Bad girls never say die

Title:

Author:

Summary:

1964. Houston, Texas. Evie Barnes is a bad girl. So are all her friends. They’re the sort who wear bold makeup, laugh too loud, and run around with boys. Most of all, they protect their own against the world. So when Evie is saved from a sinister encounter by a good girl from the "right" side of the tracks, every rule she's always lived by is called into question. Now she must redefine what it means to be a bad girl and rethink everything she knew about loyalty. In this riveting story of murder, secrets, and tragedy, Jennifer Mathieu puts a female twist on S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders. Bad Girls Never Say Die has all the drama and heartache of that teen classic, but with a feminist take just right for our times. -- Amazon.com.

Audience:

Ages 12-17. Roaring Brook Press.

Grades 10-12. Roaring Brook Press.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

295 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Subject Term:

Loyalty -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Houston (Tex.) -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Roaring Brook Press,

Publication Date:

2021

ISBN:

9781250232588

Publication Information:

New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2021.

Call Number:

YA MATHIEU

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003554501	Young Adult	MATHIEU	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

From the acclaimed author of Moxie comes a gripping gender-flipped reimagining of The Outsiders that explores the deep bonds of female friendship and what it takes to be a "bad girl."

1964. Houston, Texas.

Evie Barnes is a bad girl. So are all her friends. They're the sort who wear bold makeup, laugh too loud, and run around with boys. Most of all, they protect their own against the world. So when Evie is saved from a sinister encounter by a good girl from the "right" side of the tracks, every rule she's always lived by is called into question. Now she must redefine what it means to be a bad girl and rethink everything she knew about loyalty.

In this riveting story of murder, secrets, and tragedy, Jennifer Mathieu puts a female twist on S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders . Bad Girls Never Say Die has all the drama and heartache of that teen classic, but with a feminist take just right for our times.

Author Notes

Jennifer Mathieu is the author of Devoted , Afterward , The Liars of Mariposa Island , and The Truth About Alice , the winner of the Children's Choice Teen Debut Author Award. Her 2017 novel Moxie was developed into a film by Amy Poehler for Netflix. Jennifer teaches high school English in Texas, where she lives in the Houston area with her husband and son.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up--Evie and her friends are "bad girls"--they wear heavy makeup, skip class to smoke, and spend their weekends drinking and partying at the local drive-in movie theatre. After Evie is brutally attacked there one Saturday night, she awakens to discover that her attacker has been killed by the unlikeliest of people--Diane, a wealthy girl who is new in Evie's class. Now, Evie and her friends must deal with the fallout from this horrible night while trying to protect Diane, who is harboring even more secrets. A feminist take on The Outsiders, this fast-paced story shines because of its strong characters and emotional punch. Set against the harshly elitist backdrop of 1964 Houston, TX, the novel explores themes of friendships, found family, and tearing down stereotypes. These threads remain deeply poignant and will resonate with teens from all kinds of backgrounds. Trigger warnings for sexual assault, alongside heavy drinking and smoking, make this book less suitable for younger teens, but high school librarians and teachers will find this to be a good addition to their collections because it will spark discussions on tough topics like gender equality, economic disparity, and social stigma. VERDICT Highly recommended for the classroom or to give to budding social activists.--Chelsey Masterson, New York P.L., Bronx, New York

Publisher's Weekly Review

It's Houston, 1964, and the city is segregated by class and race: the white and Mexican American students at Eastside High are poor; the white teenagers at River Oaks High, called "tea sippers" by the Eastsiders, are wealthy and socially elite. When their paths cross, such as at the local Winkler Drive-In, insults and punches fly. But when narrator Evie Barnes, 15, a white sophomore in a close-knit group of white and Mexican junior "bad girls," sees a tea sipper named Diane being taunted, she impulsively helps her, a favor Diane more than returns when she kills a white River Oaks boy who assaults Evie. As the cops close in, Evie's crowd tries to protect Diane. If this world sounds familiar, it is: Mathieu offers an effective update of S.E. Hinton's beloved The Outsiders with female protagonists. Diane has been exiled to Eastside because she fell for the wrong guy; Evie is drawn to the "tuff" girls because she wants more agency than the narrow, husband-dependent world her mother imagines for her. And in Evie--loyal, searching, smarter than she realizes--Mathieu (The Liars of Mariposa Island) has created an earnest, memorable character. Front matter includes an author's note. Ages 12--up. (Oct.)