Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Compelling tale of teen rebellion, tragedy in Saudi Arabia.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
A GIRL LIKE THAT begins at the end of the story, with the death of 16-year-old Zarin and her 18-year-old friend Porus on the Al-Harameen Expressway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. No one, it seems, is surprised that Zarin -- known as a reckless and rebellious girl -- had her life end in a tragic car accident. It almost seemed fated. She was born illegitimately in Mumbai, India, the daughter of a bar girl and a hit man for the local mob. After her mother's death, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle, who move the family to Saudi Arabia. By 16, Zarin is skipping school and breaking the rules against smoking cigarettes and riding in cars with boys. Not caring about the rules in Saudi Arabia can be a dangerous thing, as the religious police are always on the lookout for teens behaving or dressing in ways not thought appropriate. Zarin dates a boy whose disapproving sister bullies her and gossips about her on social media, and she develops a crush on a popular boy who turns out to be a sexual predator. Only when Porus, a boy she knew from her childhood in Mumbai, reappears in her life do things seem to turn around for Zarin ... if only for a brief time.
Is It Any Good?
This compelling and thought-provoking coming-of-age novel tackles serious issues of religious intolerance, women's rights, and class and racial prejudice. Even though A Girl Like That is set in a country whose rules and traditions will be light-years away from the lives of most teens, the characters still have struggles and challenges they can relate to: mean girls at school, gossip, jealousy, dating, and sex.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the strict cultural and religious rules that characters in A Girl Like That are expected to follow. Would you rebel like Zarin or would you follow the rules?
Are there ways in which girls in your school or community are treated as second-class citizens? What's acceptable behavior for boys but not for girls?
What do you have in common with the characters in A Girl Like That? What experiences do teens share no matter where they live?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Book Characters , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , School ( High School )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication date : February 27, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 384
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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