Member Reviews
A fun read about teenage girls fighting back against toxic masculinity, and in the process learning more about themselves and what they want, or don't want, out of life.
Raina has let her life be defined by boyfriend Brandon and the theater career she thought she wanted. But when Brandon dumps her out of the blue, she feels completely betrayed and lost, unsure of anything. Millie is beginning to understand why her mother left her father, a man who seems unable to do anything for himself and expects Millie to do everything. Millie lives for competing in Mock Court, though she has learned to lead from behind and let the boys on the team be the stars. When the boys conspire to push Millie off the team, underestimating how much of their success came from her hard work, a chance meeting between the who devastated girls leads to the formation of an all-girl mock trial team. As the girls compete together, they bond and help each other to find the strength to put their dreams first.
This was a really fun read, though parts will definitely make you angry. I loved all the girl characters, and loved to hate the boys. I especially liked that it was the school librarian who stepped up to make sure the girls were represented and didn't get pushed around by the boys and their male sponsor. A wonderfully diverse cast, who were slightly less than realistic as they seemed to have no flaws, but enjoyable nevertheless. A great summer read with a strong "girl power" and "find your own path" message.
Loved the team of girls getting together to do mock trial. The issues with the boys were so real—I’ve been a high school girl before and pretty much all of this stuff comes up and it’s terrible. Has some representation of diverse sexuality—asexual, gay, etc.
I wish the voices for Millie and Raina were a little more distinct. I did find myself forgetting whose POV I was reading at times. Some of the dialogue was also a little clunky but the story is still fun and necessary. Girl power!
This girl power teen novel is a fantastic story of friendship, knitting, and smashing the patriarchy. Raina Petree is on track to have a great senior year until her boyfriend dumps her, her drama club leaves her in the lurch, and her college dreams aren't as secure as she initially thought they were. Meanwhile, Millie Goodwin is tired of being her father's servant, and when her Mock Trial team votes her out in favor of lesser-qualified, newer guys - even after she's been the backbone of the team for the last three years - she has HAD IT. Raina turns to an advice column for help on getting over Brandon, the ex-boyfriend, leading her to take up knitting as a hobby; a hobby that leads to a meeting of the minds with Millie, and the two come up with the ultimate idea: start their own Mock Trial team. There are no rules against it, and they manage to find a mentor in their school librarian. Now, they just have to fill the open spots on the team - with girls who are sick and tired of being discounted and looked down on by the boys and men who think they're calling all the shots. It's time to pick up the knitting needles, study those legal briefs, and take down the patriarchy.
With a fantastic cast of multicultural characters that smash the gender spectrum, Adrienne Kisner has given readers a group of characters that we'd all want to hang out with. They're smart, driven, and fed up with B.S., whether it's from a teacher, an ex-boyfriend or fellow student, or a parent. It's such an upbeat book, filled with major crossroad moments and stand up and cheer scenes while taking on some very big issues. It's an excellent discussion book that will spark deep conversations.
I loved this book and would gladly shout this out to my library teens. Give this to your Moxie fans and your Ashley Poston readers. And start a knitting club at your library to get them talking!
4.5 stars. Very quick and readable. Loved the characters and the premise and the beautiful cover.
Only critiques were I wish I got to know the secondary characters better, and the ending was a little rushed, and the Judge’s part wasn’t necessary.
I gushed about this book on my YA podcast, The Book Jam.
I wanted to like this feminist-focused YA book, but found I simply couldn't get into it. There was a sense of high school excessive drama that was grating and, for me, made it hard to take the characters seriously.
This was a fun read: young feminists taking on the world and all. The chapter headings and subtitles were really well done, in keeping with case files, and I enjoyed reading those to kick off and set the tone for what was coming. It definitly brought me some feels about my own mock trial days. I found myself ha ing a difficult time distinguishing from the voices of the different characters, and felt that could have used some more refinement, and the final case of the Mock Trial was just Too convenient in the end. The story arch with the local Judge I felt lacked conclusion, but was made up for by the satisfying conclusion of the arch with Millie and her father. So some great parts, some good parts, some meh parts, but fun enough in the end.
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley
Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
GIRL POWER! I thoroughly enjoyed Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner. High school seniors Millie and Raina are each going through tough times. Raina’s boyfriend dumps her and Millie is kicked off the Mock Trial team. They start an all girls Mock Trial team and recruit others. Throw in Drama Club and a kick ass Knitting Circle for some more fun (and lots of knitting puns to boot).
I absolutely loved how supportive the girls were of each other. That’s what you would hope for in high school and in life. The men were all flat characters. All in all a great read and highly recommend. 4+ stars
The concept of girls getting together, being politically charged, knitting, etc reminded me so much of the late 90s, punk rock, girl rock, smash the patriarchy times. The two narrators were great but I wish they had been more distinct, however the book was a quick read and appealing. This book had diverse characters and a great storyline but it was missing some of the character development I was hoping for from a book like this. I loved this group of high school girls and could see myself wanting to join them. A great read for wide range of readers and one that will surely inspire.
The publisher Feiwel & Friends generously provided me with a copy of the book upon request on NetGalley. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
This book was a fantastic read, coming from someone not terribly into mock trials and/or theater. I loved seeing the points of view of the two main female protagonists, and honestly, as a male reader, it just occurred to me how few male characters there were within the novel. And I'm very much OK with that! I'd recommend this for anyone looking to see strong women do what they do best - make change where change is needed.
This book was full of strong girl energy. Six girls team up never knowing each other and each bring a strength to their Mock Trial team. They work hard, overcome obstacles, and boom prove that girls can do anything boys can (or better). The girls lives tell a realistic story of what it is like to be in high school now and how judging someone but their appearance doesn’t tell the full story.
I loved this story. The characters were believable, helped each other, overcame differences, and worked together quite well.
Theater groups, and Mock Trial are the main groups featured in this YA novel. Narrated by two protagonists, you learn bits about them with each chapter, thus the character development is quite nice. The chapters are set up as if they are part of a trial, which is nicely done.
I never heard about "yarn bombing" prior to this book, but it features prominently in this novel.
If you are looking for heartfelt drama (with plenty of humor) this book is for you.
I loved Kisner’s first book and this one was just as fresh, smart, and entertaining! I love a good feminist story and felt this one covered a variety of experiences that teen girls will relate to. Looking forward to whatever this author writes next!
A fierce group of young women who have A LOT going on! A diverse group of high schoolers take on the patriarchy, gender stereotypes and regular high school problems like relationship problems. A bit dramatic at times but well done.
The author did a good job portraying the angst and struggles of the teenage girl. I felt the characters could be more in depth. I never really felt many feelings for them. Maybe more development of the family relationships. The story was very PC and in some ways one-sided. I think the knitting group was over the top. I would rather have and the story more about the girls and their relationships to one another. There doesn't seem the depth I would like to see. I was 70% through the book before I really wanted to see what was going to happen. Who would win the Mock Trial was about the only motivation I saw to read and then I still didn't finish. Perhaps teens will like it but I felt it a little preachy and didn't fit my lifestyle.
Thank you to Macmillan for giving me a free digital galley of "Six Angry Girls" in exchange for feedback.
"Six Angry Girls" is about six high school girls who all have reasons to be angry. When the boys on the mock trial team arrange for an all-boys team, the girls assemble their own, competing team... and are determined to be the ones who take their school to the national finals.
I admit that I found myself slightly confused when the point of view shifted from girl to girl, but all six of the girls were great - Raina, who channels her anger into acts of radical feminist knitting, was my favorite.
It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but once I got back the setup and into the girls' efforts to battle sexism on many fronts, I was completely on their side. I would totally recommend this book to my students.
2.5/3
1) I love the cover.
2) I love the concept.
2.5) hooray for debate? And the representation was decent. Yay for that too.
3) It’s always great to read about a cast of girls and femmes.
Sometimes this got preachy, or stopped being a story and was more telling... It was missing some of those literary / character development notes that make a reading experience more than just something you’re told about by a friend. Maybe my expectations were too high? I think if the voice was more dynamic and immersive this would’ve been such a slam dunk for high middle grade and YA readers. Alas, for me it was an on the right track and full of potential but not one I’d proactively snag to hand a kiddo or hype up as much as I had wanted to...
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a quick interesting read that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Most of the characters are relatable and young readers will enjoy following their stories. There were some minor characters that didn't seem totally fleshed out, but this ultimately didn't detract from the story. What was most refreshing about this story was that it was a breakup story that focused on the injured party almost completely and didn't dwell too much on pining. The characters did seem more 'adult' then actual teens because of this, but it was a refreshing twist and didn't pull the reader from the story too much. Having a story focus on building yourself up after a breakup is great, but being able to do it through an interesting, fresh twist is what makes this story good. Will recommend to others.
Thanks to Feiwel & Friends for the ARC! My high school didn't have a Mock Trial team (that I'm aware of) so I definitely learned a lot there. I loved the feminist thought and diversity in representation, but there were so many characters and so many subplots that I think the development of the larger tapestry may have suffered for the number of individual threads.
Four stars
This is a great read. When I opened the dedication and saw "To Senator Elizabeth Warren" the morning after the tragic concession, I was already in. I was not disappointed.
Though I did want to hear more from and know more about all six of the angry girls, I really enjoyed what I did get to learn about the more developed characters. Millie's home situation and Raina's relationship to her academic identities were strong standouts for me. The knitting puns and play on the sewing/quilting circles were both humorous and empowering, and in the spirit of those cheesy choices in diction, woven in quite nicely. I like that in contemporary YA, I'm seeing more discussion of human rights as a given instead of a niche topic that only some folks want to have and or "agree with," as if there should even be a conversation around who does and does not possess equal rights. Kisner cleverly accomplishes this task by having her characters and those in their communities live typical lives and experiences not because of their identities but simply inside of them, and the treatment of the social issues includes a clear "the good characters are on the right side and the trash characters are on the wrong side" breakdown. On a related note, Millie's dad and future stepmom can SUCK IT. I found the resolution of that story line to be particularly satisfying. No matter what they face, these girls - in the spirit of E-War - definitely persist.
I can't wait to read more from this author. In the sad aftermath of recent IRL political updates, this gave me a much needed boost.
"Being a girl its in how you stand up to all that stuff that's thrown at you and how you kick ass after "
Six angry high school girls get together in this story, in a difficult time of their lives. All of them have on thing and one goal only, break the patriarchy in the process.
4.5 stars