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toofondofbooks_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"Trouble Girls" is a sapphic YA novel about two best friends who are about to go on a road trip, but after a night of unthinkable violence, they end up on the run from the law.
This book was an extremely quick read with engaging characters and an action packed story. I thought that the chemistry between the two main characters was electrifying and their devotion to each other unlike anything I've seen in YA recently. Even when things were at their worst, I never questioned their love for each other, it's the kind of love that was not only romantic, but familial. You can tell that they aren't going to let each other go without a fight. The way that things unfolded, especially their relationship, was realistic in most aspects, but there were some things that I thought were weird about the journey. However, I can't really explain that without giving away spoilers and I try to keep these spoiler free.
I really thought it was cool and kind of claustrophobic how it felt like I was with these girls the whole time. When they expressed being too hot, or hungry, or thirsty, or dead tired, it felt like I could feel it, too, which is something I don't always experience. I liked how the ending left things open for interpretation, which is also really all I can say about that.
Something that really stressed me out was the lack of chapters. There aren't any chapters, it's just continuous, separated by page breaks. It was still a good and easy read, but I really, really would have preferred chapters. It made my head hurt.
Extra points for the beautiful cover.
This book was an extremely quick read with engaging characters and an action packed story. I thought that the chemistry between the two main characters was electrifying and their devotion to each other unlike anything I've seen in YA recently. Even when things were at their worst, I never questioned their love for each other, it's the kind of love that was not only romantic, but familial. You can tell that they aren't going to let each other go without a fight. The way that things unfolded, especially their relationship, was realistic in most aspects, but there were some things that I thought were weird about the journey. However, I can't really explain that without giving away spoilers and I try to keep these spoiler free.
I really thought it was cool and kind of claustrophobic how it felt like I was with these girls the whole time. When they expressed being too hot, or hungry, or thirsty, or dead tired, it felt like I could feel it, too, which is something I don't always experience. I liked how the ending left things open for interpretation, which is also really all I can say about that.
Something that really stressed me out was the lack of chapters. There aren't any chapters, it's just continuous, separated by page breaks. It was still a good and easy read, but I really, really would have preferred chapters. It made my head hurt.
Extra points for the beautiful cover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Gore, Racism, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Alcohol, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Body horror, Murder, Dementia, Lesbophobia, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse
Minor: Cancer
patioclus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Thank you so much to netgalley and Wednesday books for providing me with an ARC. This has not affected my review in any way.
I'm really sad I didn't enjoy this more. I would like to preface this by saying that I've never seen Thelma and Louise, but going off of the IMDB summary I would say this book certainly delivered as a Thelma and Louise retelling. I also want to say that as a 22 year old, I'm not the target audience for the book.
I didn't appreciate that there were no chapters in the book, however I'm not sure if that was the ARC formatting or if the final copy will be like that as well, so I have ignored this complaint in my review. My biggest issue with this book was that I did not vibe with the writing. It felt incredibly repetitive and I think the story easily could have been 100 pages shorter. I also didn't connect with either of the characters, but particularly Lux. She didn't really seem to have a personality besides being the object of Trix's affection. I would have loved to get more background on their friendship and on Lux's character in general so that I could be more invested in their relationship. Being bisexual, I have no complaints with the queer representation in general, I only wish I had felt more invested in Lux and Trix's relationship, as that was the big selling point of the book for me.
I also felt like the overall message of the book was a little disjointed. It was very clearly inspired by the MeToo movement, but Lux and Trix's motivations are kind of all over the place. I would have preferred to either expand on the Trouble Girls persona they developed and make it a major storyline or cut it out completely and just focus on the two of them on the run. In addition, while I understand what the author was going for, I don't need the main character to call men "hogs" every paragraph to understand the message about rape culture this book was going for. It ultimately felt repetitive and cheesy to me.
Overall, I loved the concept, I was ultimately just underwhelmed.
I'm really sad I didn't enjoy this more. I would like to preface this by saying that I've never seen Thelma and Louise, but going off of the IMDB summary I would say this book certainly delivered as a Thelma and Louise retelling. I also want to say that as a 22 year old, I'm not the target audience for the book.
I didn't appreciate that there were no chapters in the book, however I'm not sure if that was the ARC formatting or if the final copy will be like that as well, so I have ignored this complaint in my review. My biggest issue with this book was that I did not vibe with the writing. It felt incredibly repetitive and I think the story easily could have been 100 pages shorter. I also didn't connect with either of the characters, but particularly Lux. She didn't really seem to have a personality besides being the object of Trix's affection. I would have loved to get more background on their friendship and on Lux's character in general so that I could be more invested in their relationship. Being bisexual, I have no complaints with the queer representation in general, I only wish I had felt more invested in Lux and Trix's relationship, as that was the big selling point of the book for me.
I also felt like the overall message of the book was a little disjointed. It was very clearly inspired by the MeToo movement, but Lux and Trix's motivations are kind of all over the place. I would have preferred to either expand on the Trouble Girls persona they developed and make it a major storyline or cut it out completely and just focus on the two of them on the run. In addition, while I understand what the author was going for, I don't need the main character to call men "hogs" every paragraph to understand the message about rape culture this book was going for. It ultimately felt repetitive and cheesy to me.
Overall, I loved the concept, I was ultimately just underwhelmed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexism, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Islamophobia
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