There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

Grrrls on the Side is a story about finding yourself and discovering your sexuality at a time when it wasn't understood by the world around you. One of the key themes in this novel is finding your place and holding your ground. Grrrls on the Side can really stand up to contemporary works in the LGBT subgenre.

based on the premise of an f/f relationship in the nineties and riot grrrl punk band, i thought i was going to really enjoy this book. but, it only took the very first line for me to realise that our relationship might be less than harmonious:

"Heather's got her stupid flannel shirt tied around her stupid, tiny waist. I don't know if I'm more annoyed she looks cuter like that than I do or if it's because I know she's only wearing it as a fashion statement."

followed a few sentences later by,

"They only care about that stuff so they can meet boys and go shopping."

a less than... promising start to a self-declared feminist novel. however, there were some really good feminist messages in here despite a bit of wobbliness. unfortu

nately, i felt that the message dominated everything else. i'm a feminist, and i'm a very political person, and i like having political messages in books. but the message should not be the driving force of the novel, which seemed like it here. the plot was shaped around the message and seemed almost to take a backseat; there was nothing that really gripped me about the plot, or the characters, who seemed rather flat and just like mouthpieces for various opinions.

there was definitely potential, but i don't think the plot and characters were rounded enough for that potential to be carried out. i don't have any feminist novels i would recommend in its stead, so if you do then drop me a comment because i'd like to read one!

Although the narrative of this novel was a little bit scattered, I found that I really liked it. I liked the characters, I liked the themes, I liked the overall sense of awareness it tried to raise.

Tabitha is a large high school girl who suffers incredibly bad bullying at the hands of her best friend. Thankfully, while the story opens with that fact, it doesn't linger overly on it. Largely, that is the inciting incident that leads to her finding a Riot Grrrl meet up.

I was younger than Tabitha is when this book was set, so I can't speak to the realistic side of the story of teenagers in 1994, but it made me so happy to see this group of girls finding strength in each other, speaking up for each other, but also telling each other off when they were out of line, and even coming to find strength and growth in that as well.

As for the disjointedness in the plot... I found I could forgive a lot of that just because I loved Kate for all of her faults. I loved the counter balance of the character of Jackie. I even loved Cherie, and Marty. And I especially loved Tabitha. Good characters will make up for a lot, in my reading anyway.

Didn't love this but still enjoyed this read. It was really different to some other YA I've read and can imagine it being quite inspiring to many.

This ticked so many boxes for me : a YA novel set in the early 90s about zines and Riot Grrrl, with a queer MC and a diverse cast of background characters? Sign me up!

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion*

Ahh, a book about intersectional feminism in the 90's- what's not to love?

Okay I'll answer that. Mostly I just didn't like the main character- I understand that Tabitha was on a journey of self-discovery and was learning about the world around her, but she made some poor choices, didn't treat other people all that well, and MY GOD said some dumb shit.
Watching this girl having to be taught time and time again how to be woke to the realities of other people's lives was super frustrating. But at the same time, you could see this book as a teaching instrument for white middle class girls like Tabitha who are reading this book and might not have much of an idea on this sort of stuff.

The main thing is that this whole book was super interesting and inclusive and in-depth with its feminism. Sure, some of the characters were problematic with their feminism, but the redemption was in these characters being solidly dismissed by their co-stars and educated about why their views were problematic in the first place.

It was dope having a fat bisexual intersectional feminist as the protagonist because that's basically like reading my resume. More of this please.

I had to dnf this book because I really couldn't get into it. If it's alright with you I would like to not write a review for it. Please let me know if you prefer me to write a dnf review.

Could have been brilliant if the author went for ANY risks instead of playing it safe. For a book about girls, feminism, sexuality, and defying normative values and roles this book read like a hetero-male with homophobia wrote it. The strongest area of this book is the discussion on sexual assault. It was handled in a way many can relate to and puts the spotlight on all types of unwanted contact instead of just "rape."

I tried to get into it but the story and pacing just wasn't for me but I definitely think others could enjoy it.

There was too much of putting people down in this book even with supposedly supporting someone they got put down. It was all about homophobia fat shaming bullying. I felt very conflicted with that book.

It's hard to say how I felt about this one. On the one hand, it dealt with a world unfamiliar to me (it's set in 1994, I wasn't even born), but on the other hand, some parts of it felt so realistic they felt UNrealistic. Does anyone else ever come across that? It's like, you hear those conversations happening so often in your own life, often framed in the exact same words, so when they're written down on paper they feel trite or unrealistic. It's bizarre, because anything I come across that often ought to sound MORE rather than LESS real, but I don't know. There's something about the same social justice arguments as I see happening on my Twitter feed or Tumblr dash suddenly appearing on page that has thrown me off more than once, and this was one of those books.

Honestly, I left it rather too late to review this book after reading it (then again, I finished reading it at 2.30am, so it would've been 'late' either way) because I can't remember a lot of the details of how I felt about it. I enjoyed it enough to keep reading, even late into the night, and I found several of the characters engaging. But I wasn't a big fan of the writing style, especially the dialogue. It didn't flow well or feel like realistic conversations (even if, as mentioned above, some of it could've been taken verbatim from my Twitter feed).

Maybe that's what it was -- the conversations were realistic for a written conversation, but they didn't sound all that much like somebody talking, and thus didn't quite convince me as dialogue. I don't know.

I also liked that the book had excerpts from the various zines that the characters were writing, but occasionally these were difficult to read due to Kindle formatting and caused some disruption in my reading experience. Plus I had quite a bit of secondhand teenage cringe while reading them. I think it reminded me too painfully of the embarrassing stuff I used to write when I was like fourteen, and I didn't even have the excuse that it was the 90s. Heh.

All in all, kind of mixed and nothing really specific because I failed to write a review promptly, but not unenjoyable.

Grrls on the Side was a novel I was very excited to pick up. It sounded like a badass story about 90s feminism and I was looking forward to seeing some f/f romance. Ultimately I felt disappointed by this story and the lack of character development.

I think while the book had very good intentions to fight white feminism, it just didn't really work out. There is a lot of problematic things said in this book and most of the time they do get challenged but it's still not handled well.
There's quite a wide array of diverse characters but not all of them are portrayed well. The main character is a white, fat, bisexual girl. I know many people really loved the fat representation and as far as I can tell, it was very well portrayed. I think the struggles Tabitha has with her body are very realistic, while at the same time she constantly questions herself, realizing this is her body and that she loves it.
Tabitha's main love interest is a lesbian black girl and I thought the portrayal of their relationship was not very well done. It's basically a constant back and forth were Tabitha doesn't understand that the's racist and Jackie doesn't understand she's biphobic. It's important to discuss your differences and Tabitha tries to be very open about questions regarding race but again, I don't think the conversations were handled very well. Tabitha often took her questions too far and she was even aware of that.
I know this is Historial Fiction and a lot of it fits the time period but a line has to be drawn when a book has potential to hurt marginalized people. And I think this book has that for quite a lot of marginalized groups, although I can't speak for many of them.

As far as the general plots goes, I thought it was overall enjoyable but really nothing special. It's a short book with just 230 pages but still felt like it was dragging in parts. Seeing the zines actually printed in the book was fun but that's about it. I really wish this had focused a bit more on positive female friendships in general but it was the opposite. It seemed like a lot of the relationships portrayed in the book, be it romantic or otherwise, were very toxic and I just don't think the book was long enough to challenge all of that.

As a heavy, queer, Midwestern girl who grew up during (but was almost oblivious of) the Riot Grrl/Zine era, I expected to be biased toward this book. Tabitha's suburbanite, introvert troubles seemed a little flat when she found herself with such a surplus of romantic interests and such a forgiving and lenient mother. I appreciated the topical focus on intersectionality, and how feminism has historically been exclusive, yet those felt pointed at the audience of today. The zine bits did add some nostalgia and cool visual appeal. It's a fun, fast read with good points to encourage today's girls who may be feeling left out, knowing that they can find their folk. I'd recommend to outsider readers who may be reluctant or young.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley for review.

I really enjoyed Grrrls on the Side. I was a 90's teen, but didn't get into punk music much until after high school. I would have loved to be part of the scene and I really missed out on a lot. So this book was fun. But it also covered some subjects that are harder for some people to deal with. Sexuality is a big one and I liked how Tabitha talked about how she could be attracted to the person and not their gender. The racism added to the story, too. Overall, it was an enjoyable read that made me think and also made me proud to be a feminist who loves punk.

The first thing I want to tackle is this synopsis. Tabitha is not uninterested in boys. Claiming that she in the synopsis immediately erases Tabitha’s bisexuality- something she defends several times in the book. Also, this book does not explore the racial inequality in the punk scene. It just doesn’t. There is a scene where Jackie is called a racial slur by a white man and all that’s said of it is “That happens all the time.” Does Tabitha ever come to terms with her own privilege? No. Does she ever really stand up to for what’s right? Besides sometimes reminding people that she’s bisexual and writing a zine where owns her fatness, no.

When I requested this book, I thought this was going to be about intersectional feminism in the early punk scene. That’s not what this is, at all. This entire book is about white feminism, three Black girls who get thrust in the middle of it, and someone occasionally saying “Hey… maybe that’s not cool.”

I made a list of things that bothered me in this book and I want to briefly (well, maybe briefly) discuss them.
1.Tabitha is a minor. She is 16 years old and both of the relationships she is in on page are with people 18 and over. Kate is 19/20 and Jackie is 18. While the gap isn’t that large, it was very very troubling to read Jackie trying to entice Tabitha (who is a minor and a child) to run away from home.
2.“Ignore the racism” is an line in the book. Tab’s mom is talking about a movie but this seems to be a prevalent theme in the book.
3.The feminism in the book is ciscentric. It revolves completely around ciswomen.
4.It’s also white feminism. Marty is always downplaying race by saying “No, WE ALL experience these things as women.” While there is overlap in things Women of Color and white women face, WoC face brutalization on a completely different level.
5.Throughout the book, bisexuality is reduced to “being undecided”. While Tabitha does sometimes refute this, more often than not, she just thinks it’s not right but doesn’t speak up. There’s also a part in the book where her girlfriend accuses of her of being an indecisive person and brings up her sexuality. **I will include an actual passage below this list.
6.There is a line from the MC that states you can’t be androgynous if you have big boobs.
7.When Marty calls Jacking “ghetto”, Jackie is not defended. ***I will include passage below
8.It takes a white woman explaining the racial issues WoC face to Tabitha for her to understand that it’s real despite the fact that her Black girlfriend and Black friends have explained this to her numerous times. And then the white woman says “Don’t beat yourself up over it.” There’s another segment where one of the white girls claim that she’s never “seen” racism, so it must not exist.
9.When Tabitha is assaulted at school, her then girlfriend tells her she’s “blowing it out of proportion” because she knows the guy. Even though he assaulted Tabitha, Kate keeps telling her that he’s “harmless”. This is never corrected. Kate does make a pathetic apology through her zine, but it doesn’t actually correct what she said.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. I’ve seen people giving this good reviews… and not surprisingly, they are white cis women. If you read this expecting a book about intersectional feminism, you’re going to be disappointed. Real Riot Grrrls wouldn’t put up with this mess.

1994. Punk is in. Fat isn’t. At least that’s how it seems to Tabitha. Her ex-best friend bullies her, she hasn’t ever found a real group and her only friend is a guy she hangs out with behind 7-11. When Tabitha is given a flyer for a Riot Grrl meet up, she finally finds a group. Then she begins to discover a lot more about herself.

The absolute highlight of this book is the zine pictures. Each zine has a cute style and interesting articles written by the characters. It helps develop the characters views and personalities in a fun way while giving the book a definite style. Zines are very 90s, and it really creates an atmosphere.

The plot itself is a rather standard coming of age affair. Tabitha is working on discovering herself, she has some family issues. She struggles with romance. She struggles with her self-image. It does have a nice punk spin and I really love the vibes that Pack has created. Strong, sexy punk girls galore. There are so few male characters I can count them on one hand including minor players. Sometimes it’s nice to have a no boys allowed book.

Good representation in a book that’s fun to read is something I’ll always support. Of course, a book about Riot Grrrls is going to have some fabulous feminism but it also talks about race and how women of colour experience different struggles. It showcases those struggles. Tabitha is fat. Several characters are stated as bisexual. Just good all around.

There were a few plotlines I was a little disappointed with though. At one point in the book, Heather begins acting a little friendlier towards Tabitha...and we never see her again. If the friendship was not going to be redeemed then that scene was pointless so why include it at all? Marty’s plotline is also never completely tied up. She’s a bitch, and while Tabitha tells her to behave better we never see her mend bonds with her friends.

While it definitely suffers from a few hanging plot threads, Grrrls on the Side is a fun, diverse and spunky read.

Grrrls on the Side is a charming and in-your-face YA novel set in the 90s alternative scene. Tabitha discovers a local Riot Grrrl meeting and goes as an escape from high school and her unkind former friends. What she finds there is more than an alternative movement, people with whom she can think about feminism, consider her own sexuality, and be faced with big issues like racism that she had barely encountered before in her privileged world.

Pack’s novel combines the angry 90s setting that may be unfamiliar to many younger readers with issues that are still very relevant today, like intersectionality and different kinds of acceptance. She makes race a big point in the book, not shying away from the issues of white feminism, though the novel’s treatment is fairly light. Overall, indeed, Pack opts for a positive outlook, making this a novel that highlights issues, but is focused on the self-discovery of a teenage girl who needs to find a place in the world for being different. This makes it a good book for LGBT teenagers who need inspiring and empowering reads that give the message of fighting for what’s right and finding your own happiness, rather than something focused on the bad. It is a novel for those who find 10 Things I Hate About You too straight and white or who are looking for a fun YA read that doesn’t ignore real issues at the same time.

I was a little hesitant going into this book. While I was certain I’d find the sapphic romance and the punk setting enjoyable, I was afraid it would once again be a book whose feminism only concerns and centers on white, thin, middle class women. I couldn’t have fallen further from the truth. Not only was our protagonist fat, not only was the romance interracial, white privilege was called out on multiple occassions, establishing this book as one far better than I expected and one I believe everyone should read.

Our story begins when 16-year-old Tabitha attends a punk concert with her friend, Mike. There, she picks up a zine and ends up going to a Riot Grrrl meet-up. There she meets Jackie, a black lesbian, who changes Tabitha’s world forever. She is not just her first love. She becomes a person that makes her question her life, her privilege, everything she thought she knew about the punk-rock scene. And as their relationship develops, so does the group that’s been formed within the club, and the girls find themselves in situations they never thought of.

Tabitha was a delight to read about. She is shy, she is quiet, with a very strong moral compass, a girl who discovers her identity and learns to stand up for herself. She is also one of the very few protagonists that proudly calls herself bisexual, and I can not stress this enough: honest and authentic representation is so good and so beneficial for everyone involved. This is also an #ownvoices book, since the author is bisexual herself, which is why the rep in this book felt so authentic and was so well-written.

Even though I absolutely loved Tabitha I have to admit that my favourite characters were Jackie and Cherie. Jackie isn’t just a lesbian. She is a butch lesbian!!! In literature!! I was so ecstatic to see this represented in a YA book. The fact that she and Venus kept calling out the other girls on their privilege and challenge their perceptions of black people was something I did not expect to see; alas, I stand corrected. Carrie Pack gave me everything that I could have wished for and then some. In my opinion, if the book had some trans characters as well, it would have been the most inclusive, one of the most diverse books I’ve ever read.

Now, back to Cherie: I loved her. I loved how she was such a great friend, always kind and polite, the voice of reason within the group. She was someone I could see myself being friends with in real life and she really added a lot to the book for me.

The punk-rock setting was epic. I adore punk music and I adore the 90s (musically speaking). And seeing a girl-group rocking the punk scene and using their lyrics and their musical presence to get their points across and try to “educate” people was something I never thought I’d see in a book. As you can probably tell, this book has surprised me many, many times and in many different ways. The biggest surprise, however, was the romance. The bisexual character was not oversexualized!!!! The black woman was neither oversexualized nor desexualized!! These are such rarities in the YA world, I couldn’t believe I got to see both in the same book. Thank you, Carrie Pack!

I think it’s safe to say that it was a great start to my #PrideMonthReadathon and one that set the bar extremely high. I also need to add that the zines the girls make are included in the book and they are so cute, and such a fun addition to an already great book.

**An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review**

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD! Seriously this might be my favorite book I've read so far this year. It's either this or Dreadnought. It's amazing how much social commentary and diversity is in this book. You've got a fat main character who learns to love her body as it is and also one of her girlfriends specifically says that she loves her body and thinks it's attractive and that she's with her BECAUSE she thinks she's hot not like 'despite her being fat' or whatever. The main character is also bisexual so you've got discussion about bi-phobia which is just so great. And there is a lot about sexism + racism and 'white feminism' as well. Tabbi and Jackie were so cute together and all the characters just felt very real and I loved that even though they're all friends they still have differences and arguments and it showed that even when people mean well they can still say some pretty awful things and that we all have room to learn and grow as people. Also I liked all the girls' zines at the ends of the chapters. I'm too young to have been a part of the Riot Grrrl scene, but this book paints an absolutely amazing picture. This was exactly what I need right now and I definitely recommend it to everyone.