This YA tale is set in 1964 Houston, Texas as told by Evie, who lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and is the youngest of a group of "bad girls" from Eastside High. The story starts at a drive-in and Evie is attacked by preppy rich boy, who knocks her unconscious, and she awakes to find the boy dead and was stabbed by classmate, Diane, who has just moved to her side of town from the well to do River Oaks. Diane and Evie band together with Evie's friends to figure out how to deal with what has just happened. This book is being marketed as a female version of "The Outsiders," but that doesn't really do the book justice as Mathieu, which she did with her book "Moxie," examines the gender issues facing girls of the 1960's in terms of how girls should act and that to ensure a good future one must find a good man and settle down and raise a family. Throughout the book as Evie and Diane's friendship develops they realize they have more in common then the economic and societal expectations put upon them. Recommend for tweens and teens who like a good realistic historical fiction drama that they can still relate too.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

This is a tremendous flip of The Outsiders, moving it to Houston in the 1960s and having all the characters female. There are a couple winks and nods to the original.

But even without those little mentions; this book is such a fabulous read. It acknowledges that sometimes being a teen stinks, and being a teen girl in 1969s Houston is even tougher.

𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟𝗦 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗔𝗬 𝗗𝗜𝗘 is another book that's advertised with a comp I think is misleading, in this case "a gender-swapped version of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴." Yes, they share some similar themes but assuming this is just a retelling does the story Jennifer Mathieu created a disservice.

Evie is a "bad girl" who runs with a crowd that raises eyebrows in 1964. When a "tea sipper" (aka a "good" girl from the right side of the tracks) saves Evie from a dangerous situation, she and her crew are forced to reconsider everything they used to believe to help one of their own.

What I loved about this YA book was the way the girls all support each other. Sure, there are assumptions made by each group at the beginning but when they say they've got one another's backs, they mean it. I also appreciated how it addressed the misogynistic expectations of women at the time and the difficulties they faced when they wanted to deviate from them. My 7th grader is reading this now and I'm looking forward to discussing it with her as many of the issues it tackles - the danger of stereotyping, how to navigate friendships and female empowerment - are still relevant to what she deals with in middle school today.

Thanks to MacmillanKid and NetGalley for a copy to review.

It seems I'm in the minority, but I absolutely loved this book. I was excited by the premise - a gender-swapped reimagining of The Outsiders. Maybe it's because I didn't love The Outsiders and wanted more from that story? I feel like Bad Girls hit all the notes I needed to have a fantastic story. Star-crossed lovers, amazing female friendships, a great coming-of-age story, and feminist commentary about life for teenage girls in the 1960s.

I loved Evie as our narrator - she's innocent and maybe a little naive, but sees herself as being a bad girl. She's the youngest in her group of friends, and they treat her like their pet. I loved watching her come into her own over the course of the story. I also really enjoyed Evie's relationship with her mother. I loved the discussion about what makes a girl a "bad girl" in the 1960s. I loved the parallels and nods to The Outsiders as well. I read that first because I wanted to be able to compare and while I'm glad that I did - it isn't necessary to enjoy the story.

I thought this book was fantastic and highly recommend picking it up!

The caveat to this review is that this was marketed as similar to The Outsiders, so I went in with very different expectations. While I don’t think that this is similar and the cover art threw me, I did enjoy the book a bit more when I let go of my expectations.

Bad Girls Never Say Die follows a group of four girls in 1960s Houston who are from “the wrong side of the tracks” and the socio-economic differences between their lives and the lives of the families a town over.

One fateful night, Diane and Evie find their lives inextricably entangled. The events of that night set of a collision course of obstacles and circumstances that weave together the story of two girls who are struggling against society’s expectations, their own desires and the prejudices that have locked them into their own social circles.

As stated above, once I let go of my expectations for Bad Girls Never Say Die, I did enjoy it. While the beginning was a bit choppy to get through, once the story picked up it was a quick and compelling read. A solid 3.75/5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher, Roaring Book Press, the author, and Net Galley for the ARC!

Evie and her friends are "bad girls" from the bad side of town. They skip class, drink, smoke, and talk back. When Evie is cornered one night and a "good girl" comes to her rescue, "bad" and "good" get flipped upside down. Is Diane really a "good girl?" Or do those distinctions not really mean what the girls thought?

Set in the 60s, Bad Girls Never Say Die is described as a gender flipped Outsiders. I got Grease vibes too. The development of friendship and the role of women is well done, but the action felt lacking.

#TheOutsiders is the gold standard of books, as far as I am concerned. This book is a gender flipped reimagining of that story.
.
I was a bit leery in the beginning, as I said, The Outsiders is one of my favorites, but I became invested and was sobbing by the end. It was definitely unique seeing the gender flip of this story, and she wrote something to be connected with.
.
Thank you #Roaringbookpress and #Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

When I think about this book I think about it from two perspectives. Perspective 1 is that it was an awesome retelling of The Outsiders through a gender-flipped cast of characters. I loved the homage this book paid to the original and the little things (like the use of tuff) that really paid tribute to The Outsiders. I also loved the message about how the grass isn't always greener. Diane is a tea-sipper so her life is perfect, right? Evie lives on the wrong side of the tracks so her future is set, right? When the two worlds collide they teach each other so much in a few short days. The powerful friendships and the great teacher are also winning points for this one.

The second perspective is one that it just didn't hit quite right for me to love it. While I mention I loved the "tuff" it got repetitive and cringy in its over-use. The whole story-line as a whole read almost more like a middle grade read than a YA read. While I really enjoyed this book for the quick retelling it was, and would recommend it for others it wasn't "can't miss", "everyone must read" type of book for me. 3.75 stars

A retelling of The Outsiders from a feminine and decidedly feminist perspective. Why are girls who stand up for themselves and make their own choices considered “bad?” Shouldn’t we encourage young women to make their own decisions about their lives and their own bodies? Takes place in the 1960’s but so many of these themes are still relevant today: poverty and privilege, racism, civil rights, and again, a woman’s right to her own body. Sigh.

But we can all have hope with steadfast friends like these. These girls rock.

If you loved #moxie you will REALLY love this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for my advance reader copy of this book. I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to, but I will be honest I thought this was going to involve a lot more murder. But I love this book regardless!

Plot

Evie Barnes is a bad girl. And everyone knows that bad girls make the best friends… A story of murder, secrets and tragedy from the author of MOXIE – as seen on Netflix.

1964. Houston, Texas.

Evie Barnes is a ‘bad’ girl. So are all her friends. They’re the sort who wear bold makeup, laugh too loud and run around with boys. Most of all, they protect their own against the world. So when Evie is saved from being assaulted by a good girl from the right side of the tracks, every rule she’s always lived by is called into question. Now she must rethink everything she knew about loyalty and learn that when girls stick together it doesn’t matter whether they’re ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Recently moving from my home city of Houston to sunny Los Angeles, I’ve been having fun meeting new friends here and getting to know the local spots. While reading this book, it did make me miss home more than usual. While Evie was describing specific locations, I was trying to picture them in my head. But more so, it gave me more of an image of what Houston was and technically still is today. Like most cities, the social class you “belong to” is apparent in what part of Houston you live in.

Growing up, you see where the rich people live, and even going to specific locations was considered “extravagant.” It was like going to the Galleria, a shopping mall since it was in the nice area of town and had an ice skating rink, plus it had three floors worth of restaurants and shops from Macy’s to SAKS.

While the story is predictable and you can get the sense of the ending, what stays most with the reader is how our main characters are viewed and treated due to where they are from. While this is a book targeted at Young Adults (high school age), I think middle schoolers should read this in class as it’s a modern twist of what we’re used to. Plus, it talks more about young women’s experiences in high school. Feeling lonely and going to a group that will accept you or befriending someone you don’t know much about.

Evie is a character that most will relate to and possibly want more of her story as an adult. She loves English but doesn’t love school. She questions her friendships but still will stick with them no matter what. I think aside from the apparent plot, I think this retelling is possibly in my Top 10. It gave it a great view of switched roles because we don’t know much about the women in the “bad crowd,” minus what was depicted in movies.

I think this will be a book that will be reread for me later on just so I can enjoy it more and see what else I missed about the story.

A quick but powerful read.

The story is written in main character, Evie’s POV. It take us on a journey, and shows how one moment can change the course of some many different lives. On someone’s willingness to stand up for someone else, or walk on by.

The story is set in 1964, and I think the author did a great job incorporating life and current events at that time into the story.

I would definitely recommend this one.

In this gender-flipped reimagining of The Outsiders, we meet “bad girl” Evie and her friends. They’re the kids from the wrong side of the tracks who drink, wear heavy eyeliner, stay out late, and have parents who can’t or don’t care to control them. Most of all, they hate the rich kids from the other side of town- The “tea sippers”. But when Evie is saved from danger by a rich girl, everything she knows and everything she thinks she stands for is turned on its head. When push comes to shove, Evie must decide where her loyalties lie.

TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual assault, attempted rape

I don’t know… Maybe I’m just old now and need to stop picking up YA books? But I simply did not enjoy this book. I really needed to push myself to finish it for the sake of this review. Overall, the writing (particularly the dialogue) felt amateurish and like a cheap attempt at reinventing a classic.

While I appreciated that this book brought the unique perspective of the struggle young girls (particularly during the 1960s) faced with how they were perceived, finding themselves and their independence, and being taking advantage of by men, it just didn’t ring the right chord. I think this would have been more successful had it been an independent attempt at original thought, versus a blatant recreation.

I desperately wanted to love this book and was really looking forward to it, but unfortunately, it just didn’t meet even my lowest bar of expectations.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for sharing an ARC copy with me in exchange for my honest review!

It's hard to say what I liked about this novel. It was a different feel from The Outsiders. It's set in Texas and there are nods to the Outsiders but this is it's own story. I enjoyed the backstory of 1960's Texas, but if you try and compare it to the Outsiders you would fall flat. As a story on it's own, it's good. It tell of teenager pregnancies and what happens to the young ladies who get 'in trouble.' It tell of people on the different ends of the social sphere. Or as someone says in the Outsiders, 'it's rough all over.' I liked it.

This feminist retelling of the outsiders follows Evie Barnes, a "bad girl" who skips class, hangs around with the boys, and along with her friends, rejects the conventions of being a good girl." But one night, when Evie is rescued from an attack by one of the good girls, Evie begins to rethink her life as she knows it - and what it means to be a bad girl.

I had a lot of takeaways while reading this, but my biggest one involved the discussions around the institutionalization of unwed pregnant teens. While I'm very aware of the ways that unwed pregnant women were shamed in this time period, I feel as though these facilities are one of many things that have been swept under the rug. And while it is now several decades later, women still fight for the right to have autonomy over their bodies.

Books like Bad Girls Never Say Die give us perspective on where we've progressed, and where we still need to improve. And while the culture is clearly different, there are some hauntingly similar comparisons to our world today. If you liked Moxie, give this book a try too- while I think it's best suited for a younger YA audience (which I love seeing more of!), this book shares messages that I think more people should be talking about.

I was hooked from the very beginning with this story. I loved experiencing the evolution of Evie and Diane’s friendship. This book really spoke to the “bad girl” in me and I couldn’t help but get emotionally invested. I’ll definitely be recommending it and checking out other work by Mathieu.

In 1960s Houston Evie is hanging with a tough crowd, but she has a tight knit group of girls who would do anything for each other. One night, when a girl from the rich side of town, a "tea sipper", saves Evie from being attacked by a drunk rich boy, she questions everything she knows.

Diane dis used to live in the prestigious part of town, but now she is attending Evie's school and Evie is eager to know why. As the girls share a deadly secret, they reveal more and more about themselves to each other and Diane is slowly acceptes into Evie's group.

With light touches on issues like civil rights, feminism, and social class, "Bad Girls" is a story of friendship, love, loyalty, and getting to know the real person within.

This was a very enjoyable young adult novel, I found the pacing quick and engaging. The similarities to The Outsiders are obvious, but the action is still unique in its own way.

Full review on Goodreads
I feel like this book could be judged too harshly with The Outsiders comparison, and it needs to be evaluated alone and just appreciated for the little similarities like the language, time period, class differences, and good old tuff kids. The story is good and has some strong 1960s female struggles. There’s good friendships and positive teacher influence here that I appreciated,

I enjoyed reading a female version of The Outsiders. My students read Outsiders and then view the movie and love it! I believe students would like to compare and contrast the two books. Overall, enjoyed the similarities throughout!

First things first, this cover is stunning. I liked this story but it didn't necessarily blow me away. It was an interesting look at social status of the 1960s and I enjoyed that aspect. I would say this book was very character driven and a little slow paced. Overall, I did enjoy it.

I decided to pick this one up as soon as I heard it being compared to The Outsiders but with a gender swapped/feminist cast of characters. Bad Girls Never Say die certainly has elements of The Outsiders but do not go into this one thinking it's a carbon copy, because it isn't. Evie Barnes is a self-proclaimed "bad girl" teenager growing up on the wrong side of town in Houston, Texas during the '60s. Her best friends are 3 other "bad girls" that really march to the beat of their own drums. One night while at a drive-in movie theater, Evie is saved from an attempted rape by good girl, Diane. The rest of the story takes place over the next 9 days and focuses on the female friendships and fall out of that night at Winkler's Drive-In.

I am digging this cover! I appreciated the discussions surrounding the expectations surrounding girls/women, in general, and what it meant to be a good girl and/or a bad girl. Being that I am from the Houston Metro area I am familiar with a lot of the settings within the book and am happy to report that they felt authentic. The plot moved a tad slowly at times, but I was invested in seeing how things would shake out for the group of female friends. Ultimately, it pulled more YA I would have liked. Rating 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review.