Fun fact, her height is one of the reasons she got the role of Ripley. She went to the casting in high heels, towering over Ridley Scott, who cast her on the spot.
I just started reading the book based on the original screenplay for Aliens 3 by William Gibson (father of the cyberpunk genre). It's a shame the movie didn't get made.
EDIT: It's not very long and you can check out the ebook from your local library through Libby. That's what I did. Appreciate your libraries people!