Raw. Powerful. Poignant. Trixie and Lux find themselves on the run after a brutal attack on the boy who attempted to sexually abuse Lux. But life on the road in the deep South as fugitives is no place for two underage girls, especially two girls in love. Far from home, and with time running out, the girls must come to terms with the selves they lost, they selves they became, and what possible future is in store.

This book brings to light the systemic prejudices rampart in our society, including homophobia, racism and the #MeToo movement. Julia Lynn Rubin artfully balances the uncertainty and thrill of being on the run with glimpses of the protests and larger movement created by Trixie and Lux’s actions. The girls’ experiences are real and honest, and one can only hope that these conversations are happening, or will soon happen, in real life too.

Trouble Girls follows two girls as their weekend getaway goes awry and they are left on the run and leading a movement that they want no part of. If you enjoyed Sadie by Courtney Summers, you'll love this book!

Trouble Girls is a thriller laced in a contemporary, with messy characters, a fast-paced plot, and a tense, dark atmosphere! I love the message of this book and I love how tangible the settings throughout this book are!

3.5 stars -
i enjoyed the overall plot and how fast-paced the story is.

however i felt like a lot of times the story was just doing too much, not in a good way. there were quite a few spots that missed the mark for me.

i also felt really frustrated with the characters, but they’re teenagers so it makes sense. if i was still a teenager reading this, i might have resonated with the language more.

but, i can always appreciate an open ending!

while overall this wasn’t my favorite read, i still enjoyed it.

i received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the atmosphere of this book more than anything else. Every moment on the road, whether it be in gritty bars, dazzling poolsides, sweltering walks across stretches of highway, or temporary reprieve in musty motels, the setting always felt palpable and real to the touch. It gave the entire book the same energy as an indie coming of age movie, never shying away from the more grotesque aspects of Trixie's and Lux's journey while also never sacrificing the beauty of the prose. I came for the sapphic romance but was ultimately blown away by the writing itself, drawing me through the narrative smoothly even when the plot itself was tumultuous and difficult in subject matter. Absolutely cannot wait to read future works by this author given how much I enjoyed her style.

*4.5*

TW FOR THIS REVIEW: rape, sexual assault

As soon as I read the first line, I knew I was going to love this book, and I was absolutely right. Trouble Girls follows Trixie Denton and her best friend Lux as their live changes overnight. It's a sad truth that many women in this country face. The way that Rubin managed to brutally show the truth of the reactions to stories like theirs is so heartbreaking. The way the women fought for them and the men made horrible, nasty comments; It's just all really real. For their entire journey, it felt like I was right there next to them. I did not expect the ending at all, and it honestly made me pretty emotional, as I didn't expect to be so attached to the characters.

The only reason I rated this 4.5 stars instead of 5 is because I didn't really Lux and Trixie's relationship. I thought they had a really cool dynamic, and I was obviously rooting for them, but it felt quite toxic at times, from both sides. But at the same time, I did like seeing the level of depth their relationship had.

I could not put this book down. Please get your copy on June 1. You will not regret it.

This book was incredibly painful to read as a survivor I will be honest. But the characters were so good that I kept pushing forward. Unsure how I felt in the end but I fell like there is such an important story here.

This Thelma and Louise reboot was well written and modified to fit the times. It was scary accurate and relevant with all that is going on in society these days. The characters were realistic and genuine. I felt like I was their third wheel in the back seat and they had no idea I was along for the ride. Julie Lynn Rubin did such an amazing job creating this nail-biting thriller with two girls whose love for each other keeps them going and hoping they'll make it through this crazy journey. 

I loved every second of this story but I wish there was an epilogue to wrap it up a bit more. Highly recommend this book for to ages 15+!

Thank you Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and Julia Lynn Rubin for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is one of those books that plays like a movie in your head. BTW, please make this into a movie ;) It starts out in familiar YA territory-small town, mopey teens, unrequited love, etc. However, once the action starts it doesn’t really slow down. You could compare it to “Thelma & Louise” for the gays.
***SPOILER ALERT***

I thought for sure it would be all doom and gloom with the love interest staying tantalizingly out of reach, but they get together! They get together and it’s sweet and absolutely perfect.

***END OF SPOILERS***

Not a happy go lucky read but filled with a rawness and honesty that’s not easy to find. Just very well-written. I know the chances of a sequel are next to nil, but man, I wish I knew what happens next! BTW, please write a sequel...
#Netgalley

This book was, for the most part, a 4 star read. However, the ending really lost me.
I really loved the characters. Trix and Lux were likable, and their relationship was cute. The people they met on their road-trip were fun, if a little forgettable.
The plot was fast-paced, and I wasn't ever bored, which is important for a book that takes place mostly in a car.
That being said, the ending really disappointed me. I felt like the story was building up to this big moment (like in Thelma and Louise, which this is based off of). But where Thelma and Louise was shocking and heartbreaking, I didn't feel anything when this book ended. It just was over. I realized when there was just a few pages left in the book and there was still something that the plot was building up to that I was never going to be satisfied with how it left off.
I wanted to know what happened with major plot points that were never really resolved (like what happened to Trix when she was younger). There were too many unanswered questions, and I feel like the story could have benefited from either a few more pages or a different ending entirely.
Either way, this was an entertaining read with fun characters that, even if not the #MeToo icon it wanted to be, was still worth a try.

High school best friends Trixie and Lux are headed for a much-needed weekend getaway. Trixie needs to forget about her depressing waitress job, where all the men are "hogs" and her sick mom, and Lux needs to escape her overbearing dad. But a horrific night of violence changes everything and Trixie and Lux find themselves fugitives, running away from their tiny West Virginia town and everything they've ever known. Before they know it, they are wanted by the police, their faces splashed across social media. The girls are scared and horrified--on an unplanned road trip where the only thing they can count on is each other.

The premise of this book sounded amazing -- a queer "Thelma & Louise." Unfortunately, it all fell apart for me. Rather than being a #MeToo rallying cry, this was a depressing and stressful read, featuring two teens who make a bunch of stupid and ill-fated decisions.

I definitely understand the overall idea for TROUBLE GIRLS and even why Trixie and Lux run, afraid that no one will believe their story. But the choices they make along the way--spending their money on junk, not trusting each other, stealing and lying... and everything else. It's maddening. They do not act like two smart girls on the run, but two idiots who do not believe in one another. Trixie's infatuation with Lux clouds everything, and Lux comes across as this adored princess with no real personality of her own.

We're (eventually) told a bit of Trixie's backstory, including why we have to read the word "hog" in what feels like every other darn sentence, but the character development here is severely lacking. Trixie has a sick mom and a dark secret. Lux... likes makeup and her camera? I think this story would have would worked so much more if we knew how and why these two teens ticked. Why, exactly, was Trixie so in love with Lux? How exactly did Lux feel back? There's a weird switch that turns at some point in the book, and it made no sense to me. If you're going to give me a queer story, give me queer characters who truly feel for one another and whose love is based in reality.

Trixie and Lux's story is supposed to have a #MeToo angle to it, and it does, in some ways, but this was not a #MeToo anthem to me. It's two girls running away, trying to figure out maps on the back roads, and making poor decisions as they flee what they've done. While, again, I understand why they run, the story I wanted to read was Trixie and Lux returning to Blue Bottle and fighting along side the Intersectional Feminist Union and the other women they supposedly "rally" with a few misplaced social media posts. It was these women and Judy, Trixie's co-worker back home, whose life I wanted to know about--I would have enjoyed that book much more!

Overall, this book can tug at your heart strings, but also frustrate you to no end. There was much to its overall premise, but most of it did not work for me.

I felt like TROUBLE GIRLS had a lot of promise, but that it never quite executed a fully successful engagement with the themes that it took on. While the idea of two teenage girls on the run from the law after stabbing a would be rapist to death (with a burgeoning romance between them) is really tantalizing, TROUBLE GIRLS doesn't flesh out the girls enough for me to really invest in them. Trixie and Lux are our protagonists, though it is Trixie's perspective that we follow, and I never got a good enough sense for either of them. While that may be understandable for Lux, as we see her really only through the eyes of Trixie who is in love with her, I would have thought that the first person perspective would have made the reader get into Trixie's head. But there wasn't that much depth to her. That said, I did think that Rubin did a good job of exploring trauma and how it can completely consume a person and completely throw them off kilter. But on the flip side of that, while Rubin did try to address a number of issues about sexual assault, rape culture, and violent misogyny, most of the time it came off as less organic than I would have liked, with more statements that feel like talking points than actual conversation. But the plot itself kept me going. The road trip itself was well done, and I liked seeing Trixie and Lux slowly start to realize that being on the run as fugitives isn't the romantic escape that they think it is going to be. I haven't seen THELMA AND LOUISE in its entirety, so I can't speak to how well the storyline mirrored the film, but I did enjoy the journey.

TROUBLE GIRLS is entertaining and a cathartic read, with a few stumbles here and there. I definitely would see myself recommending it to a lot of different people, though!

I did like the pace of Trouble Girls. It read like a chase. But the characters were often painted as the quintessential “rebellious, suburban girls,” and that got boring. I did like their dynamic--they are queer best friends falling for eachother, but even that couldnt save it. The lackluster content warning concerning sexual assault was also a huge deciding factor. A lot of the subjects were heavy and I had no real warning. Also its claim to focus on the “MeToo” movement in the synopsis never surfaced. The book only mentioned the girls passing a MeToo protest--which is certainly not enough content to claim it is pivotal to the story. The subject matter did however revolve around assault, which is a main concern of the MeToo movement, but has existed for lifetimes before it. I would not want a teen conflating the two without real explanation of the intersections and differences. This inaccuracy threw off my reading experience a bit because I was expecting something that never surfaced.

DNF at 20%
I really wanted to like this book( I mean, sapphic murder story!) but I just could not get into it. I am sure that many will love this, but it just wasn’t for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

DNF, I was really excited to read this book and the idea was great but I found it hard to connect with the story and characters. I'd been anticipating a sapphic murder story which is technically what I got. The pacing went at a very odd pace which was disappointing. I'm not a Thelma and Louise fan to begin with so maybe this book just wasn't for me. Overall I might end up picking it up again in the future.

Thelma and Louise in 2021! The characters were incredibly well-developed and complex in Trouble Girls. I especially liked that the plot reflected the larger societal conversation around #MeToo and college sexual assault. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in LGBTQ YA novels, as it is a gem of the genre.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed how you added in a difficult situation for them to be in, it added a nice plot to it. It has amazing wording, in which helps with imagery. I am buying this for a friends' birthday, and I really do think this is good. The beginning hadn't grabbed my attention, but as I kept on reading, it eventually kept me hooked. I Love this, and it's now a favorite.

This was a really dark story. I loved the characters and the way the retelling unfolded. I think this is a YA story that went a little different than I expected it to. I was expecting it to be a bit more lighthearted for a YA, but it was definitely dark and emotional. I think this will be a really impactful read so many readers!

one of my favorite movies of all time is Thelma and Louise. While the stories are similar and this has been modernized to include internet, cell phones and pop music.. it just dragged. Of course the conflict happens at the beginning, but reading about their time on the run was boring as hell. You can only read about them shoplifting and missing their mama and family for a little bit before you get annoyed.

I also feel that the #metoo message was lost. There were protest mentioned but then it was followed my endless sentences of slut shaming and violence.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

The Quick Cut: Two teen girls find themselves on the run from cops after a violent encounter with a college age male.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the ARC for an honest review.

Who we are friends with in many ways can be a strong indicator of who we are. They are the family we select voluntarily and the people we spend time with unconditionally when all is well. So what would you do if your best friend was in trouble? For Trixie and Lux - the answer is run across the country.

Trixie and Lux are best friends against the rest of the world. They haven't had the easiest of upbringings, but have found a way to enjoy their lives together. When they plan to go camping for a weekend together, they stop at a college bar first. What they didn't anticipate was the violent struggle they would get in with a guy there that would send them running. Can they outrun what they had to do to survive? Or will they end up in more trouble than they expect.

First off, there are plenty of content warnings needed for this book. Violence, sexual assault, murder, and plenty of swearing are discussed throughout. At a minimum, I would not suggest this story to anyone under 17. It's some very heavy material that I could see starting some very important conversations after finishing.

If you're looking for a dark and brooding story, this one definitely fits. You watch these two girls quickly spiral their lives out of control and cling to one another for dear life. It very much has that vibe of Thelma and Louise. I was surprised where it ended though and without saying too much - it left me completely unsatisfied.

One of the conversations that becomes a central plot point is the vast difference in social expectations between men and women. It's frightening how often when girls stand up they get villified, but when guys do the same they are portrayed as heroes. Although the me too movement has made some progress towards equality, we are very much far from that. It's an essential conversation we must continue in order to make true progress.

The beginning is a slow start and it's not until close to halfway through that the story pulled me in. The connection between the girls is clear, but I wanted to better understand their motives individually. They felt so much like a single unit that it seemed as if they weren't truly written as individuals.

A dark and brooding story.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5