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hitechredneck's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
hayleybeale's review
3.0
It’s an intriguing idea to remix S. E. Hinton’s iconic The Outsiders with young women instead of young men. But for me, this didn’t quite hit the spot as I found it overly stylized and a bit of a trudge.
Evie, Connie, Juanita, and Sunny are “tough girls”, which, in 1964 Houston, means that they wear heavy eye makeup, smoke, and skip school. They have contempt for the “tea-sippers” from the other side of the tracks.
15 year-old Evie is the youngest of the group and the most innocent. She is almost raped by one of uppercrust boys, but is rescued by Diane who stabs him and accidentally kills him. Though Diane presents as a tea-sipper, she is living with her aunt in a small dingy house on the wrong side of town and goes to the same school as Evie. United by their shared trauma, Evie and Diane become friends, though the shadow of what happened looms over them both.
I read The Outsiders a long time ago and had very little recollection of it (probably not helped by getting it confused with Francis Ford Coppola’s film version), so I did a quick read of the Wikipedia page to see how the two books compare. While the set up for both books is similar, Bad Girls diverges on a major plot point, introducing a star-crossed Romeo and Juliet relationship.
The author intelligently highlights issues that were relevant to girls at the time (and still resonate today). The novel is very strong in its advocacy for the power of female friendship in an era when girls and women were more defined in relation to the men in their lives. Evie’s mother’s ambition for her daughters is for them to be married and settled with nice, steady men. But Evie doesn’t want this and it takes much of the book for her to be able to articulate the desire she has to just be able to choose for herself and make her own decisions.
I found much of the novel to be rather slow-paced and somewhat repetitive. Though written in a style that feels somewhat appropriate to the 1960’s and to pulp novels, the novel also has a modern sensibility that doesn't always sit comfortably. I thought the feminist ideas were a little shoehorned in (Evie’s sister is reading Betty Friedan) and Evie’s ideas about desegregation and civil rights, while admirable, felt rather too contemporary and adult, and seemed out of character (though I suspect this would be unnoticed by today’s teens). Conversely, thoughts about sex and sexuality are noticeably absent.
So, overall this was an okay read for me, but I have already purchased it for my library as I know many of my students really loved Ponyboy, Johnny, and the other greasers, and will be excited to read this new iteration.
Thanks to Roaring Brook and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
Evie, Connie, Juanita, and Sunny are “tough girls”, which, in 1964 Houston, means that they wear heavy eye makeup, smoke, and skip school. They have contempt for the “tea-sippers” from the other side of the tracks.
15 year-old Evie is the youngest of the group and the most innocent. She is almost raped by one of uppercrust boys, but is rescued by Diane who stabs him and accidentally kills him. Though Diane presents as a tea-sipper, she is living with her aunt in a small dingy house on the wrong side of town and goes to the same school as Evie. United by their shared trauma, Evie and Diane become friends, though the shadow of what happened looms over them both.
I read The Outsiders a long time ago and had very little recollection of it (probably not helped by getting it confused with Francis Ford Coppola’s film version), so I did a quick read of the Wikipedia page to see how the two books compare. While the set up for both books is similar, Bad Girls diverges on a major plot point, introducing a star-crossed Romeo and Juliet relationship.
The author intelligently highlights issues that were relevant to girls at the time (and still resonate today). The novel is very strong in its advocacy for the power of female friendship in an era when girls and women were more defined in relation to the men in their lives. Evie’s mother’s ambition for her daughters is for them to be married and settled with nice, steady men. But Evie doesn’t want this and it takes much of the book for her to be able to articulate the desire she has to just be able to choose for herself and make her own decisions.
I found much of the novel to be rather slow-paced and somewhat repetitive. Though written in a style that feels somewhat appropriate to the 1960’s and to pulp novels, the novel also has a modern sensibility that doesn't always sit comfortably. I thought the feminist ideas were a little shoehorned in (Evie’s sister is reading Betty Friedan) and Evie’s ideas about desegregation and civil rights, while admirable, felt rather too contemporary and adult, and seemed out of character (though I suspect this would be unnoticed by today’s teens). Conversely, thoughts about sex and sexuality are noticeably absent.
So, overall this was an okay read for me, but I have already purchased it for my library as I know many of my students really loved Ponyboy, Johnny, and the other greasers, and will be excited to read this new iteration.
Thanks to Roaring Brook and Netgalley for the digital review copy.
martinhope19's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook. I’m not sure how I feel yet about novels inspired by other major works (like this one clearly mirrors the outsiders), but I do love the idea of the gender swap and think it was executed so well! Highly recommend to any outsider fan!
jazminrose's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book a lot, but it was missing that ‘spark’ that makes The Outsiders so special. The middle dragged on a little too much, particularly for a book this predictable. (Would it have seemed as predictable had I not read it through the lens of Ponyboy et al?)
The subject matter lends itself to YA, but the writing style felt closer to middle grade. I’m not sure what age group I’d recommend this to, but I’d recommend it to teens of some age.
Overall, this was a satisfying read.
The subject matter lends itself to YA, but the writing style felt closer to middle grade. I’m not sure what age group I’d recommend this to, but I’d recommend it to teens of some age.
Overall, this was a satisfying read.
brennahrose's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
perfectlystill's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
There were multiple times here where I marveled at the mediocrity of the writing and corrected it in my head -- there is no reason to use the same word twice in subsequent sentences when it's not a purposeful, aesthetic choice! But then the end of the book did make me cry, so!
katiepie111's review against another edition
5.0
I finished this book about a week ago and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, so so good!
labarrec's review
4.0
Okay my biggest complaint is with the title, because it makes it sounds like the Goonies when it’s an Outsiders retelling. But this is how a retelling should be, the original story is there, but uniquely it’s own. Don’t like another Johnny though.
jennifergallo's review against another edition
3.0
Follows a group of "bad girls" around Houston, Texas during the 60s. The "bad girls" stick together and look out for each other. A "good girl" from the other side of the tracks is causing trouble and loyalties will be called into question. Mystery, suspense, & intrigue. Pegged as the feminist/female version of The Outsiders. Unpopular Opinion: I thought The Outsiders was just 'OK.' This is the first title I've read by the author but I'm planning on checking out her book - Moxie - because it is being developed into a movie by Amy Poehler for Netflix
Check out Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu wherever you buy books!
✦ Goodreads ➜ https://bit.ly/3GT6YjW
✦ Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/3k5WjJ2
✦ Apple ➜ https://apple.co/3EOxkC3
✦ Google ➜ https://bit.ly/2ZX3mgg
✦ Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/3ENTmF4
✦ Nook ➜ https://bit.ly/3k6Bkpj
TAGS: fiction, historical fiction, young adult, ya, coming of age, romance, suspense, mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, feminism
*Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan's Roaring Brook Press & Jennifer Mathieu for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review #BadGirlsNeverSayDie #NetGalley @NetGalley #RoaringBookPress #MacKidsBooks @mackidsbooks #AuthorJenMathieu #JenniferMathieu #JenMathieu @jenmathieu @authorjenmathieu
Check out Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu wherever you buy books!
✦ Goodreads ➜ https://bit.ly/3GT6YjW
✦ Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/3k5WjJ2
✦ Apple ➜ https://apple.co/3EOxkC3
✦ Google ➜ https://bit.ly/2ZX3mgg
✦ Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/3ENTmF4
✦ Nook ➜ https://bit.ly/3k6Bkpj
TAGS: fiction, historical fiction, young adult, ya, coming of age, romance, suspense, mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, feminism
*Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan's Roaring Brook Press & Jennifer Mathieu for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review #BadGirlsNeverSayDie #NetGalley @NetGalley #RoaringBookPress #MacKidsBooks @mackidsbooks #AuthorJenMathieu #JenniferMathieu #JenMathieu @jenmathieu @authorjenmathieu
gabigaleee15's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75