A Girl Like Me

Shortie Like Mine #3

by Ni-Ni Simone

She's got a voice like Keisha Cole, attitude to burn--and is the body-rockin', Bebe-sporting girl everyone in her high school wants to be. . .or be with. But in real life, sixteen-year-old Elite has a crack-addicted mother, no father in sight, and is secretly raising her sister and two brothers on her own. Now a radio contest has put her up-close-and-personal with mega-hot singer Haneef and their chemistry is too sizzling for Elite to stop pretending. And as the clock ticks down fast for this 'hood Cinderella, she has only one shot to save her family and make all of her dreams come true. . .

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Urban, African American Romance, African American, Realistic Fiction, Teen

279 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Allison, Kawalec. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose to read this book because when iread the back cover it sounded very interesting. This book was realistic fiction. This story took place in New York. The main character was a beautiful youn girl who had a voice like keisha cole. And, was very grown and mature for being only 17. Her mother was a crack adict so, she was responible for taking care of her two younder brothers and two younger sisters who were twins. She cared about them so , much. But, one night she entered a radio contest and won tickets to see this big hip-hop singer named Haneef. and, she got to go on stage with him and sing .. and, then they started datting and hanging out all the time and since alot of people were jealous of her everyone started spreading nasty rumors about her. also one day when she was at work she came home and the police were at here house becuas the kids were left home a lone and started a fire and her other brother went to jail for selling drugs and her mom was no where to be found because she was high .. so, then the kids got taken into foster care and she had to stay with her best friend naja. but, even tho things felt like they were comming to an end they eventualy got better because her mom got help and got off drugs. she got a record deal , her brother got out of jail and her sisters and brother got to come back home and on top of that they got to move to a better neighbor hood and home(:
I, really enjoyed this book! It was very well written and it was one of those books that kept me one the edge and made me want to keep reading.

[Miggyrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

When most teens are busy thinking about boys and make-up, Elite is busy trying to raise her brothers and sisters. Her mother, a crack addict surrendered to her the role of surrogate, a role Elite never complains about though she wishes sometimes for a normal life. Her life changes suddenly when she wins two tickets for her idol's show, and in true fairytale fashion, she meets the love of her life, ascends socially, almost loses it all but finds a way to keep it all together at last.
It's a classic in the genre. We all know since the first page that it's all gonna end well for her. Still, the story stays compelling, the down-to-earth heroin is easy to love, and it makes the whole book impossible to put down. English, not being my maternal language, I really like the use of a more urban language by Ni-Ni Simone. It felt so natural. It was an exercise in precision but she manage to give a real voice to her seventeen year-old heroin.
If I was fifteen, it would probably be my favourite book, but it's still missing something. Haneef, Elite's crush is too nice, too good looking, too "fly". If I can believe Elite and him are made for each other, he lacks a complex personality for me to really fall for him too. We didn't get to see much of him.
It's just too bad.
Anyway, it's a good read. Everybody should give it a try !

[Lourdes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I choose to read this book because i read the little summary about it in the back and i wanted to now more about it.Then genre of this book is romance.The setting takes place in Naja's house,School, and her house. Elite has been watching over her brothers and sisters since her mom became a druggie.No one really knows about her having to take care over her brothers and sisters like if she was there own mother. She lies to mostly anyone that knows her about her family, the only ones that really now how her life is like is her best friend Naja and her boyfriend Jahaad.

Elite wins tickets to go see Haneef a young male singer that everyone is crazy about. As soon as her boyfrined Jahaad finds out about this he refuses for her to go but she goes either way. Elite steals clothes from her job with her best friend Naja because she can't afford to buy somethin good for the concert. She steals from her job because Naja tells her that since she is the assistant manager she erase the tape and no one will notice as long as they return everything after they are done using it. She meets Haneef and he ends up looking for her some days after the concert. Elite is mad at Jahaad because Ciera a chick from school is all over him. He deny's hes got something going on with her. Haneef starts to hid on Elite and everyone at school starts a rumor of how shes playing Jahaad.Everyone starts talking to Elite since they think that she is dating Haneef but at this point she isn't yet. Haneef picks her up at school and takes her to a trip on a boat to New York. She feels like shes is living a dream and she can't believe Haneef is actually there with her. She pays her brother Ny'eem to watch after her other lil brother and sisters Aniyah,Mica and Sydney. He gets pissed because he doesnt have time for himself to go out since Elite goes out alot with Haneef.Ny'eem gets himself in trouble and ends up in jail. Elite mom tells her to go get ny'eem and she says she is not his mother ans she has to go do it but since shes a druggie they dont let ny'eem out. Haneef and Elite end up dating and everyone envy's Elite but want her to be there friend.

Elite lied to Haneef about her real life since the start. And when he finds out because of Jahaad making it go onto the news all he does is tell her his parents used to have that problem but they decided to get helped.And that her mom could only get help if she really wanted to.Haneef makes a trip and kisses Kendra on the night award show and Elite sees that she wants nothing to do with him when he returns. When they were going out he told her that he was goint to be her number one fan when she became a singer because she had a wonderful voice. Elites mom got help once her children were sent to a foster home and when she got her whole family together again Elite became a famous singer. Haneef called the radio station like she did and told her that he was her number one fan and that he was stupid for have lossing her and that he wanted to start over.I liked this book because i think that it can inspire girls to keep going for there dream and they might as well get there. The dream you plan in your head can be made into reality and Elite got hers... i liked this book because i think it was an easy book to read and it caught my attention.And id recommend it to other people.

[Anayeli♥]

I choose to read this book because by the title it sounded like a good book and i read the 1st page and i read the back of it and by what i read it was a interesting book i read this book very fast and I read it really fast because it went really fast and it was a very good book of all of them that I have read. This book is a non Fiction book because it is not a real book only some of the characters are real. The setting is in Elite’s house and at Haneef’s apartment and at Neecy’s house. The description of the main character is that she has a mom that is addicted to alcohol and crack so Elite has to stay and take care of her little brother’s and sister’s because her mom goes out to the bar. A plot summary is that she got a pair of tickets for Haneef’s concert and she had to go up and sing with him and so he told her that she had a good voice for singing and so then Elite feel in love with him so she gave her phone number to Haneef and so Haneef called her every single day so that they could go out and hang out at a club or something. The problem is that one day she went to a bar with Haneef and some of her friends and so she did not come home to sleep and she left all her little brothers and sisters alone at home and then they took her to Jail along with 1 more friend and they called the friends mom so that she could come and pick them up and her friends mom sad that both of them were her daughters and they got to Elites house and there were aloght of people and they were taking her little brothers and sisters to a foster home with another parents and they said that they were hungry so they decided to make something to eat just that they were burning the food so the fire fighters and the police came to see so the police gave Elite a card so that her mom could call to see how they were and see what she could do to get them all out of here. The problem is salved when she does not know anything about her mom and she goes and visits her brothers and sisters and they all show her there good grades and they tell her that her mom visited them too and she came out of a room looking all nice and by the first time not drinking or doing drugs she looked great. So Elite and her mom both go home together and they live together because they love each other again. My opinion of the book is that it is a very good book because it is about families and their problems and tells about the girls and their problems and what they do to solve them.

[Kelela Taufa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my very 1st book that I read, and let me tell you I LOVED it. I know for some of you GUYS wouldn't like it! I would have to say this is more like a CHICK FLICK type book! But this girl on the cover Elite has a lot of struggles in her life with her family, and annoying boyfriend! Well this girl Elite is a really beautiful girl with an AMAZING voice and she enters this contest where she gets to meet her favorite singer in real life so when she's at his concert he invites her to sing with him, and she was really shy till she finally let it all out,and everyone is just so stunned, and the famous singer invites her to do an album with his people, and she's very excited about that! But one thing about her she doesn't have a perfect life like some of her friends, because her mom, and her mom's boyfriend is a big time alcoholic, her little brother that's 15 is a gangster, and is always getting in trouble in the streets, and then she has 1 little little brother, and 2 little twin sisters and she's with them all the time always taking care of them, making sure they have clothes for school the next day, and also always making sure there is dinner on the table for them, she cares so much about the little ones, she's with them more then she's with her friends! But one day she lose everything she can't find her mother anywhere, and her mothers boyfriend just leaves her, then her little gangster brother is locked up, and then she loses her little brother, and twin sisters! She just loses it, and cries all that she has inside of her! You guys will have to read the book to understand what i'm talking about! Girls i recommend this book to you guys especially!

[Nardsbaby Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lose Yourself

Unlike most teens that Elite knows, she's the mom in her family, while her mom is busy being a crack-addict. Elite doesn't really mind taking care of her siblings and being so responsible, however, she does wish just once she could be a normal teen.

With a voice like an angel and a plan to win tickets on Hot 102 so she can be front and center with Haneef, her major crush, Elite is too embarrassed when her mom breaks her down on the air. Luckily, her girl Naja hooks the station up with the info and for one night Elite is the hood version of Cinderella.

Being pulled up on stage to perform a duo with Haneef slings Elite's life into a whole different world. People she's never talked to are all of a sudden her closest friends. She's lying, stealing and manipulating things to keep her real life from being exposed. Can Elite learn to deal with the truth about who and what she is? Or will she be defeated by rumors?

A GIRL LIKE ME is the third book I've read by Ni-Ni Simone. A little reluctant at first, I found myself easily engaged in the story. Not only that, there was a real story, issues and hopes. I love that Ni-Ni has put her on unique spin on a classic. There were some editing issues; otherwise, this is definitely a book I'd recommend to others.

[Jaleesa.gilmoregmail.com]

dear reader,

The book "A Girl Like Me" by Ni-Ni Simone is a wonderful book. I liked reading it the moment I started the first page. Its a street realistic fiction book, I couldn't relate to it a lot but I know people that have kind of the same life story/struggles as the main character "ELITE". She doesn't have a father & her mother is a junky. Elite has to take care of the whole family, go to school, work , & dream. She has dreams that can be reached but society & everyone & everything keeps trying to bring her down. She entered a contest on the radio to win a contest to see her idol & wanna be boo "HANEEF" in concert.

I was able to connect with her in certain things. Like I grew up with out a father but unlike her I had male figures in my life that helped me along the way. I predict that she will fall in love with Haneef & he will break her heart/abuse/or hurt her severely. That's what the cover of the book kind of speaks to me but I don't know yet, im still reading ^_^

I would recommend this book to teens maybe college students but that's pushing it.

[Nohely Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who has a difficult life. She has to be the mom in her family for her little brothers and sisters. She cooks,gets them dressed,earns money for them, she pretty much does everything a mother should. Her mom is a drug addict who is never home and never has time for her kids. The girl loves to sing and she decides to enter a contest to get tickets to Haneef's upcoming concert. She even goes up there to sing with him falling more for him then before she actually met him. I think it's a very good book.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

She have a nice voice and when she won the contest on the radio. Elite have a twin sisters and two brother but her mother is on drugs and when she is going out with the worlds greatest singer Heneef her life story is in the newspaper everyday but at the end everything paid off she end up being a famous singer and her mom is clean of drugs and she is living the life

[Tianna Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

the girl has a rough life and just to read and visualize what she's going through; its just- not right.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story! :)

[Kyla Irick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im reading "A Girl Like Me" by Ni-Ni Simone. Im really into this book becuase this girl went through alot od drama, her mother was barelty around because she was out with people that does drugs. She was determined to let everybody listen to her beautiful voice on her, was not letting nobody getting in the way of that not even her boyfriend. On page 5, I love when she takes care of her sisters & brother because their mother was never around, dont give them money, feed them or spend time with them. She took care of her brothes & sisters. All their mother do is be with her friends, dont come back to the morning, she come home high infront of her kids. She let her friends do what ever they want & she dont stop them or anything.
You will like this book if you love to read about Dafina Books Fiction. Similar to like adults books but the teen verison. Which some people might like to read becuase I know I do. These things that be happening in the book really do be happening now. The reason why I said that it really do be happening now because some boys be hitting their girlfriends, Lying to them, cheating, raping, getting girls pregnat & dont take care of them saying that its not theres. I say you would like this book becuase once you start reading it your face going to be glue to the book, you not going to take your face out the book. I love how they mixed things that be happening to people now & dont.
One biggest challenge in the book was trying to figure out what the words meant. Trying to read the word with out anything problems. Couple time in the book they kept writing that that to each other. But I think it was a typeo. I was also trying to figure out why the mother was doing this to her kids.
The most biggest character in the book was Elite. She is the main character in the book, this book was written in first person view. I figure out who she was on page 5, when she called the radio people to tell them that she was going to sing & they ask her for her name. At first I didnt know if they was going to say the character in the book because they kept saying I so I was just waiting for them to say her name. Not even her friends was saying her name in the beginging it felt like they was telling a story to the readers that are reading the book.

[Dom Colant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story started off as a girl that is named Elite is having life problems and problems with her annoying boyfriend named jahaad, they fight and argue allot. When Elite enters a local radio contest to find the best voice, she wins the contest! She then gets to meet her favorite artist named Haneef. The two then have a small relationship but is constantly put to the test because of her mother’s crack addiction and her 15 year old brother wants to be a gang member. After her mother sobers up after realizing the situation that the family is in when her kids get taken away she becomes sober and this all straighten out and everything is better than ever. This book has great plots but doesn’t have allot of detail in the pages it has. This reminds me of a book that was about high school parties and the drama that was in them. i like this book because it always has a life lesson and we can learn from this book to not always judge people because life is very hard and there’s always drama places

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a girl is madly in love with an R&B singer. In her home her mother doesn't really pay any attention to any of her children because she deals with drugs. Elite raises her younger brother and her younger twin sisters mostly by herself while dealing with work and school. Even though she has tons on her plate she still has the responsibility of taking care of her siblings since her mother isnt there for them. One day Elite calls the radio station that Haneef is at and she sings for him to get concert tickets. When she gets the tickets her life changes in ways. This shows that in life we can sort of control where we want to go. But just Elite we might have to lose people through out the process and that may be tough for people in life but thats what happens. Sometimes we have to step on people when we are really determined too get some where in life. This is a great book because it shows that life is full of possibilities and that even though there are hard time they can turn out with a great outcome.

[Anndreana Brooka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too me the book is decent you can predict whats going too happen in most parts . i am a fan of young adult fiction especially when it includes characters of color . ive read plenty of young adult books , but this one is good but could have been better and deep . The book seemed like a hood version of cinderella . I think the author could have switched a couple of things up a little .

" A Girl Like Me " by Ni-Ni Simone, is a very good for the younger generation book in my opinion. It's about a Girl named Elite, , who can sing. Elite mother uses drugs and always left her and her siblings while she go out with her druggie boyfriend. Elite wanted a change so one day she called the radio station to win two tickets to a rapper name Haneef, she had to sing to win the tickets. She ended up winning, she got to go to the concert and sings on stage with him and he liked her song a lot.

After the concert Haneef always showed up at her school, trying to take her out all the time. Elite's boyfriend didn't like that at all She and her boyfriend ended up breaking up . Elite was heart broken at first but Haneef stucked arounder later she starts dating Haneef. She started keeping stuff from him from finding out how her mother is a crackhead and how she is the one playing mother to her younger brothers and sisters. He ended up finding out about her secret but he understands what she's been going through.

Her 15 year old brother Ny'eem gets locked up for selling drugs. Elite begins to struggle with trying to get her brother out of juvy . Later CPS finds out that the mother has not been home in weeks so her sisters get taken away by social services. Elite has to stay with a friend until everything is all good. Elite life then starts to get a little better .

A year or so later Her mother finally got help and is now clean. A rapper came looking for Elite because he wanted to give her a record deal. She accepts and after that life finally they moved away, her brother got out of jail, and Elite and Haneef are still together .

[Shanita Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A girl like me is a good book because it talks about everyone wanting to be like this girl or go with this girl because they think her life is so perfect but in reality its not. Some of my likes on this book is that the girl was going through a hard time but she didn't give up. I would recommend that teenagers read this so that they can get a idea that there not the only ones going through the struggle. That even the people that look like there life is perfect its not. Like this quote says "never judge a book by its cover" relates to this book.

[Tamia Fry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very good and many African American female teens can relate to this book. There is a 17 Year-Old girl named Elite. Elite has a hard life, dealing with a drug-addicted mother and taking care of her siblings. I didn't dislike anything about the book. Its very related to my family , except my parents aren't drug addicted. They're always working so I have to take care of my 2 siblings while they work.

[Jenese Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author and her many series of these books. This book is a great story about a young girl with a beautiful voice that takes her on a journey filled with happy and sad moments. This is a great young adult book that some kids can relate to and it's just a great story to read and experience.

[Tamia Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book. It deserves 5 stars. I like this book because it can in real life, you can go through the situation. Once you read the 1st page you can't stop reading! I love the author, I would l0ve to read more of her books.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simone’s purpose in writing the book A Girl like Me was to appeal to the young adult generation of today by using real life situations that some may face. That was one of the many things that made the book so interesting. The book was not only targeted towards young adults but it can also relate to many people of different ages. By describing the harsh backgrounds that some people had to grow up with and how they were able to escape it to become successful is something that I found truly inspirational. This book impacts its audiences by making them more aware of their surroundings and grateful for everything that they have. Overall, it teaches the audience to have perseverance and hope during the most difficult times.
This book was extremely captivating. Even though I personally couldn’t relate to any of the characters, I could put myself in their shoes and feel exactly what they were feeling. Simone makes the reader feel as if they are actually in the book while experiencing the same things that the characters are experiencing. She did this by vividly describing the situations in the book. An example would be, “I felt like a mannequin. I swear I couldn’t move from my spot. I couldn’t believe he’d actually left me standing there and had walked off, disappearing like thin vapor into a sea of students” (Simone 21). She used this metaphor to describe a situation between the main character and her boyfriend. It gave the chapter suspense. There was not a single boring chapter in this book. It was so enjoyable to read that it became a hard task to set the book down for even one moment. Simone used a mixture of humor and tons of drama to make the book fascinating.
A Girl like Me is a well written book in terms of getting the character’s thoughts across to the reader but there were a lot of slang words, misspellings and sentence fragments. At times it was easy to tell that the author did this intentionally to emphasize the character’s points and to get the voice of the characters in the reader’s mind, but at times it was difficult to tell the difference because the sentence fragments seemed random. Besides that, the ending was great. Everything worked out fantastically for all of the characters which left the reader happy or at least smiling. A good example was “I lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. All I could do was smile because never in a million years had I imagined this life” (Simone 238). Everything finally worked out for the main character, Elite, who had been through so much. Some books don’t end off on a good note but Simone did a great job of summing everything up.
The greatest strength of the work was relating to real like situations and connecting to young people. At one point in the book Simone described what Naja’s grandma was doing by saying “Immediately, Mom-Mom dropped down and started getting her eagle on” (Simone 31), which is a type of dance that most young generations have heard about. This book could give advice to someone who was going through the same situations as the main character Elite. Simone does a good job of relating to people going through stuff at home. The greatest weakness of this book was the vocabulary level. Even though it was made to appeal to young adults, the vocabulary wouldn’t have been too sophisticated for a middle school student to read.

I would honestly recommend this book to a friend. It was just that amazing. I would especially recommend it to people like me who don’t really enjoy reading because this book was extremely captivating. It is bound to have the person hooked on reading until the very end. Personally, I wish the book was a bit longer but the ending made me want to read more books from Ni-Ni Simone’s series. There is absolutely no reason not to recommend this book to anyone. It is bound to have you laughing, crying and anticipating what is coming next after each chapter. I strongly recommend that everyone give this book a try.

[Jaslyn Sampson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reread this book because I read it initially when I was a teen and was obsessed with this book. It is a great book overall and still holds up. It is a nostalgic read 3.8/5

[Keyaira · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A Girl Like Me” by Ni-Ni Simone is a book about a girl named Elite who is madly in love with the idea of becoming famous singer. Although in her dreams she lives a perfect life her reality is far from perfect. Due to her mother being strung out on drugs she plays the mother role in her household by taking care of her little brother and two little sisters. Luckily one day she calls the radio station and wins ticket to meet her favorite R&B artist Haneef. This changed her life forever, after meeting him they shortly became a couple and in the process Elite got noticed for her singing talents. Although getting discovered was her life long dream her being in the spot like with her famous R&B singer Haneef led to the public eye spying into her life and exposing the truth behind her family secrets pertaining her sprung out mother.
“I never imagined where my life would end up”
This is a great book that show how anyone can change a negative situation into a positive with a little faith, handwork and dedication. Through out all of Elite’s worries she manages to turn her life around and become successful enough to take care of herself and her family. She reflects the many lives of teens who may not have been fortunate enough to grow up in a stable and or well income environment. She showed how anyone can arise from a difficult situation and form a beautiful tomorrow.

[Rayzin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good that I have actually read it like 5 times. The character in this book has went through alot in her life. Her mother was on drugs and always out. She had to take care of her 2 brothers and twin sisters and that wasn't easy without help. Her little brother was starting to turn to the streets and all this was going on while she was falling for a pop singer. She was ashamed of who she was and where she was living that she lied at told him that she lived where her friend lived because they had a nice little house. She had a great voice and that is what got her to the top. When her mom was locked up and her brothers and sisters were taken away. She knew she had to do something. But the one person she thought she could turn to was having his little fun with another little famouse pop singer. She had to stick her head up and keep going. She got her mother in a rehab and got her brothers and sister out of foster and they lived happily.

[Asha · Rating 5 out of 5]

IRB#7 A Girl Like Me is about a seventeen year old girl named Elite who has taken on the role of being a mother to her four siblings because her mother is in love with the pipe. She has to take care of her ghetto twin sisters, annoying five year old brother, and Ny’eem her fifteen year old brother who wants to be part of the hood. However, she has to try and balance this with being an ordinary teen in high school. Everything seems to be going fine until she wins a contest by signing and slowly falls in love with teen r&b artist Haneef. That is when everything starts to fall apart.

This book is great for all girls fifteen and older. As you read you will be engulfed in a world of drama, lies, teen romance, and excitement. Even if your life doesn’t include a crack addicted mother or take place in the hood you will still be able to relate to someone or something in the story.

[*Ahh' Zah W/ Daa Juicee !//* · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book Is About A Girl Named Ellite Nd She Has A Crack Addicted Mother Nd She Wishes That She Culd Become Famous But If You Wanna Noe More Den Here It GOes Buht Read Da Book Tew Find Out thee Rest.!'

She's got a voice like Keisha Cole, attitude to burn--and is the body rockin', Bebe sporting girl everyone in her high school wants to be or be with more
But in real life, sixteen-year-old Elite has a crack-addicted mother, no father in sight, and is secretly raising her sister and two brothers on her own. Now a radio contest has put her up-close and personal with mega hot singer Haneef and their chemistry is too sizzling for Elite to stop pretending. And as the clock ticks down fast for this 'hood Cinderella, she has only one shot to save her family and make all of her dreams come true.

[Shaeanne Hum9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows about living In the spotlight and being able to hide secrets while your In that light. This book follows a girl name Elite and her friends as she wins a test to sing with her dream superstar and idol As that goes on they start to fall for each other and then the deeper she falls for him the more her secrets she has is let out. Then all but one of her friends betray her and she noticed that they only used her for her popularity and she doesn't know what to do and right now she is at crossroads and she doesn't want to break the boys heart . She really caress about him and accepting the fact that she dumped her current boyfriend for this boy. This book is really good and I enjoyed it I would love to read it over again . It shows you the ups and downs about dating a superstar . Highly recommend it :)

[Bless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book! True love really was in the air. I love how the best friend never left the main character. Mica is my favorite! He is just so adorable. I loved the romance and everything. It's really good to open your eyes and see the world for yourself. It's also a good thing to be honest too because lying gets you nowhere, even though it's hard. Throughout this story, I was like: are there really boys out there who care about girls this much? But anyways, there about are plenty, you just got to be wise about who's who and stop assuming you know it all. I recommend this book to older brothers and sisters who has had to take care of siblings. Shout out to all of yall! It ain't easy! Excellent job always, Mrs. Simone.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl is madly in love with an R&B singer named Haneef. Elite is a not so average girl. In her home she’s the mom, because her mom is too busy dealing with drugs, elite raises her younger brother and her younger twin sisters mostly by herself while dealing with work as well as school. One day Elite calls the radio station that Haneef is at and she sings for him to get concert tickets. When she gets the tickets her life changes for ever. She begins to go from rags to riches but it won’t be easy. She loses people along the way to find herself in the world she’s always dreamed of. I liked this book because it was creative and it showed how anything can come true.

[Shamari Dunning · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "A Girl Like Me" by Ni-Ni Simone is a wonderful book. I liked reading it the moment I started the first page. Its a street realistic fiction book, I couldn't relate to it a lot but I know people that have kind of the same life story and struggles as the main character She doesn't have a father & her mother is on the drugs. Elite has to take care of the whole family, go to school, work. She has dreams that she can make something of her self and get out of her getto lifestyle but society & everyone & everything keeps trying to bring her down. She entered a contest on the radio to win a contest to see her idol & and the man of her dreams "HANEEF" in a concert.

[Kimani · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the choosing of a book i picked this one because of the black girl on the cover( sadly :(). when i started reading it it was really urban and ghetto which i think is unattractive in a book, but then it revealed a sweet love story staring Elite. Elite struggles because of her mother being addicted to crack and having younger siblings, but Elite has hope which is the one thing helping her get by. The message of this book is really aspiring : now matter what life throws at you if you work hard in even the worst situations you can make it through. This is a great book i would recommend every one read it!