Customer Reviews

Not Like You

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fifteen-year-old Kayla Hanes is tired of moving on a moments notice to God knows where. She's tired of having a pretend dog as her only friend. She's tired of watching her mom drink herself into a stupor. She's tired of working to pay their bills. She's tired of hoping that maybe this time her mom will be able to quit drinking for good. Essentially, Kayla is the adult in the relationship, and it's beginning to take its toll. As bad as it gets though, it's still better than having to go back into foster care.

Marilyn, Kayla's mom, swears that this time it will be different, she's turning over a new leaf - but that's what she always says. Why should this time be any different? When they get to their new home in a small town in New Mexico, Kayla's small inkling of hope disappears. Their house is a trailer, on a dirty lot, with a creepy landlord.

Kayla starts up a dog walking/training business, meets a boy (who's much too old), and even makes a few friends. Maybe this time will be different. But when Marilyn starts to drink again, and uses Kayla's hard-earned money, and everything starts to fall apart once again, this time it just might be too much.

This is a great story about how much any one person can take, and the different lengths to which they can go to escape. How much is too much? How far is too far to push someone? Where is the line between tough love and abandonment? You want Kayla to get out. You want her to punish her mom. But you end up hurting for Marilyn as much as you do for Kayla.

Maybe, the harder you try to get away from something, the closer you actually come to it. Heart wrenching and hopeful, that's what this book is, and that's what life is.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

This is definitely a book for anyone who grew up with a less than desirable mother. I found the entire plot plausible and enjoyable.

It comes down to this - her mom is a drunk and a bit of a loser who cannot get her life together. The daughter spends so much of her time taking care of her mom, and eventually she just cannot do it anymore. At the age of 15 she decides she has to take care of herself and allow her mother to sink, if that is what it takes for her to become sober.

Davis takes us into the world of 15-year old Kayla who has to deal with her mother's alcohol problem and all the ensuing issues--no job, no money, no stability. My heart went out to Kayla as she tried to create her own stable world with a solid dog-walking business and an apparent sweetheart of a boyfriend. The writing kept me glued to my bed, as I wanted to know what happened to this innocent, hard-working kid. A great--and fast-- read.

NOT LIKE YOU is the perfect title for this moving story of a teen girl's attempt to find love and stability. From the daring and wrenching first scene to the hopeful close, Deborah Davis's novel provides a gripping portrait of 15 year-old Kayla's determination to carve out a life amidst the chaos and turmoil of her mother's life. While doing all she can to encourage her alcoholic mother to stick with recovery, Kayla is skeptical. She's seen and heard it all before: The unrealistic dreams, the promises to change. When the new life turns out to be in a trailer in the desert, Kayla makes some changes of her own. She finds a job, starts a business, and forms new friendships. But when a charming older man enters the picture, Kayla's normally sound judgment is put to the test. Told in Kayla's own strong, vulnerable voice, Davis's novel is an engaging and heart-rending read.

Title: Not Like You
Author: Deborah Davis
Grade: A-
Ideal Audience: Girls & Some Boys, 13+

Summary: At fifteen years old, Kayla has grown accustomed to her mother's alternative way of life. Every few months, her mom decides to stay off the alcohol (Kayla now knows not to get her hopes up), and pack up and move. Now, they've moved to a dumpy trailer in New Mexico. Both are trying to start accomplishing something with their lives, although Kayla isn't sure how long the kick will last.

Quickly, Kayla garners clients to dog-walk for. Her business is successful and she loves the job: she feels connected to the dogs, and forms friendships with one dog's owners in particular: Shirley and Sherrie, two middle-aged women who run a clothing store. The women listen to Kayla's problems and offer her advice when she needs it.

Kayla is also forming a- could she call it a relationship?- with Remy, who, at twenty-four, is much too old for her. It also doesn't help that she told him she's seventeen instead of fifteen. Can Kayla make sense of her emotions, and work out the rocky connection she has with her mother?

My thoughts: Not Like You is moving and touching, and paints a realistic portrait of a young woman struggling to find out who she is in life. Many girls, even if their situation is unlike Kayla's, will be able to relate to her honesty and hopefulness.

Deborah Davis has proven herself as a talented writer in this impressive novel that fans of Sarah Dessen will love.

Kayla has never met her father, Desmond, and she lives with her alcoholic mother, Marilyn. They've resided in many different places and now Kayla has to leave her boyfriend because her mom is ready to pick up and move again. Marilyn had her reasons for leaving Dallas and heading for New Mexico, but things didn't turn out the way she planned. Still, she decided to stick around a while, so she and Kayla made a little run down trailer their home.
So-called relationships with certain guys helped Kayla to distance herself from the world she lived in and alcohol was her mother's escape. Once Marilyn settled in New Mexico, though, she did her best to make choices that would help her become a better person, took steps to improve her life, but Kayla wouldn't give her mother a chance. This girl was so hurt by what had happened in the past and the fear of it happening again made her suspicious of her mother's every move. Kayla did have to do things her mother should have been responsible for and that wasn't right. And, yes, Marilyn did slip as far as the drinking was concerned, but Kayla was too hard on her mother. She could have been more supportive, but she chose to hold her mother's mistakes against her and give her a hard time every chance she got. I understood Kayla's fears but I didn't like how disrespectful she was. Marilyn, a woman with her own issues, was trying to be a good mother (maybe she would have known how if her own mother would have treated her right) and it was obvious she loved her daughter. Kayla and Marilyn both made mistakes - like people do - and they both learned from their bad choices. This was a good story.

Deborah Davis' NOT LIKE YOU is a powerful and evocative glimpse into the life of a teen living with an alcoholic parent and all that THAT means. From the bittersweet opening to the truthful yet hopeful final paragraph, NOT LIKE YOU delivers a punch to the gut for anyone who has ever dealt with an alcoholic parent or relative. Kayla is honest and clear-eyed about her situation in a way that makes me want to cry with her, but I enjoyed how Davis shows that even in the midst of a chaotic life, there is promise. Even a reader who has NOT had a similar experience will come away with empathy and compassion for Kayla's--and her mother's--situation.

Kayla's mother has moved them five times in the past two years due to her drinking and problems - and Kayla's been in foster care once, so this time she'll do what she can to keep her mother's life in control. They've just moved to New Mexico, where Kayla is putting down roots and developing friendships. Can she really create her own life - even if it means leaving her mother behind? A sensitive story of alcoholism and stability evolves.