A BIG thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wow. W O W. I’ve read a few of Mathieu’s other novels (Moxie and The Liars of Mariposa Island), but this one went above and beyond my expectations. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is one of my favorite books of all time, so when I saw that Mathieu was writing a gender-bended reimagining of it, I screamed.

Words cannot express how excited I was to see this book pop up on NetGalley. Then, when MacMillan approved my request and SENT ME THE BOOK, I nearly broke an ankle from jumping around in excitement.

Evie, our main character, is a girl from the “wrong side of the tracks”, who, after a wild night where “tea-sipper” Diane saves her from being sexually assaulted, gets wrapped up in a murder that rocks their world to its core. Evie’s best friends, Connie, Juanita, and Sunny, are apprehensive of Diane at first, but realize rather quickly that sticking together is the only thing that will keep them all safe.

Bad Girls Never Say Die is an exquisite story filled to the brim with friendship, heartbreak, love, and loyalty. I laughed, I cried, and I sobbed into my cereal while I was reading this beautiful book. Evie and Diane’s bond, after what is arguably the worst night of both of their lives, absolutely stole my heart.

I particularly liked the feminist-forward attitude that Mathieu expresses throughout the novel. Although there are some male characters sprinkled throughout the story, the overarching theme follows a group of girls as they struggle with where their loyalties should lie and how far they’re willing to go to protect their friends.

To put it plainly, I loved this book. I loved the characters, the setting, the callbacks to the original literature, the writing style, the underlying feminism sprinkled throughout, and literally everything else this book had to offer. It was all just very, very satisfying (and heartbreaking, as many of these kinds of stories are).

I can’t exactly say whether reading The Outsiders before reading Bad Girls Never Say Die is a good idea or not. Most people my age were forced to read it at some point in their middle school days, so it’s likely that the YA readers who read this book have already read the source material. My point is, I can’t exactly say which way is the “better way” of reading, as I read the Outsiders, like many of my peers did, when I was twelve years old. Either way, both stories are enjoyable and can absolutely stand on their own (but I’m recommending that you read both, in whatever order you choose to read them, because they’re both fabulous!).

Mathieu is known for writing coming of age stories, but Bad Girls Never Say Die takes the cake. A solid 5 stars for this expressive novel, which in my (not so) humble opinion, is likely to become a modern-day classic in the Young Adult genre.

I didn’t expect this title to have as large an emotional impact as it did. A story from another time, love across the wrong side of the tracks, a rape attempt, murder, and high schoolers? And yet, there is something so moving about the main character Evie’s journey, her family’s journey back to each other.
I also feel that this is a good title for young women who are struggling to communicate with their parents (as well as for the parents), as Evie did, which is a theme I’m happy to see cropping up more.

Calling this a "gender-flipped reimagining of The Outsiders" is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's a huge draw, but on the other, it means this has huge shoes to fill in the world of young adult literature. Unfortunately, this comes up short. While The Outsiders is one of my all-time favorite books, the language and style is rather stilted and immature; however, this feels authentic when you remember that S.E. Hinton wrote the novel when she was only 16, growing up in the actual time period she's writing about. Conversely, Mathieu's attempt at capturing the voice of a teen in the 1960s feels put-on and lacks Hinton's nostalgic charm. Still, I think I would have loved this as a follow-up to The Outsiders when I was in middle school, so I will likely include this in my classroom library for my students once it is published.

From the acclaimed author of MOXIE comes BAD GIRLS NEVER SAY DIE, a gender-flipped reimagining of S. E. Hinton’s classic THE OUTSIDERS that strikes all of the same notes of rebellion, loyalty, and yearning to belong but with a new, deep exploration of the bonds of female friendship. Set in 1960s Houston, BAD GIRLS NEVER SAY DIE is a YA novel following Evie Barnes and her group of friends — “bad girls” from the wrong side of the tracks who skip school, wear dark eyeliner, and run around with boys.

Their parents and teachers might scoff at their rejection of gender norms, but they don’t care. Being prim, proper, and pink is for the rich “tea sippers,” anyway. They’ve got each other and that’s all that matters. But when Evie finds herself being saved from an attempted assault by a rich girl from the “right” side of the tracks, she is forced to reconsider everything she thought she knew about what makes a girl bad.

BAD GIRLS NEVER SAY DIE stands on its own two feet, offering a version of 1960s Houston that reads as a work of historical fiction exploring the class, race, and gender roles of the time period. If you are familiar with THE OUTSIDERS, however, Mathieu’s reimagining does a fantastic job running parallel to its inspiration.

In my experience, THE OUTSIDERS is the one required book that students tend to enjoy and seek out readalikes for. I look forward to being able to recommend BAD GIRLS NEVER SAY DIE to those who come into the library looking for their next read after THE OUTSIDERS.

Thank you to Fierce Reads and YALLwest for an ARC of this title.

Bad Girls Never Say Die is the latest novel by Jennifer Mathieu. I enjoyed reading Moxie, but this had a different style and feel than this one. Set in the 1960s, Bad Girls Never Say Die is marketed as a gender swapped retelling of The Outisders. I have to admit, I haven't read The Outsiders or seen the movie, so I had no expectations or predictions about what was going to happen. Because of this, I don't know how it compares in terms of plot or characters.

So-called Bad Girl Evie is rescued from an attack by Diane, a "Good Girl". The aftermath of this incident causes Evie to bring Diane into her close knit group of bad girl friends. When someone else gets accused of Diane's crime, they have to work together in order to clear that person's name without going to jail themselves.

Mathieu does a good job at describing the time period and the way gender norms were supposed to be then. It was an enjoyable read.

This gender-swapped retelling of The Outsiders was right for me on so many counts. I just really enjoyed the pacing of the story, despite figuring some things out before the characters. I didn't see the ending coming, and I didn't love how quickly the story wrapped up, but the strength of the earlier parts keeps this one at a 4-star rating for me.

This book was a lot of fun. Characterized as a female re-telling/re-imagining of The Outsiders, Bad Girls Never Say Die is set in Houston, Texas in 1964. After being rescued from an attack outside of a bathroom, bad girl Evie befriends "Tea Sipper" Diane and welcomes her into her tightly knit group of fellow bad girls. With the help of the Bad Girls, Diane and Evie try to lay low while the news of Diane's crime blows over. When someone else is pegged as the prime suspect, Evie and Diane come up with a plan to right the wrongs and get everyone out of trouble. The only problem is, who's going to believe them?

I grew up loving The Outsiders so when I read the premise for this book I was quite intrigued. I LOVED THIS BOOK. After writing the girl-empowering Moxie, Jennifer Mathieu creates another world where it's ok to be a "bad girl" if that means you are really an empowered and confident girl! I think it's important to note that this book isn't just for girls; boys will love Evie and Diane's story too!

Enjoyed the time period very much, not many YA books set in that part of history. Overall enjoyable, was surprised by the culmination though it does seem like that was the only way that story line could have ended. Enjoy her writing and looking forward to more!

Bad Girls Never Say Die
by Jennifer Mathieu
Pub Date: 19 Oct 2021
Oh my! I couldn't put this one down! It's like The Outsiders but with female characters!
Evie is a tuff girl from the wrong side of the tracks, but not tuff enough to fight off a drunken society boy who thinks his money and manhood gives him the right to do what he wants to her. Next thing she knows, Diane, a tea-sipper soc, is helping helping her regain consciousness. The adventure that follows is both gripping and heartbreaking. It's a story of finding true friendship once you get past social barriers.

I was intrigued when I read that this was a retelling of the ever-popular The Outsiders. A book that I personally love and that I think is one of the finest examples of young adult literature. Bad Girls Never Say Die absolutely lives up to the legacy of The Outsiders. Evie is considered a "bad girl" since she lives on the wrong side of the tracks, wears heavy eye makeup, and hangs around with "bad' boys. One night, while hanging out at the local drive-in, Evie encounters a "tea-sipper" being harassed in the line for concessions. Evie feels for this girl, so she steps in and tells them to leave that girl alone. Little did Evie know that this "tea-sipper" was about to become her best friend. A short time later, Evie is attacked outside the restrooms and this "tea-sipper", Diane, saves her. This event changes Evie's whole life. She starts to discover the deeper meaning of loyalty, friendship, and love. I think it depicted life in the early 1960s very well and shows how hard it can be to want to be your own person in spite of others' expectations. Jennifer Mathieu has created a beautiful gem of a novel.

This was received as an ARC from Netgalley.

Trigger Warning: this book does involve the attempted sexual assault of the main character. It's not in detail, but it is needed to be aware of.

Summary:
"Bravery takes a lot of different forms. I know that now, and I'm glad I do."
Evie and her friends draw a great parallel between pony boy and the greasers in this reimagining of the Outsiders. This version takes place on the wrong side of town in Houston, Texas. When Evie is saved from a terrible assault by Diane, a new girl at school. They must decide how to keep going after the tragedy. Together, the two girls build a friendship based on shared secrets and deep feelings.

Review:
This book needed far more feminism. The story was well written and tugged at your heart; it also gave characters that were easy to like and sympathize with. Good book, but more girl power was needed.

Evie is from the wrong side of the tracks. In 1950s Houston, money and class are divided harshly. She’s from the poorer part of town and in tough crowd of girls who wear dark liner and cut class. She’s the youngest girl the tight knit group within the tough crowd, and working at fitting it.
One evening at a local hangout Evie is attacked by a young man from the rich part of town. When she regains consciousness she find herself entwined in the murder of a prominent son of the town and in debt to the lovely Diane who is also from a prominent family.
Diane’s secrets, her family’s rules, and the expectations of her friends threatened to break Evie as she struggles to do the right thing, for everyone.
This fresh retelling of The Outsiders is relevant and overdue.

Wow...this book brought back so many memories of the first time I read The Outsiders. The time period, the good and bad sides of the tracks, the strong bonds of friendship and loyalty, and the tragic end to characters who had so much life ahead of them. I loved that the author even named characters Johnny (like Johnnycake) and Diane (Diane Lane, who played Cherry Valance). Although I knew some events and characters would mirror The Outsiders, I found it brilliant how the author accomplished those connections, right down to stabbing the “good” guy who’s hurting one of the “wrong side of the tracks” characters. Loved it and can’t wait to share it with many students once it’s published.,

Bad Girls Never Say Die is a beautiful tale of female friendship being enough. Marketed as a gender-bent version of The Outsiders, Bad Girls Never Say Die delivers on the class warfare and greaser vibes of its inspiration.