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.)