Queer Thelma & Louise! Road trip! Fighting the patriarchy! There were so many things about this novel that I wanted to work for me, which absolutely sold me concept-wise. I think this book had such potential to be incredible. Unfortunately, aspects of the execution fell flat and I didn't love the assembly of all those intriguing individual elements. The story felt more surface level than I wanted. I was reading a collection of scenes, which related to one another plot-wise, but didn’t really connect me to any deeper emotions. Some of the themes Trouble Girls means to tap into are female rage, queer joy, and the desperation of a best friendship in front of a tragic background.

One thing I did appreciate--Trixie and Lux seemed like real life teens. They acted their age 100% of the time. All their rash decisions, poor money management, and mistrust of any offered help (sometimes justified, other times unfortunate) led to fantastic characterization as two teen girls from less-than-perfect home lives, looking to find their way out of a mess. Trixie's longing for her home life deepens over the course of the story, even as we see how imperfect her past has been. To me, that was the emotional height of the story. Life grew so complicated around her, and Trixie wished to go back to the simplicity of the life she knew in her mother's house, with her old job and best friend.

Speaking of whom, I need to talk about Lux. My biggest issue is that Trixie treated Lux like a manic pixie dream girl. I’m pretty sure this was meant to be a queer reimagining of this trope, but it fell flat for me because subverting the concept requires a bit more than “hey! they’re sapphic!” for me. Trixie’s narration therefore doesn’t allow Lux much agency  outside of how Trixie sees her, which irritated me throughout the novel. I would have felt much more connected to the story with dual narrators who could counter this effect of over-writing Lux’s story with Trixie’s perspective. I don't think this characterization did the novel a great service, as you can't really have Thelma and Louise and only narrate for Thelma.

Their brief romance also fell victim to this unequal characterization. Lux and Trixie supposedly carry on this whirlwhind romance, but between Lux's naïveté at the beginning of the story and Trixie's yearning, there wasn't much chemistry between them for me. Nor does a life on the run seem conducive to starting a relationship, or giving it page time to develop.

Ultimately, I think most aspects of the novel fell flat for me. I don't think I'd have a different experience on a second or third read, but I'm glad I finished the story and committed to learning the ending. I always say my issues with books are mine, and you should make your own reading choices, so I bet Trouble Girls will resonate with some of you. It's worth checking out from the library, especially if you're interested in stories about female agency and sexual assault. I'm giving Trouble Girls 3/5 stars.

3 stars. Pitched as a sapphic Thelma and Louise, this novel already had a lot of living up to expectations to do. I was expecting the same humor levels as Thelma and Louise; the book had funny moments, but usually did not live up to that expectation, so I would recommend switching the marketing tactic to something maybe a bit more true to the book.

I loved how this book followed two working class girls; this is so rarely shown in YA novels, and that consideration of class was so valuable to me as a working class reader. I really related to their experiences with the world as working class women.

The feminism in this book was... kind of a hit or miss. First of all, that the term "feminazi" would be used under any circumstance isn't something I would ever enjoy, even if it goes checked by the author.

I did really like the romance between the two characters, though I found the love interest Lux to be a bit underdeveloped. At times we knew so little about her and why she worked in the romance it felt a bit like she was a manic pixie dream girl.

Overall, I think this book would've been better with a bit more TLC on Lux's character as well as the exclusion of the word "feminazi" but was overall a... fine book. 3.5

This was everything I wanted from a queer Thelma and Louise type novel! While it's lacking in some of the lighthearted humor that Thelma and Louise caries, it makes up for it with hard-hitting moments that explore feminism, sexuality, and assault. It's a really beautiful story with a tender relationship that's full of action. I really enjoyed it!

These characters definitely hit a little closer to home in such a way that they are more relevant today. I loved that they were just kids and kids make stupid decisions especially in the heat of the moment, so while I was frustrated as an outside looking in, I totally understand why some of the decisions they made happened and it makes the story a little more realistic for me. I loved how relevant and relatable this book is and I think as a women reading this book there are a lot of quotes an scenarios that are majorly relevant today that need to be discussed.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This book has good LGBTQIA representation. I enjoyed Lux's passion for photography. The characters building is good. This is my first Julia Lynn Rubin book and I will definitely read more by her. I would recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone. The pacing is good. It is in stores for $18.99 (USD).

I enjoyed reading this, it was what I was looking for in a Thelma and Louise reboot, the characters were great and I thought it worked as a modern retelling. It was a really well done story and the characters were well done as well.

(This review is based on an advanced review copy provided by NetGalley.)

2, 2.5 stars? It definitely had its moments, but overall it was pretty disappointing. I loved the premise, but the execution didn’t quite do it for me. I liked the strong sense of setting and the representation of working-class queer teen girls from West Virginia, and I read 40% of this at once when I had only planned to read like 10%. But the plot drags at times and the characters are underdeveloped. At one point the main character, Trixie, says she’s bored of driving, which makes sense because I was bored of reading about her driving.

Lux, the love interest, felt especially unfleshed-out. I couldn’t get much of a grasp on why Trixie likes her, and they didn’t have much chemistry together. I also found Lux annoyingly obtuse about the realities of her and Trixie’s predicament. Of course I don’t only want to read about characters making good decisions, but when they make bad decisions, either I should understand why they would do so, or the bad decisions should be so much fun to read about that they don’t have to be understandable. I found Lux’s bad decisions neither fun nor particularly understandable/relatable. Reading this book felt like the part of watching a horror movie where you yell at the characters not to split up or go into the woods alone — but not in a fun way. Problem: You’re on the run from the law, you’re running out of money, and you’re currently in a border state. Where should you go? (Vaguely spoilery) (view spoiler) Also Trixie PLEASE log off and don't fucking (view spoiler)

There’s also the part where Trixie says, “Women’s marches, women’s rights…typical feminazi screeching. Half the time, they don’t even know what it is they’re screaming like banshees about.” Now, she is talking about women more privileged than she is, and of course there are many, MANY things wrong with mainstream feminism, white feminism, academic feminism, and otherwise privileged feminism. And it completely makes sense for a character who grew up in a trailer park to feel that mainstream feminists don’t represent her, or that mainstream feminism isn’t something she is or wants to be a part of. (I thought of this excellent twitter thread while reading this: https://twitter.com/harl0tt/status/11...)

My problem with this passage isn’t that she’s criticizing feminism; it’s just that, of the many legitimate criticisms you can make of feminism, “feminazi” is not one of them, and referring to protesting women as “screeching” and “screaming like banshees” is just straight-up misogynistic. I like messy characters, I especially like irreverent voicey female characters, and I understand that characters (like real people!) are not going to be perfect unblemished activists who use precisely all the right words and have precisely all the right twitter-approved opinions all the time. But, personally, “feminazi” and “screaming like banshees” are a bridge too far for my tastes.

Rep: working-class sapphic main character and love interest (sexual orientation labels are neither used nor explicitly rejected). Main character is at least somewhat masculine-presenting (“Mama used to say I looked like a middle school boy. She never understood that I wanted it that way”). f/f sex scenes (not graphic). Side character is a sex worker (which the main character more or less accepts without judgment).

Content notes: murder and attempted rape obviously, sexual harassment, child sexual abuse, abusive and alcoholic parents, parentification, parental abandonment, parental death, parental dementia (or similar condition), domestic / intimate partner violence, brief homophobia, gay slurs (in main character’s imagination), vomiting, implied drunk driving, racist comment about the Middle East (portrayed, not endorsed), online death threats and rape threats aimed at main characters, vague/brief suicidal ideation

not entirely sure about how i feel about this one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It was honestly pretty boring and I felt almost no attachment to any of the characters. I did enjoy the writing as I'm into the poetic and flowy prose but everything from the characters to the plot fell pretty flat to me.

2 stars

Content warnings: Sexual assault, rape, attempted rape, blood, gore (mild), domestic abuse.

I received an arc from Wednesday Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not impact my thoughts in any way

Trixie and Lux are taking a much needed girls weekend road trip. Lux is sneaking away with Trixie to just go have fun and get away from their hectic teenage lives for once. Trixie has an ailing mother at home, works at a diner, and struggles to make her own way. Lux is the typical preppy cute girl with a dad and younger brother at home, boys all the time and just a needed break is on her mind. Told completely from Trixie's point of view, this is a Thelma and Louise-esque style story about two teens on the run from a sexual assault turned murder.

I really wanted to like this book and I had such high hopes for it. I made it about 30% in before it just started to feel monotonous. I loved the storyline and premise of the #MeToo movement as a friend sticks up for her best friend (who she is also in love with). Each girl is trying so hard to figure out who they are and how they got to where they currently are as well as what the future holds for them now. Their small escape turns into a never ending run full of horrible decisions and even bigger mistakes.

I really expected this story to have focused more on the #MeToo movement piece instead of jus the girls on the run, making poor decisions, and trying to get from one place to another. We catch glimpses of the murder/crime throughout as the girls make blog posts, and watch news clips. However, it never fully digs in deeper to how Lux was handling the sexual assault. It mainly focused on how Trixie was handling the murder not so much as seeing her best friend being sexually assaulted. For a book that is claiming the #MeToo movement, it would have meant more to be a bigger piece. I also felt like the girls' choices seemed very unrealistic and far fetched for how far they make it and without anyone noticing them and their constant luck of shoplifting and taking backroads, getting hotel rooms with no problems.

I wanted more from this book and felt let down. It had a strong start and buildup, but failed to fully come through on its end. Also the ending seemed weird to me. Very unfinished and again it felt like the girls made just another poor choice. Maybe it was planned as these were teen girls, but it still felt surreal.

It was thrilling and a quick read—but left a little to be desired.

Trixie and her best friend, Lux, plan a weekend camping trip to get away from their home town and their families. Lux convinces Trixie to stop at a college bar along the way where something horrible happens which makes them go on the run.

I enjoyed the descriptions and the writing of this book. I thought Rubin did an excellent job sharing details describing the “trouble girl’s” many stops along their journey. Rubin handled the topic of sexual assault with sensitively and remaining real. Trixie felt like a fleshed out character with a lot of back story given to her. She is a messy character and I loved that. I wish this same treatment was given to Lux—I feel this book would’ve been more compelling if there was a dual point of view. I was looking forward to the sapphic romance in the book—but didn’t feel we had enough time with the relationship. I also believe that this book could have benefited from having chapters or broken into parts rather than being continuous with no break up.

All in all, I really did enjoy the book and think it’s a fun quick read, I am looking forward to seeing more from Rubin because she is truly a wonderful writer who excels at writing interesting settings and characters.

*I appreciate receiving an ARC from Netgallery and Wednesday books in exchange for an honest review. *

I'm not a fan of giving books low ratings, most of the time it's because I'm confident in the book I'm reading and how it holds up compared to other books of the same genre, but "Trouble Girls" greatly misses the mark in a number of areas.

"Trouble Girls" doesn't have too much plot to it. Trix and Lux are good friends and decide to go on a miniature trip out to a lake, but on the way there they end up running from the law and have to rely on one another to stay out of prison and with each other.

Along the way, the book explores a number of issues including rape/sexual assault, older men, and creeping eyes. While some of the topics like rape and sexual assault were handled well, I feel much of Trix's narration about men (she refers to them as "hogs" throughout the book) was overkill and at many times felt annoying. While this was likely used as an attempt to further the intensity of Lux and Trixi having to stick together and make it seem like them vs everyone else, it simply wasn't enjoyable to read.

Honestly I found myself dozing off multiple times in this book and it was just genuinely hard to get through. I found the writing annoying and not worth dedicating my time to. I finished it through the audiobook, which made it even easier to doze off to, but I got through it nonetheless.

Again I really hate giving books bad ratings, but I just can't recommend this book to anyone. There are many books that handle these topics that do it much more entertainingly or handle the content the same, if not better, that simply didn't let this book stand out. "Trouble Girls" was simply boring and didn't live up to any expectations the book promises.

A weekend trip to get a break from their mundane lives takes a dangerous turn. The girls end up in more trouble and on the run.

I like how the author addressed rape culture, the stigma around sexual assault, privilege, victim blaming, and the #metoo movement.

The teenage angst was high in this one. The characters are messy, and I love a messy character who fights back, and filled with anxiety which I felt throughout. We only got Trixie's POV but I would have loved some from Lux as well. I really liked how the relationship developed between Lux and Trixie but I wish the romance was a little more fleshed out.

Some parts felt slower, which threw off the pacing in what could have been a more intense thrilling ride. I wasn't big on the ending, it was pretty unbelievable and fizzled.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

it had a really good atmosphere.

i didn't like lux that much, she lectures trixie that she isnt a manic pixie dream girl and then only acts like a manic pixie dream girl. she seemed very... one dimensional? idk, i think trixie was slightly more fleshed out because the story is told from her perspective. maybe a dual pov could have been beneficial?

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing my review copy

for a book about two sapphic girls on the run after committing a crime, this dragged and dragged. I was so intrigued in the #metoo aspect of this and how it was going to play out, but it just really did not work for me.
and the ENDING? hated it.

While I loved the representation in this book, I had a very hard time getting through it. I found myself skimming through many sections because I could not hold my attention.

There were potential for it, and I could see where it was trying to head, but unfortunately it feel flat for me.

I FINALLY finished this book. Thank god. I debated DNFing it multiple times but was somehow invested in the monotonous dullness that is this book.

I was excited for this. When I got an ARC, I was thrilled. I thought it was going to be a fresh take on a classic trope.

And while parts of it WERE, it just felt lacking. A lot of important ideas were set up, but not a lot was ever really wrapped up. The Venus symbol with flames, the whole movement these two girls begin - nothing comes of it.

TW/CW: graphic sexual assault, rape, attempted rape, graphic stabbing/murder, drug usage, sick parent, dehydration, hunger, stealing.

I wish we’d gotten more than just Trixie’s POV. What really would’ve made the book SO much better would’ve been a snippet of a piece of media at the end of chapters/sections. A snippet from a newspaper article, a snippet of an opinion piece, a transcript of a newscast. Something to give us more than just Trixie going “do I regret doing this? No. Wait, maybe I do? No, no I don’t.” Over and over and over.
Each new location felt the same. The same thing happened. We meet new people! Oh wait. We can’t trust them. Time to book it! Over. And over. AND OVER.

The things I did enjoy:
• Some good old best friends pining obliviously for each other!
• The discussion this book can start about assault, men’s privilege, white privilege, and white women’s privilege. While this book is SUPER white, the author does acknowledge that WOC would have a very different experience on this journey than Trixie and Lux.

In all, this book was just. Underwhelming. Maybe this type of story just isn’t for me.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this!

"A queer YA #MeToo reimagining of Thelma & Louise" it is not. I kept wondering why I wasn't bailing on this one. When I finally finished it, I regretted not having done so. I was not a fan of the plot or the writing style. Because of the comparison to Thelma and Louise I was expecting a dramatic ending and I was severely disappointed.

This is one of those books that's really hard to read because you know it's going to end badly. Every decision Lux and Trixie made had me groaning because it just kept spiraling out of control. Couldn't stop reading though, like a train wreck.

🗺 When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, they’re looking to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end rustbelt town. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke and an ‘89 Canon to help Lux frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes that Trixie doesn’t really smoke, and a knife she’s hanging on to for a friend that she’s never used before.

🗺 But a single night of violence derails their trip, and the girls go from ordinary high schoolers to wanted fugitives. Trying to stay ahead of the cops and a hellscape of media attention, Trixie and Lux grapple with an unforgiving landscape, rapidly diminishing supplies, and disastrous decisions at every turn. As they are transformed by the media into the face of a #MeToo movement they didn’t ask to lead, Trixie and Lux realize that they can only rely on each other, and that the love they find together is the one thing that truly makes them free.

☮️ I was so excited to read a book compared to riverdale. I really enjoyed how this author wrote Trixie and Lux. The premise behind this book intrigued me right away.

☮️ I could see the comparison it had with Riverdale, but I personally was expecting a bit more out of it. I was not a fan of that ending and just wish this book went a different route (no pun intended) as this whole story revolves around a road trip.

☮️ Overall, this story was a great and fast read. I did want a little more out of it but I also really enjoyed these characters and their relationship.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQthoGKru3o/?utm_medium=copy_link

Sadly this did not work for me. I love the aesthetic in the beginning of the story, but the plot seemed to drag on and on, and by the end I didn’t really care what happened to the main character or anyone else.