ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Mathieu, Jennifer

Bad Girls Never Say Die

304 pp. | Roaring Brook | October, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-250-23258-8 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-250-23259-5 $10.99
(2) YA This female-focused reimagining of The Outsiders abandons the testosterone-fueled rage and gang mentality of S. E. Hinton's classic coming-of-age novel and instead examines societal constraints on and violence toward young women, while exploring the bonds and power of girls' friendships. Mathieu (Afterward, rev. 11/16; Moxie, rev. 11/17) sets her story in 1964 Houston, where Evie, an economically disadvantaged fifteen-year-old, wears the label of "bad girl" as a badge of honor. When Evie is sexually assaulted by Preston, a drunken boy from affluent River Oaks, it is Diane, a "tea-sipper" extraordinaire who left River Oaks in disgrace, who comes to the rescue, inadvertently killing Preston while trying to protect Evie. Evie's "tuff" friends step up to shield Diane from "the fuzz"--until the brother of one of those friends, who has a romantic history with Diane, is arrested for the murder. Engaging dialogue and melodramatic plot twists keep pages turning as the girls' unlikely bond is solidified and the star-crossed lovers' sad story unfolds. This book holds its own as a standalone novel and offers lots of opportunities for discussion as a companion read to Hinton's.
Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?