Very interesting story. I heard it was a Sapphic Thelma and Louise and I was ready. This is the journey of Lux and Trixie and they choices they make as they’re on the run. The pacing starts off fast. I found myself thinking “okay, this should be wrapping up” only to find that I was 50% done, or 70% done, etc. There were several twists in this book that I wasn’t expecting, and that definitely kept it moving/engaging.

Trixie and her best friend Lux are planning a weekend escape of camping and getting away from their burdens. These two girls have troubled home lives and then they choose to go on the run after a tragic mistake. A YA LGTBQ version of Thelma and Louise is an apt description for this novel and the plot needs no further summary.

There is a lot to like about this book. The writing is well-done; I believe the author does a great job capturing the language of teens. The story incorporates the zeitgeist of #MeToo as Trix and Lux become symbols of the movement as their story breaks nationally. Sexual assault, queer love, dementia, murder, PTSD, and parental death are all facets of the story line.

I am not the target audience for this book. I had a hard time truly understanding Trix and Lux, especially Lux. I never understood character's motivations. The characters in the book cover a lot of emotional territory, but much of it stays superficial and hard to relate to. I believe the right audience will love this book, but it is not a book I would recommend for a general audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc of this novel.

DNF @ 55%

I hate to say it, but I’m finding myself a little bored. Perhaps I just had too high of expectations or perhaps the narrator just wasn’t doing it for me. But honestly, not a lot was happening and I didn’t like the MC’s too much to want to stick around.

I wanted a total badass murder-and-run type of scenario and just wasn’t getting that.

*TW: sexual assault

Reading Trouble Girls feels like wearing one of those lip plumping serums, that's glossy and pink and shiny as pop music... but then stings like all get out. Weird metaphor? Whatever, I'm standing by it. It's an unapologetic (and, for such a short, action-packed book, surprisingly delicate) take on rape culture, and a devastating thrill ride right off a cliff. Trixie and Lux are messy, flawed, heartbreaking characters you can really get attached to, in all their effed-up glory. The pace is breathless - maybe to its detriment, as it takes off pretty quickly and jumps right into things in a way that I wasn't sure worked right at the beginning, but it builds up speed that never lets you down - or lets you go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance review copy!

dnf @ 24%

as a huge thelma and louise fan, i had high expectations for trouble girls, but this contemporary reimagining just fell flat for me. i found the writing so clunky and heavy-handed that despite the incredibly high-stakes storyline and serious themes, i was never able to connect with either trixie or lux—and even their supposed connection felt forced. i do appreciate what the author was trying to do, but all in all this one was a disappointment for me.

i received an arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trouble Girls is exactly what it claims to be--a queer, YA, feminist reimagining of Thelma and Louise set in the age of the #metoo movement and I really didn't hate it. There were aspects of the book I found triggering, like the depiction of racism and homophobia and the victim shaming, but that is all true to life, so I thought that was well represented, albeit hard to read. The writing was impeccable and I feel like this book had a unique voice. I enjoyed the love story/friends to lovers trope between Lux and Trixie and especially enjoyed hearing Trixie's unique narrative throughout the novel. I was a bit disappointed in the end, however, and would have prefered a more concrete wrap up of things.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I found it to drag on a lot, and wondering when it would end. Part of my problem with this book is that there are no chapters in this book, there is nothing breaking up the book into more manageable chunks. I understand that for some this may not be an issue, but as a busy college student trying to just read a chapter here and there as I have time, this layout made it so that every time I put down the book, I was putting it down in the middle of a sentence or an event.

The characters felt flat to me, there was so much space within this narrative to really dig into who these girls were, but in part, because it is totally from Trixie's perspective, I felt like I knew very little about the girls beyond the details of their background. I wanted to feel compelled by these girls and their time on the run, but without much to go on as far as their personalities, there was nothing to be compelled by.

The story is an important one to tell, and very timely but for me, the organization of the book detracted from my enjoyment too much to ever be immersed in the story because I kept wondering when the chapter would finish only to realize at the end that there were no chapters, that there were no breaks, it was just a steady stream of information that began to feel repetitive by the end.

For a deep dive review, check out our podcast: You Have to Read this Book!! (Anchor.fm/youhavetoreadthisbook) out June 1!

Content Warning: sexual assault, rape, racism, minors with alcohol, suggestions of abuse, parental death, ailing parent, murder

Trouble Girls is troubling indeed.

To quote our protagonist, Trixie Denton “It’s so ridiculous it’s almost comical.”

If a book doesn’t have a really amazing, interesting plot then I need interesting characters with good development.
The reviews and synopsis of Trouble Girls was so promising I was thrilled to receive an ARC. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much plot and there was even less character development.

We follow Trixie and Lux as they run from one terrible decision to the next, and by the end of the story we see no growth, no remorse, and no change. Trixie is such an unreliable narrator that I’m not even convinced that the ending happened how it was written or that any of the odd characters they meet were real.

Rubin brings up social issue after social issue, just barely scratching the surface and then moving on. I was unconvinced of any overall moral code or resolution. The whole story had a 90’s grunge aesthetic but nothing deeper than that.

I was disappointed to say the least. This is not one you have to read.

This book was extremely fast paced and I loved how this take on Thelma and Louise went. I definitely was not expecting a lot of the twist and turns in this book so it was such a page turner, I could not put it down and cannot wait to have it physically.

Thank you to Netgalley & Wednesday Books for providing me an e-ARC of Trouble Girls in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Drug Use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Dementia

Trouble Girls is pitched as a #MeToo Queer reimagining of Thelma & Louise & although I have never seen the content that provided the inspiration, I'm still here to say yessssss. I love the on-the-run storyline and felt as if I was a part of Lux and Trixie's road trip across the country.

This book is definitely fast-paced. Once the conflict happens -- it becomes a non-stop ride from place to place, with more conflict entering throughout. I had 0 idea where Trouble Girls was going to take me & couldn't wait to figure out how these two teenaged girls were going to get out of their Mess, or in general, if they were gonna even get out of it.

Loved the LGBTQIA+ content and relationship. & how realistic the story felt in terms of victim-blaming, slut-shaming, etc. Throughout the story, we hear men express that it's the victims' fault for being sexually assaulted, along with disgusting comments like "I would have raped her too." With the 'anonymity' of the internet, we see these comments all of the time & as much as I hate to see it, I do appreciate it being laced into my reading so that maybe other people who might neglect these comments will start to see how damaging it truly is.

One of the biggest issues with Trouble Girls is that it leaves the reader wanting more & not in the "HEY LOVE THIS I NEED A SEQUEL" kind of way. More like, it felt like there was a lot of missing information. For one, I'm not a huge fan of the ending, I do feel like it was kind of abrupt, especially with how intense most of the read was.

We also get a glimpse into Trixie's backstory to explain who and why, but I feel like we still didn't get all of the information and instead, details were just teased. If this was a series & we had a chance to learn more later this would be fine, but it didn't work for just a standalone.

In general, I did enjoy this book & loved the thrill of the road trip, but the feeling that something was missing made it so I couldn't completely fall in love with Trouble Girls.

A YA Thelma and Louise retelling, enough said. There was a lot of hype this book had to live up to and I can positively say it does not disappoint. From the beginning pages the characters will grab and shake you for attention. I truly felt what they experienced as they take us along this wild ride. I loved every page of this action packed, thriller, coming of age story. If you love books about friendships, and friends to lovers stories this is a great read!

The book begins with two best friends, Pixie and Lux getting ready for a fantastic weekend to celebrate Lux’s Birthday. Their bags are packed and the begin their journey. Lux begs Pixie to make a pit stop where everything they held dear is shattered in a split second decision that will change their lives forever. When a crime is commented the girls run from their “problem”. Throughout, Pixie is in love with Lux and will do anything within her power to keep her from harm, sacrificing her own morals, and heart in the process. Along the way, their choices become rash and muddied. The girls find themselves in the company of a variety of characters that threaten their situation, safety, and decisions.

Trigger warning: drug use, rape, attempted rape, underage alcohol use, victim and slut shaming.

I was granted an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books!

Review for Trouble Girls posted on Culturess: https://culturess.com/2021/06/01/trouble-girls-review/

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.

For a much longer and detailed review, check out our episode devoted to this book on our podcast, You Have To Read This Book!!, https://anchor.fm/youhavetoreadthisbook.

I loved the premise and idea of this book and really commend what the author was trying to do. I think it brought up a lot of really current social issues in a fun and exciting way. However, it tried to do too much, and ended up not doing any of it particularly well, while not being very interesting at the same time. I loved the characters and how they were unapologetically messy teenagers who made realistic mistakes in an impossible situation. But they also don't grow or take responsibility for any of their mistakes throughout the entire book and I think that was my biggest frustration. I think it is important for characters in revenge-plot type books to learn and grow, especially for a book meant for teenage girls. The writing is so deep into Trixie's frame of mind that it was also hard to get into at first, but I eventually got used to it and think that was actually one of my favorite parts of the book. My podcast cohost Payton, however, talks about how she thinks it would have been more interesting from Lux's perspective. Another big problem I had with this book is that its so slow and repetitive. But overall, it was enjoyable enough and I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but would to someone who wants an aesthetic, social issue oriented, revenge porn-type book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday books for the ARC.

3.5*

I finished this book and immediately started crying. I'm not completely sure why, but I think it was all the anxiety releasing- Trouble Girls had me on edge almost from the start. I found this to be a really stressful read, one I'm not sure I even liked all that much, although I definitely didn't hate it. While the writing is wonderful and the story and characters compelling, it's just not a book that I'll ever revisit, or can really recommend. I guess if you want to be stressed and left with no real resolution than this could be the book for you.

I think my real issue is, I wanted more from this story- more to give reason for the anxiety I was feeling pretty much the entire time I was reading. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the payout, for me, didn't live up to everything that had led us there. I'm not against open endings, but I feel like this story really needed a conclusion. I think I'd feel different if this was a New Adult or Adult read, but considering this is YA, I wanted, needed, to know what was going to happen to Trixie and Lux. While I didn't love Trouble Girls, it's a story that will haunt me for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Trouble Girls defiently critizices rape culture and delves into the #MeToo movement through a queer retelling of Thelma and Louise.
Lux and Trixie decide to go to their first trip together but something goes wrong. After fighting back to defend themselves from sexual asault, their lives take a sudden 360 turn. Now they are fugitives and the face of a #MeToo movement they didn't want to lead.
Having this premise i was really excited to read it however it left me wanting more. We follow Trixies point of view therefore we get to know Lux through her infratuated eyes. While there was not the depth that i wanted to see into the characters personalities the author did an incredibly astounding job at exploring trauma and and what comes after a person is assaulted. I loved the road trip but the way some conversations were written didn't do it for me.
Another thing i didn't quite enjoy was the ending. I was expecting and hoping for something different. This is completily subjective and i know that a lot of people will love it though.

Overall, Trouble Girls is a powerful and needed book that will make everyone who reads it think while enjoying the flufflines that comes with love and friendships.

Trouble Girls was an amazing read! The way she handled difficult topics was great and handled really well. I really felt like I was on this journey with Lux and Trixie. I was pacing myself as I read and then I just could not stop reading, I needed to see where the journey took us. The cover of the book is also fantastic and was the first thing that grabbed my attention.

I didn’t love this. I’m giving it two stars because the book had a unique ~vibe~ but I was overall underwhelmed and disinterested in this story.

I’m wary of anything comped as a “#MeToo” title. While it’s important to represent nuanced stories of sexual assault that center on survivors, using the movement as a marketing tag line feels icky. Our white leads in TROUBLE GIRLS were created to represent a big social movement that’s front lined by women of color. Not every story is required to represent all women or all survivors. However, this story reeked of white feminism because it failed to account for any nuance when it comes to other survivors’ identities and experiences.

I was excited for this as a f/f friends-to-lovers romance, but the girls had no chemistry for the whole book. Until the end, the love interest felt like a manic pixie dream girl. Throughout their time on the road, the girls run into a hodgepodge of characters who were flat (and sometimes cruel) portrayals of impoverished people and addicts. The end is also incredibly anticlimactic after everything, and I don’t think we really see any completed character arcs for our leads. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this one to a friend.

I saw Thelma and Louise for the first time 2 years ago in a screenplay class I was in, and I instantly fell in love. If you ever watched and thought hmm it’d be interesting if they’re was something between them, this is for you. The Trouble Girls highlights:
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🤲🏼 Pining
💰 Doing bad things to survive
🏫 A look at the intersection between colleges and sexual assault and the way universities and fraternities are complicit
👭 Are we going to end up like Bonnie and Clyde?
🐍 Trusting sketchy hitchhikers
🕳 Digging yourself into a deeper hole
❤️ Love can conquer all. Right?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I thought this book was such a unique take on the original story, and I loved seeing how everything just continued to spiral. I think this one was even a little more grittier because in high school everything can seem like life or death, so the girls were making decisions that seemed realistic for that age.

Shades of Thelma and Louise. Lux and Trix are great friends who you can not help but root for. It can end only one of two ways.