Just Like Us. Scribner, September 2009.

“Over the course of several years, Thorpe shadowed a group of four friends from immigrant families in Denver…. Thorpe is meticulously observant.” (The New Yorker)

“When she embarked on her galvanizing book, Helen Thorpe had a policy wonk’s interest in immigration, leavened with her own ‘odd sense of dual identity’ as someone who herself arrived in the United States as a child. As her eyes are slowly opened to the catch-22 aspects of American immigration law, ours are, too…. Thorpe intelligently drills away at the harsh reality—what should we do, deport half a family? Thorpe puts a human face on a frequently obtuse conversation, and takes us far beyond the political rhetoric.” (O Magazine)

Soldier Girls. Scribner, August 2014.

“What Thorpe accomplishes in Soldier Girls is something far greater than describing the experience of women in the military. The book is a solid chunk of American history — detailing the culture’s failing, resilience and progress… Thorpe triumphs.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“‘Soldier Girls’ is a breakthrough work that spans 12 years of these women’s lives…. Thorpe achieves a staggering intimacy with her subjects.” (The New York Times)

“In the tradition of Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Richard Rhodes, and other masters of literary journalism, ‘Soldier Girls’ is utterly absorbing, gorgeously written, and unforgettable.” (The Boston Globe)

The Newcomers. Scribner, November 2017.

“A delicate and heartbreaking mystery story…. Thorpe’s book is a reminder that in an era of nativism, some Americans are still breaking down walls and nurturing newcomers, the seeds of the great American experiment.” (The New York Times)

“Extraordinary…. The Newcomers puts a human face on the refugee question. The book is a journalistic triumph. Thorpe pens a masterful book that lets readers see the humanity instead of the facts and figures of the immigration debate.” (Denver Post)

“This book is not only an intimate look at lives immigrant teens live, but it is a primer on the art and science of new-language acquisition and portrait of ongoing and emerging global horrors and the fallout that arrives on our shores.” (USA Today)