errors. I am a writer myself and understand that a few mistakes can get past the author, but some of these errors should have been corrected.

[Alex Apostol]

Girls Like Us is very dear to me because so many of the hijinks Triss and Hailey get into are inspired by my own wacky twenties with my friends. It's a story I've been told really resonates with other young women through the great reviews it's gotten because of the very real friendship between the two main characters. Triss and Hailey were fast friends in elementary school and they stuck close to each other through the years. Now that Hailey is graduated from college and ready to start her promising career across the country, the girls use it as an opportunity to road trip from Virginia to California in an effort to save their failing friendship. With Triss still living in her youth and Hailey taking responsibility, they are headed in separate directions and are not sure how their friendship can continue the way its been going. There're laughs, there're tears, and there's a happy ending to make this a feel-good fun read.

Girls Like Us is available through all major eBook retailers:
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[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the way the author added past events in the book. Gave humor to some of the escapades of the girls when younger, also left you feeling sad/sorry for both Triss and Hailey. Hailey was truly a good friend to Triss, letting her know it was time to grow up was the best choice (tough love situation). I thought the story was good and once I got into it I needed to find out the ending. It was up to both how their lives continued. I don’t want to ruin the ending and want to say great story well worth reading.

[Keets · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise seemed promising- the course of a close friendship between two friends. However, the execution was terrible. There were numerous spelling and grammatical errors. The characters were one dimensional and the plot did not make any sense. The story ends with an improbable change in one of the main characters. This was a very disappointing read.

[Rita Kunselman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally would have given this book a five stars except it bothered me how it jumped back & forth time wise.. It was very enjoyable and Hailey & Triss were good friends although very different!

I would definitely recommend reading this book.you get to know the two characters &their families & learn about their adventures driving from Norfolk, Virginia to San Diego, Ca.

[VictoryGoth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and just unpleasant; I couldn't get past the first chapter. This writer does not understand "show, don't tell". Her writing is very blatantly expository and "telly". The first few pages alone just beat you over the head with the fact that the two main characters are best friends. "Triss smiled at her friend", "Hailey replied to her friend", "Triss said X to her friend". I get it, they're friends, you don't need to remind me in every paragraph! And while some of the backstory presented in the first chapter is necessary information, it feels like the writer is holding your hand through all the backstory exposition just to make sure you totally get it, instead of using subtley or character actions or any other writing tool other than, "I'm going to be very obvious that I'm telling you what you need to know about these characters."

But the point I stopped reading was the VERY unpleasant and extremely contrived meeting with Triss' ex-boyfriend. That scene was the most obvious "writer's personal revenge fantasy" that it was unbelievable. I get it, getting revenge on an ex who cheated on you is awesome, but don't suspend disbelief just so you can write the most convenient revenge fantasy. If the guy already cheated on her, you don't need to make him so transparently an asshole and give him the most cringe-worthy dialogue ever. The author tries WAY too hard to make this guy seem like the most detestable dude ever in as few sentences as possible. And of course, when Triss and Hailey confront the ex-boyfriend, he just so happens to have another girl in his apartment who can witness the scene and triple embarrass the dude. Yeah, coz that's not contrived. And, not only THAT, but after Triss kicks the guy in the balls (which is honestly the most cliche thing ever), she takes a picture of him and plans to share it all over the internet because she JUST SO HAPPENS to be "friends with thousands of people in the social networking world". Well, isn't that convenient!

Also, one more thing: "If you ever cheat on my friend again I will cut off your tits and sew your vagina shut". < Does that sentence make you uncomfortable? Of course it does. How about this? "You're lucky I don't cut your balls off!" < If that also doesn't make you uncomfortable, then you have sexist double standards. It's not okay to make light of genital mutilation in any sense and just because it's socially acceptable to do so towards men doesn't make it any less wrong or unpleasant to read (especially since if Triss did literally mutilate him like that she probably wouldn't face any harsh charges by the legal system). But ultimately I'm harping so much on this because I was expecting a fun, light-hearted read, but instead what I got was just plain disgusting and too over-the-top and perfectly convenient. And another problem with the book is that I don't know Triss and Hailey enough to truly feel for their victory here. A few pages of backstory isn't enough to make the readers care about your main characters. And if going back to the ex-boyfriends place didn't 100% work in Triss and Hailey's favor I'd probably care more about them and keep reading the book. Actual conflict and struggles tends to make you care about a character more.

Overall it's contrived and too convenient for the main characters and far too "telly" to be interesting. A good writer would initially show traces of these characters' personalities through action, subtle dialogue and subtext, while still leaving enough room for the readers to learn more about the characters and care for them as the story progresses. This writer tries to TELL you everything you need to know about these characters ASAP. Writers: I don't want to read your character bio page. Just let me discover your characters through the story. The only positive thing about this book is that it was free on Amazon Kindle so I didn't waste any money on this garbage-tier writing.

[Jenni V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This light read kept my interest and was perfect for my plane ride. The time jumps kept things interesting but weren't confusing. Each snippet was like a memory of their friendship so the book felt like a collection of short stories that have the same characters.

Typically if there are only a few typos I can overlook them. However, I ended up knocking the book down a star because there were just too many. The spelling (like 'steeling' for 'stealing' or 'infront' as one word) or wrong word (like 'in' for 'is') feel nitpicky to point out but when it's the wrong character's name in two different places, that affects the story and overall there were just too many mistakes of different varieties to completely ignore.

Quote from the Book
"Neither of them could forget the day they met. It was the beginning to the rest of their lives as far as either was concerned. They couldn't even conceive what their lives would have been like if they had never met that snowy day in the second grade."

Find all my reviews at: http://readingatrandom.blogspot.com

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Short Shorts; my only complaint is that it was too short! Hence the name, huh? This 100-pg. book of shorts takes the reader through a friendship between two girls...read my full review here: http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/view...

[Brittany Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it wasn't one of my favorite books ever I really enjoyed Girls Like Us! Triss and Hailey's adventures are hilarious and their friendship is amazing!

Check out my full review here: https://groundedfromreading.wordpress...

[denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Girls

At times a little funny, a little sad. Had to force myself to finish reading this book. I didn't find this book to be what I expected, happy it was free.