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Awards, Praise, and Reviews

Reviews

"Thoughtful, touching, and honest, this story hits all the right notes...a book to learn from and remember."

-- School Library Journal, starred review

"Written in Kayla's believable voice, Davis's moving, gritty novel builds to a hopeful, realistic close..."

-- Booklist

“A strongly written portrait of a sympathetic young woman... Characterization is acute throughout...absolutely believable.”


“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?...Heart wrenching and hopeful, that's what this book is...” Read the entire review

--Carrie Spellman, TeensReadToo.com

"...a terrific look at a mother-daughter relationship fractured by alcohol, and the daughter's struggle to put together a life of her own."


Teen Reviewers

"Not Like You is a fascinating book. It's totally awesome."

-- Amanda, age 16, YA Galley Review Program, Alexandria, KY

"...a wonderful book...really exciting."

-- Tina, age 18, YA Galley Review Program, Alexandria, KY

"I loved the book .I couldn't wait to find out what happened next...It's a great story and I had a wonderful time reading it."

-- Marissa, age 13, Berkeley, CA

Adult Readers' Comments

"Not Like You is so powerful in every respect I hardly know where to start. Perhaps with a comparison to Katherine Paterson? Davis has an artist's eye for choosing the right action or object to bring a scene or character into focus. If ever a writing teacher wanted examples of 'show don't tell' she could just hand out Not Like You to the class and ask them to open to any page...Kayla and her mother are so fully realized in light, dark, and shades of gray that from page one I felt like leaping into the action to hold them back from yet another self-destructive act...Not Like You should have adult readers, too.”

-- Carole Estby Dagg, former Assistant Director
Everett Public Library, Everett, WA

"Davis has certainly captured the chaos and pain one experiences while growing up in an alcoholic family system...As an intervention specialist I will recommend this book to my clients, especially the adolescent clients, to gain insight about the maladaptive behavior family members assume in order to survive. This book also offers hope for the recovery of all members with outside help."

-- Joyce Sundin, intervention specialist, Seattle

"Deborah Davis' straightforward, clean prose suits the world and characters it portrays in Not Like You. This is a novel that makes you think--days after you've read it--about what will become of its characters and the amazingly real world it depicts. Not Like You is highly recommended for readers ages 14 and up." [Read More]

-- Kelly Herold, Big A, Little a - Children's Books, Writing, and Life

"Fearlessly true depictions of teen relationships and the craggy path to finding yourself."

Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, Author of Reaching for Sun

"Not Like You is a powerful and wonderfully written book...I particularly loved the vividly rendered characters and the story’s depth and authenticity."

-- Rick Feldman, El Cerrito, CA

"Deborah Davis has brought to life the experience of hard-knocks characters who in spite of their circumstances are not unlike all of us in their desire for human connection."

-- Ann Gressani, 50-year old Homemaker and Parent, Oakland, CA