Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin is such a great story! I loved everything about it, one of the best books of the year!

I felt this book picked up in the second half, but overall the pacing seemed all over the place. It was an enjoyable book, and I appreciated the relationship dynamics between the two main characters. The characters were real, they were gritty, and at times I felt myself feeling very empathetic towards them, and at other times I couldn't stand them. I loved the message this book had, the way it really highlighted what women and girls often go through, who the public tends to believe and why, and what little recourse many survivors often have. However, like I mentioned previously, the pacing was off for me, and I struggled with feeling fully immersed in this book for the majority of my read. Overall I recommend this book and there is certainly a lot of good material to pull out for further analyses and/or education purposes.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC for my honest review

Trouble Girls is captivating, emotionally engaging and full of tension that leaves the reader wanting more. Rubin has masterful take on the main characters complicated relationships and writes with a delicate delivery on rape and ptsd/sexual trauma.

I love the premise, love the cover, and love that there is going to be a section for Content Warnings at the beginning of the book (wish more books did this!!). This was really well-written, and despite some of the heavy topics, I really enjoyed it. I would recommend for high school libraries.

“Always the same. The record of our lives scratches as time keeps on going. A film on repeat. Stories played out over and over again, bliss and laughter and sorrow and death. Remembering. Forgetting.”

Trixie and her best friend, Lux, are off for a weekend of partying and camping, a brief escape from the bitter realities of life in their small town and Trix’s ailing mother. But when a stop at a nightclub turns violent, the girls are suddenly fleeing across the country from police and a media storm. Their lives have been changed forever, so the girls decide to make the most of it, branding themselves the Trouble Girls and leaving a trail of crime in their wake. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at St. Martin’s Press. Trigger warnings: death, rape mention, pedophilia mention, sexual assault, trauma, guns, robbery/theft, violence, slurs, blood.

I liked the premise of Trouble Girls, but it never quite came together for me. There are a number of problems, but I think the one that troubles me most is its lack of message. The description calls up the #metoo movement, but that turns out to be somewhat misleading. Trouble Girls never evolves into a movement of any kind because Trixie and Lux don’t actually stand for anything. They’re angry about things like poverty and sexism–things we have every right to be angry about–but aside from a couple social media messages and some graffiti, they don’t do anything about them. Trixie notes that a couple girls from college campuses are leading the charge, girls who suffer even more hate because they’re women of color, and she’s right. Those are the girls doing something, the ones I want to read a story about. I have no idea what the major takeaway of Trix and Lux’s story is supposed to be.

Instead of launching a movement or developing any sort of belief system or agenda, the plot of the novel is actually just the two girls running from town to town, making tourist stops, and trying to survive by stealing what they need. I was sympathetic to them at times, but at others it’s clear they’re teenage girls who have no idea how to get by in the world and are alarmingly short-sighted about their options. It grows repetitive quickly, with few events that advance the plot or the character development in any significant way. The characterization is rather poor too. Trixie’s entire personality seems to be a burning hatred for all men (difficult to read at times–sexism is real and vicious, but thinking of all men as “hogs” is also sexist, however justified it might be) and a love for Lux that occasionally comes off as creepy or predatory. Lux’s personality is… I’m not sure. Pink hair and bubblegum? She’s a manic pixie dream girl who doesn’t seem to have any motivation outside of a baffling commitment to Trixie and their life of crime. The girls run out of options around the same time as the plot runs out of steam, and the ending fails to resolve much of anything.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Book: Trouble Girls
Author: Julia Lynn Rubin
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC.

I’m just going to be honest. When I started reading this one, I thought it was going to be a three star read. The beginning of the book was just kind of average for me and I didn’t expect it to really improve. However, I was wrong and it ended up taking me on a ride that I did not expect. It’s a good thing. I love going into a book thinking that it’s just going to be a “muh” book and I end up really enjoying it. Julia takes you on a ride and it’s wild ride. It’s the kind of ride that makes you really question the whole “I wonder what it’s like to be on the run and if it’s as great as what the movies make it out to be.”

Trixie and Lux are just two normal teenage girls who are just trying to get out of small town West Virginia. They feel that their dreams are too big for where they live and want to see the world. This all changes in the course of an evening. Lux finds herself in a sticky situation that is putting herself in danger. Trixie steps in and ends up killing the golden boy of the county, who in the eyes of the public can do nothing wrong. The girls feel that they have no choice but to run. This action brings up a lot of discussion over who is really the victim. Many believe that it was the golden boy who could possibly do no wrong and that the girls were asking for it. This is the stance that so many take throughout the book. It couldn’t be more true. In the eyes of real life, the golden boy can do no wrong and it’s always someone else’s fault. I have seen this time and time again. It’s not always as extreme as what happened in the book, but everything that the golden boy does isn’t his fault and that it’s someone’s fault or he comes from a good family and it just must be a rumour. It happens and sadly, nothing has changed it. To see the fight that young women and others has to put up in order to gain attention is so true. Yet, even they, have to fight in order to even gain a spark of attention and are always portrayed as being the problem. It’s just a classic case of the being the in good ol’ boys club.

Of course, Trixie and Lux are painted as these monsters. However, as the movement grows and more of the truth comes out about the golden boy, there are a lot of people who do kind of side with them. There are also a lot of people who seem very much against them. It shows us the divide that comes along with the MeToo movement. It’s just really hard to take that it’s always the girl or women’s fault. Trixie and Lux are not part of the inner circle, which makes it all that much more worse for them. They are viewed as white trash and not of good genes. They are also viewed as asking for it. This again is true. The media has presented the golden boy as just that: the golden boy. While the girls are viewed as just pretty much nothing.

All of this is done through Julia’s writing. The fact that she is able to write about this situation and show us the deep divides is just amazing. It adds a touch that makes everything seem so real. When the girls were on the run, Julia uses the senses to really make us feel how grave their situation is. We are on the run with them, feeling everything, and experiencing what is going along with the girls. Like them, we really don’t know how things are going to play out and we don’t get a lot of news as to what is going on back home. We are fed little bits of information along with the girls and have to piece together what is going on. I like it whenever authors do this. I like finding out what is going on along with the characters. I hate whenever we have more information than what the characters have.

I really enjoyed this one. I gave it a four star only because I wasn’t fully hooked in the beginning. I mean, I was interested, but it just didn’t have that wow factor at the start of the book. This is a YA book, but I would not recommend it for younger YA readers. It deals with murder, sexual assault, and crime. There is also a female/female romance, so if that bothers anyone, then you have been warned.

This book comes out on June 1, 2021.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/zJ32J2tgWPo

Trouble Girls is a wonderful thriller dealing with rape culture, being queer in the South of the United States, and how to reclaim the historically masculine genre of road trip media. Through this reinterpretation of Thelma And Louise, the author delivers a thoughtful and queer rewriting of the classic. I loved the main characters, their desire to push through and to fight back but I also loved how Julia Lynn Rubin commented on the way rape culture and misogynistic developed in media and always worked to maintain their power through institutions and structural positions. Also, the landscapes and the states Trixie and drives through are not just conveying an atmosphere but there are parts of a meaningful storytelling and were essential in my opinion to Trouble Girls feeling like a true walk through the desert for queers girls, hardening them but allowing them to lose their chains in the process.

Trixie and Lux are best friends who sent out for a weekend of adventure on a camping trip to nearby Fever Lake in their hometown in West Virginia. But things go terribly wrong when they stop in a college bar on their way out of town. Now they are fugitives - on the run? Or on a greater adventure? It depends on which one of the girls you ask.

<i>Trouble Girls</i> is captivating, emotionally engaging and full of tension that leaves the reader begging for more. Rubin has masterful take on the main characters complicated relationships and writes with a delicate delivery on rape and ptsd/sexual trauma.

This story resonated with me so much. It was really beautiful and heart-wrenching, and horrible at times in the best way. I read it in all of two days, and that's saying a lot with my crazy schedule because I just could not put it down. You want to root for Trixie and Lux, you want them to make it to California and start over. Props to Julia Lynn Rubin for crafting such an amazing story, if you're a fan of true crime, LGBTQ stories, women's rights, you need to read this book, it really takes you for a wild ride across the country with these girls! There is a huge content warning from about page 30 or so in, but that's all explicitly stated at the beginning, so definitely read the content warning if you think anything might affect you, I will say there were parts that were hard to read but merely surrounding the nature of the story.

Best friends Trixie and Lux were excited to get away for a weekend of fun to Fever Lake. On the way there, they decided to stop at a college bar, a place they knew they wouldn’t get carded. Both girls were still in high school but Lux wanted to dance and have some fun with this college crowd, and she did. There was dancing, flirting, and some kisses. Then suddenly and unexpectedly their fun vacation turned into a nightmare with both girls on the run. But along the way, the girls found the freedom to be themselves, speak out against misogynistic treatment, and explore a newfound love.

This was a fast paced read filled with nervous tension and dramatic moments. The characters were realistically portrayed and emotionally engaging. It was touted as being a YA version of Thelma and Louise, and it was.

An ARC was given for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Let me be honest- I saw gay Thelma and Louise and said sign me up immediately. I was not disappointed.

This was a wild ride beginning to end. This story is written so immersive that you feel you’re on the run with them. It’s an adventure that you might not want to be a part of, but it truly pulls you in from the start. It does contain mentions of sexual assault, rape and murder- proceed with caution if these topics could trigger you.

I was on the edge of my seat wait for Lux and Trixie to get together. From the moment Lux was introduced, I knew these two were more than friends. Their chemistry was off the charts. As the story progresses you get to see them grow together and as people. While they don’t grow a lot and not always for the best, it gives you everything you didn’t know you needed.

With topics that are relevant such as the MeToo movement and the nerves/fear that come with reporting an assault, this book not only teaches you that this is real, but that actions always have consequences.

I enjoyed the way this story was structured and the characters were easy to like. I couldn’t help but be entranced by the way it was written. It’s a page turner.

4.25/5

“Maybe there are no signs or symbols in this world at all, just things we desperately want to see.“

Trouble Girls is a dark yet riveting read that takes us on a thrilling, nail-biting ride. Julia Lynn Rubin crafts authentic, realistically flawed characters whose joys and pains resonate off the page. The strong bond between the two girls, as well as their individual characterization, was incredible. The anxiety, dread, and fear, but also the hope and exhilaration can be felt in turns. As a reader, you can’t help but hold out desperate hope that things will work out and feel growing devastation with everything that goes wrong. It was heartbreaking to follow their journey and feel the draining away of their hope as the situation became more bleak.

Given the synopsis of the book, I was expecting the #MeToo movement to feature more heavily rather than the protests taking more of a backseat. However, it was understandable that the book took a different direction as it followed Trixie and Lux on the run. Nevertheless, Trouble Girls is a relevant and impactful novel that touches on important issues, especially in regards to believing survivors.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

cw/tw: sexual assault, ptsd, death, stabbing, blood, threats of violence/sexual violence, abuse

This was the Thelma and Louis story my lesbian heart has always needed! I almost cried I wad filled with so much joy.

I wanted to devour this book all in one sitting but I made myself take my time and enjoy every page. I loved everything about Rubin's writing! Her characters, her setting, just EVERYTHING about this was perfect and filled me with joy. I can not wait to get this as a physical book and show it off and never shut up about it!

This is the Thelma and Louise reboot I never knew I needed!

Hot damn, Julia Lynn Rubin can write. Her characterizations were masterful, her descriptions captivating and her handling of difficult subject matter powerful.

I read it in one sitting, utterly engrossed and totally in awe.

Five stars all day long.

“I don’t know when it started, really. It crept up on me slowly, like a soothing lullaby that lulled me into dreams of always her.”


Parts of this book were really difficult for me to read personally. But that’s because the way this story was written every high and low felt insanely realistic even more so as a survivor. Lux & Trixie took me on a devastating and thrilling journey and I’m really glad I stuck it out till the end.

TW // sexual assault , ptsd in relation to sexual assault

This was such a thrilling read. It's the kind of book that make you feel you are a part of it.
I loved the plot, it's scary how relevant and appropriate this book is for our time. The real strength of the book lies in it's characters. I love how genuinely authentic they were. I truly felt the character's emotions. Most of the stuff they did, I could actually imagine someone doing that in real life. They made some dumb decisions which would normally make me angry but it just made them all the more endearing to me. They are not criminal masterminds and are just kids doing the best they can in the messed up situation they found themselves in. They panic, trust the wrong people, waste money on shiny things. I adore their bond and inability to give up on each other. (Lux's reason for not taking off the ring melted me.) To see them slowly lose hope and realize the gravity of their situation was the most heartbreaking thing.

The whole book is filled with so many important scenes and quotes that as a woman I found truly relatable. The contrast between how women were believing Trouble Girls and men were saying horrible things is literary what happens irl.
<spoiler>I am just going to believe that her father actually did kill that garbage neighbor. Otherwise him doing that and getting away scot-free while Trixie and Lux suffer so much for just one mistake is unthinkable.</spoiler>


<i>ARC copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Wow. This YA book took me by surprise! Trixie and Lux are off for a girls' weekend they so desperately need as their lives at home are a mess. But they have no idea what's in store for them as they move from place to place, protecting each other, falling in love, and getting themselves in and out of trouble on a daily basis. Clearly they are flawed seventeen-year-olds, but there is something so riveting about their escapades that you root for them the entire time--even when they pick up a sketchy hitch-hiker and visit a cult-like encampment that no sane person would do anymore. And of course the end is inevitable, but you know that these two have been through more than any teens should have to and you're still cheering for them at the end!

This is the only Thelma and Louise reboot that matters! This story took me through such a range of emotions and had me cheering and booing for people in turn. I honestly had no idea how this would end, despite the extensive foreshadowing and it was INCREDIBLE! Every girl and woman knows what it’s like to be Trix and Lux, we’ve all been treated poorly by the “hog boys and men” before. This book took on so many different levels and nuances, the author is wonderfully talented! Definitely one that I’ll read again and again. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc in exchange for my honest opinion! It was a fantastic story!