
Just Like Us
The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $25.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Paula Christensen
-
By:
-
Helen Thorpe
About this listen
Just Like Us tells the story of four high-school students whose parents entered this country illegally from Mexico. All four of the girls have grown up in the United States, and all four want to live the American dream, but only two have documents. As the girls attempt to make it into college, they discover that only the legal pair see a clear path forward.
A coming-of-age story about girlhood and friendship, as well as the resilience required to transcend poverty, Just Like Us is also a book about identity. The girls, their families, and the critics who object to their presence allow the reader to watch one of the most complicated social issues of our times unfurl in a major American city.
©2009 Helen Thorpe (P)2011 Dreamscape Media, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
-
Three Girls from Bronzeville
- A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood
- By: Dawn Turner
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were three Black girls. Dawn, tall and studious; her sister, Kim, younger by three years and headstrong as they come; and her best friend, Debra, already prom-queen pretty by third grade. They bonded—fervently and intensely in that unique way of little girls—as they roamed the concrete landscape of Bronzeville, a historic neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, the destination of hundreds of thousands of Black folks who fled the ravages of the Jim Crow South.
-
-
Captivating, in a Every-Day-Life Way
- By Blondae on 09-23-21
By: Dawn Turner
-
The Newcomers
- Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom
- By: Helen Thorpe
- Narrated by: Kate Handford
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Offering a nuanced and transformative take on immigration, multiculturalism, and America's role on the global stage, The Newcomers follows and reflects on the lives of 22 immigrant teenagers throughout the course of their 2015-2016 school year at Denver's South High School. Unfamiliar with American culture or the English language, the students range from the ages of 14 to 19 and come from nations struggling with drought, famine, or war.
-
-
Surprisingly great read.
- By Ellen V. Moore on 05-23-18
By: Helen Thorpe
-
Living Beyond Borders
- Growing Up Mexican in America
- By: Margarita Longoria
- Narrated by: Alejandro Ruiz, Kyla Garcia, Margarita Longoria
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, and poetry, this celebrated group of authors share the borders they have crossed, the struggles they have pushed through, and the two cultures they continue to navigate as Mexican Americans. Living Beyond Borders is at once an eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and hopeful love letter from the Mexican American community to today's young listeners.
-
-
Will buy the hard copy to keep forever
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-23
-
Big Chicas Don't Cry
- By: Annette Chavez Macias
- Narrated by: Vanessa Vasquez, Alessandra Manon, Aida Reluzco, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cousins Mari, Erica, Selena, and Gracie are inseparable. They aren’t just family but best friends—sharing secrets, traditions, and a fierce love for their abuelita. But their idyllic childhood ends when Mari’s parents divorce, forcing her to move away. With Mari gone, the girls’ tight-knit bond unravels.
-
-
Painfully boring..
- By Monica Serrano on 09-24-22
-
The Wind Knows My Name
- A Novel
- By: Isabel Allende, Frances Riddle - translator
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Maria Liatis
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht—the night his family loses everything. As her child’s safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel’s mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.
-
-
Reminiscences of House of the Spirits; too short, underdeveloped
- By J. Mirabal on 06-08-23
By: Isabel Allende, and others
-
Solito
- A Memoir
- By: Javier Zamora
- Narrated by: Javier Zamora
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Javier Zamora’s adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.
-
-
MASTERPIECE of Poetic Prose, Outstanding Narration
- By Mary Burnight on 01-12-23
By: Javier Zamora
-
Three Girls from Bronzeville
- A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood
- By: Dawn Turner
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were three Black girls. Dawn, tall and studious; her sister, Kim, younger by three years and headstrong as they come; and her best friend, Debra, already prom-queen pretty by third grade. They bonded—fervently and intensely in that unique way of little girls—as they roamed the concrete landscape of Bronzeville, a historic neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, the destination of hundreds of thousands of Black folks who fled the ravages of the Jim Crow South.
-
-
Captivating, in a Every-Day-Life Way
- By Blondae on 09-23-21
By: Dawn Turner
-
The Newcomers
- Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom
- By: Helen Thorpe
- Narrated by: Kate Handford
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Offering a nuanced and transformative take on immigration, multiculturalism, and America's role on the global stage, The Newcomers follows and reflects on the lives of 22 immigrant teenagers throughout the course of their 2015-2016 school year at Denver's South High School. Unfamiliar with American culture or the English language, the students range from the ages of 14 to 19 and come from nations struggling with drought, famine, or war.
-
-
Surprisingly great read.
- By Ellen V. Moore on 05-23-18
By: Helen Thorpe
-
Living Beyond Borders
- Growing Up Mexican in America
- By: Margarita Longoria
- Narrated by: Alejandro Ruiz, Kyla Garcia, Margarita Longoria
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, and poetry, this celebrated group of authors share the borders they have crossed, the struggles they have pushed through, and the two cultures they continue to navigate as Mexican Americans. Living Beyond Borders is at once an eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and hopeful love letter from the Mexican American community to today's young listeners.
-
-
Will buy the hard copy to keep forever
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-23
-
Big Chicas Don't Cry
- By: Annette Chavez Macias
- Narrated by: Vanessa Vasquez, Alessandra Manon, Aida Reluzco, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cousins Mari, Erica, Selena, and Gracie are inseparable. They aren’t just family but best friends—sharing secrets, traditions, and a fierce love for their abuelita. But their idyllic childhood ends when Mari’s parents divorce, forcing her to move away. With Mari gone, the girls’ tight-knit bond unravels.
-
-
Painfully boring..
- By Monica Serrano on 09-24-22
-
The Wind Knows My Name
- A Novel
- By: Isabel Allende, Frances Riddle - translator
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Maria Liatis
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht—the night his family loses everything. As her child’s safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel’s mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.
-
-
Reminiscences of House of the Spirits; too short, underdeveloped
- By J. Mirabal on 06-08-23
By: Isabel Allende, and others
-
Solito
- A Memoir
- By: Javier Zamora
- Narrated by: Javier Zamora
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Javier Zamora’s adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.
-
-
MASTERPIECE of Poetic Prose, Outstanding Narration
- By Mary Burnight on 01-12-23
By: Javier Zamora
-
Under the Skin
- The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation
- By: Linda Villarosa
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From an award-winning writer at the New York Times Magazine and a contributor to the 1619 Project comes a landmark book that tells the full story of racial health disparities in America, revealing the toll racism takes on individuals and the health of our nation.
-
-
Personal growth
- By Matthew on 01-07-25
By: Linda Villarosa
-
84, Charing Cross Road
- By: Helene Hanff
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat, John Franklyn-Robbins
- Length: 1 hr and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Helene Hanff makes an innocent inquiry about the possibility of purchasing hard-to-find books through Marks and Co., Booksellers, she begins a 20-year love affair with Frank Doel, the proper English bookseller who answers her letter and sends along her first order in the fall of 1949. They are two very unlikely correspondents.
-
-
Sweet
- By Jody S on 12-02-17
By: Helene Hanff
-
Becoming
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms.
-
-
Didn't know what I was getting into
- By Kenneth Woodward on 12-05-18
By: Michelle Obama
-
The Echo of Old Books
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Davis
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Steve West, Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.
-
-
Couldn’t finish it
- By Lady Chaps on 03-31-23
By: Barbara Davis
-
My Beloved World
- By: Sonia Sotomayor
- Narrated by: Rita Moreno
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.
-
-
Overcoming proverty via education
- By Jean on 01-17-13
By: Sonia Sotomayor
-
My Life on the Road
- By: Gloria Steinem
- Narrated by: Debra Winger, Gloria Steinem
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gloria Steinem - writer, activist, organizer, and one of the most inspiring leaders in the world - now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of how her early years led her to live an on-the-road kind of life, traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change. She reveals the story of her own growth in tandem with the growth of an ongoing movement for equality. This is the story at the heart of My Life on the Road.
-
-
Completely Changed Me
- By Angel Adams on 11-05-15
By: Gloria Steinem
-
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace
- A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
- By: Jeff Hobbs
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with the man who would be his college roommate for four years, Robert Peace. Robert's life was rough from the beginning in the crime-ridden streets of Newark in the 1980s, with his father in jail and his mother earning less than $15,000 a year. But Robert was a brilliant student, and it was supposed to get easier when he was accepted to Yale, where he studied molecular biochemistry and biophysics.
-
-
I've Heard This Before
- By Jami on 07-27-16
By: Jeff Hobbs
-
Surviving Deep Waters
- A Legendary Reporter's Story of Overcoming Poverty, Race, Violence, and His Mother's Deepest Secret
- By: Bruce Johnson
- Narrated by: Bruce Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There was no reason to bet on Bruce Johnson, given where he started out. Poor, Black, and raised by a single mother who had a secret. He was the child she hid in plain view from the rest of her family. As an adult, he set out to just make a living - to do better than Black folks who tried their best before, while making his Momma and Grandmomma proud. His journey to becoming a successful TV journalist nearly killed him, but he refused to treat himself as a victim. His role was to use his voice and example to pull others out of deep waters.
-
-
The exclusive to beat all exclusives!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-20-22
By: Bruce Johnson
-
The 57 Bus
- A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
- By: Dashka Slater
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But, one afternoon, on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned.
-
-
An Unusual True-Crime Event...Beautifully Written.
- By Mary Burnight on 02-21-18
By: Dashka Slater
-
Illegally Yours
- A Memoir
- By: Rafael Agustin
- Narrated by: Rafael Agustin
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Illegally Yours is a heartwarming, comical look at how this struggling Ecuadorian immigrant family bonded together to navigate Rafa's school life, his parents' work lives, and their shared secret life as undocumented Americans, determined to make the best of their always turbulent and sometimes dangerous American existence. An alternatingly hilarious and touching exploration of belonging and identity, Illegally Yours revolves around one very simple question: What does it mean to be American?
-
-
The sky is the limit
- By Lucia Merino on 01-01-23
By: Rafael Agustin
-
Growing Up Biden
- A Memoir
- By: Valerie Biden Owens
- Narrated by: Valerie Biden Owens
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A memoir from Joe Biden’s younger sister, trusted confidante, and lifelong campaign manager, Growing Up Biden details Valerie’s decades-long professional career in politics, and the central role she played in her brother’s life as an insightful adviser, an ever-loyal advocate, and a best friend. This memoir, full of candor and warmth, brings listeners into the Biden home and shares stories from growing up in Delaware as the only daughter of the close-knit Irish Catholic family.
-
-
Family values and empathy
- By sonia hampton on 06-07-22
-
His Name Is George Floyd (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
- One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
- By: Robert Samuels, Toluse Olorunnipa
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, Robert Samuels, Toluse Olorunnipa
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The events of that day are now tragically familiar: on May 25, 2020, George Floyd became the latest Black person to die at the hands of the police, murdered outside of a Minneapolis convenience store by White officer Derek Chauvin. The video recording of his death set off the largest protest movement in the history of the United States, awakening millions to the pervasiveness of racial injustice.
-
-
So Much More than “ I Can’t Breathe”
- By B Farnum on 09-13-22
By: Robert Samuels, and others
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Just Like Us
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Janelle
- 03-01-17
It is ok
jumped around a bit because I lost interest at times. but a very good and relevant story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Jonathan Forrest
- 02-12-19
A timely exploration of the immigration debate
Thorpe embedded with these four girls and captured the messy, often hilarious and sometimes tragic lives of people affected by the confusing and contradictory laws, policies, practices and emotions around the questions of who "deserves" to be an American.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Daryl
- 10-28-14
Timely, poignant biography
Would you consider the audio edition of Just Like Us to be better than the print version?
Probably. I don't know what audiobook another reviewer read, but I thoroughly loved this narration. Paula Christensen did a fantastic job with her characters, and thoroughly owned this personal book. Her pronunciation was wonderful, and the only weak spot was her dialogue portions, which were difficult to differentiate between the characters at points.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I would have to say Clara or Yadira - good girls, bookish, who (in Yadira's case) keep themselves squirreled away and not letting others get too close. I found them complex and likable.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There were many that moved me. I found myself asking many questions during the course of this book, not many of which have answers that will assist the girls in this book, and those like them - children who, through no fault of their own, are in the USA or Canada illegally - or the countries that struggle to find a place for them.
Any additional comments?
Fantastic and timely book. It was timely in 2009 when it was first published, and it is timely now, when we have people coming from war or poverty from Mexico, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, and many other countries.
Terrific!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- EmmaZ
- 01-14-20
Important topic, drawn out execution
This topic is, of course, now at least as important as then, but I feel a more streamlined presentation could help to bring it to a broader readership.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Olimpia A.
- 03-21-19
.
A small glimpse into the world of geowing up with two identities at odds with eachother. Greatly enjoyed reading about a life not to far off from my own .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Javier E. King
- 09-18-19
Powerful
This story is one all should read. . This is an eye-opening account of four girls as they journey through high school and college. While also struggling with growing up in America as Mexicans and citizizenship differences.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- PurpleSage
- 03-22-14
I wanted to listen but...
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
If I could bear the narrator I could have heard the story.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Just Like Us?
The realization that I couldn't listen to it one more moment.
How could the performance have been better?
A different narrator.
What character would you cut from Just Like Us?
The author.
Any additional comments?
Unfortunately, since Amazon took over Audible, the reviews don't reflect the audio experience, the reviews are mostly about "reading" experiences. This was a book group choice. I wanted to listen it, very much, but the narrator was so awful that I couldn't.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful