Review Detail

Cordelia Lu Hankins is unique to the extreme. Shes a 14 year old half-chinese albino and she lives in a lumberjack camp in 1918 with her father. All her life, shes been sheltered because she is so different, and Cordy just wants to be as normal as possible. But with her paler than pale skin, long white hair, and sensitive pink eyes, its so hard for her to fit in.

The lumberjack life is the only life Cordy knows. Ever since her mother drowned when Cordy was seven, she didnt have much in the way of a motherly figure. Then Babe shows up, a giant of a woman to be their cook. Before long, Cordys father marries Babe, thinking it will be good for Cordy to have a step-mother. But Cordy hates Babe and she hates her father. She lives for the day shell finally be free to run away from the secluded lumberjack camp and make her own way in the world.

That day comes sooner than she thinks when she meets Squirl. Hes a charismatic, handsome, half-indian boy and Cordy falls instantly in love with him when she first sees him running across the logs. There was just something about him that drew her to him. When her father forbids her to see him, that only makes him more intriguing. Squirl gives Cordy her first kiss as well as a new hopeful outlook on life. So when their intimacy gets Squirl fired, Cordy immediately runs away from home to find him.

Cordy finds herself in Luna Park in Seattle, and finds refuge at infamous Cousin Sallys. There, she finds Squirl and finds a new life for herself as a performer in Dr. Ridenours Carnical of Mystic Delights. Life in Seattle is so different in every way from life at the logging camp, and Cordy must adjust quickly to life in the city, where she cant trust everyone she meets. Even Squirl is not all that he seems to be. When a big secret about Cordys stepmother, Babe, surfaces, Cordy might have to choose between the love of her life and her family.

Randall Platt really delivers with The Likes of Me. This is the most original piece of historical fiction that Ive read in a long time. The story is almost unbelievable, but never so much as to detract from Cordy and her transition into adulthood. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes historical fiction, or anyone who is just a little bit curious about Cordys story after reading this review.