Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An Outsiders retelling written by the author of Moxie? Yes please. Picking this up, I thought it would be a vague retell influence, just set in the same class battle. But no it was especially a carbon copy, just gender-flipped and dealing with other issues from the 60’s like sexism and racism. Did I spend the entire book guessing who the Johnny and the Daley were so I could prepare myself? Yes, yes I did. But dang, this was a great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Police brutality
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder
I truly feel like this novel glittered. Set in 1964 Houston, it follows Evie Barnes- a bad girl' from the 'bad side' of town. When she is saved from an assault by
someone known only to her as a rich 'teasipper', her worldview and idea of friendship comes into question.
Not only is Evie incredibly likeable, but so is the entire
surrounding cast. Every character in this book has depths
to them, and the world was created firmly and well. I really
loved how though it wasn't set in modern day, it was still
very accessible to a modern reader. I very quickly became
emotionally invested in Evie, Diane, Connie, Sunny and
Juanita. They felt real. And when I finished the book I felt
a great sorrow at having to leave them behind in their
world, unable to keep them in mine. The character arc was
brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed the plot. If you're a fan
of YA mystery or thriller but want something a little
lighter, this book is perfect for you.
someone known only to her as a rich 'teasipper', her worldview and idea of friendship comes into question.
Not only is Evie incredibly likeable, but so is the entire
surrounding cast. Every character in this book has depths
to them, and the world was created firmly and well. I really
loved how though it wasn't set in modern day, it was still
very accessible to a modern reader. I very quickly became
emotionally invested in Evie, Diane, Connie, Sunny and
Juanita. They felt real. And when I finished the book I felt
a great sorrow at having to leave them behind in their
world, unable to keep them in mine. The character arc was
brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed the plot. If you're a fan
of YA mystery or thriller but want something a little
lighter, this book is perfect for you.
Bad Girls Never Say Die, by Jennifer Mathieu, is a gender-swapped reimagining of The Outsiders, but it doesn't actually rely on readers knowing the inspiration very well.
The story is set in the 60s in Texas, but a lot of the book is about what it means to be considered a bad girl, which is part of every generation. This is part of what made The Truth About Alice so compelling. Being a "bad girl" here can mean anything from drinking to shoplifting to dating the wrong boy to wearing too much eyeliner.
Evie knows that as a bad girl, from a single-parent home, in the poor section of town, she is automatically in the wrong in all situations. Whenever the rich kids come over and start fights, it's the local kids who get in trouble. Plus, aren't girls always in the wrong when it comes to leading a boy on, being a tease, being a slut, or basically anything about sexuality?
Full review (Contains a small spoiler if you've never heard of The Outsiders)
The story is set in the 60s in Texas, but a lot of the book is about what it means to be considered a bad girl, which is part of every generation. This is part of what made The Truth About Alice so compelling. Being a "bad girl" here can mean anything from drinking to shoplifting to dating the wrong boy to wearing too much eyeliner.
Evie knows that as a bad girl, from a single-parent home, in the poor section of town, she is automatically in the wrong in all situations. Whenever the rich kids come over and start fights, it's the local kids who get in trouble. Plus, aren't girls always in the wrong when it comes to leading a boy on, being a tease, being a slut, or basically anything about sexuality?
Full review (Contains a small spoiler if you've never heard of The Outsiders)
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really wanted to enjoy this book. I was hoping for that same fervor Mathieu presented in Moxie. The inspired YA story about modern day feminism was exciting! Nothing like that materialized in Bad Girls Never Say Die. A few different things kept this book from reaching its potential, and I ultimately did not enjoy it very much.
It’s undeniable that Mathieu is passionate about women’s rights and creating an inclusive world. Everything I have read of hers points out the inequities in society and makes sure to look at them through various lenses to keep it intersectional. Despite her obvious research, Bad Girls Never Say Die failed to balance the story of five different young women in various situations trying to break the mold expected of them in the 1960s. If that wasn’t a big enough challenge, this is also a historical fiction retelling of Romeo and Juliet and a murder story. There is so much going on that Mathieu does not give adequate space to any particular plot line and in all her bouncing fails to create compelling characters.
Without a doubt, Diane was the most exasperating character in this book. Her behavior that sets the story running is completely inconsistent with everything else we know about her. Even as the novel progresses and we learn more of her story, the initial event doesn’t fit, like a piece that has been pulled from a different puzzle. Nearly all of Diane’s dialogue was vapid and overly-romantic; I wanted to scream. I’m not sure if she was written this way on purpose, or if her Pleasantville-style behavior came about accidentally. Either way, it’s extremely difficult to enjoy a book when everything about one of the principal characters is irksome.
I should note, Diane is not the main character of Bad Girls Never Say Die. The main character is Evie, but Diane as a person and as a plot-driver takes so much space that Evie is more of a vehicle to telling Diane’s story then she is an independent entity. In fact, so much of the story is told in dialogue between Diane and Evie that it feels like our main character exists solely to be the recipient of this backstory. Don’t get me wrong, Evie has her own stuff going on, but at every turn it took a backseat to whatever Diane was dealing with.
Honestly? It was a bit infuriating.
Mathieu is running with too many characters, too many plot lines, and not enough substance. This is one of the shorter YA books I’ve read in a while, and if she wanted to flush out the story a bit more, Mathieu had plenty of space to do it. There is no inspirational content here. At most, there are a few lines of throwaway dialogue complaining about women’s roles in this era. It’s impossible to have an emotional connection with the characters, because they’re so shallow and under developed. I don’t think this is indicative of the authors normal work, but it makes me hesitate before picking up another one of her books because not only do it I think that Bad Girls Never Say Die is an an unimpressive book, but I very nearly came to hate it.
Give me a story with lots of passion that powers forward into its plot like an unstoppable train, and I’m all here for it. Give me a story that meanders around a lot of different ideas without quite addressing them and drops in a pair of ridiculous lovebirds with the cheesiest dialogue, and I am out. At the end of the day, I was grateful for how short this book was, because I finished it all that more quickly.
I might try one more book by Mathieu but my experience with Moxie and Bad Girls Never Say Die was such polar opposites that I am unsure whether or not her writing is for me. That said, if you’re thinking about picking up this book, may I suggest Moxie instead? It’s much better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Car accident, Alcohol
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Murder, Classism
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really loved the way this story explored a number of different relationships between women, like friendships, motherhood/sisterhood, and mentorship. The fierce support for each other was portrayed with such comfort and care, which really helped carry the difficult parts of the story. Basically, we love a girl gang.