Mathieu's bold feminist take on The Outsiders brings female friendships to the forefront while examining the labels others put on young girls. During the start of the Vietnam War, in Houston, Texas, Evie is what others would call a bad girl. She smokes cigarettes, drinks alcohol, cuts class with other bad girls, and doesn't care about public opinion. When Diane, a supposed good girl from the neighboring rich town, saves Evie from a bad situation, she and Evie strike up an unusual friendship. As Evie and Diane begin to confide in each other and become closer friends, Evie questions what makes a good girl "good," and what makes a bad girl "bad." Mathieu takes a well-known archetype and flips it on its head by giving the female characters agency and blurring the lines between what society deems acceptable and unacceptable. She also subtly takes aim at segregation and the society that believes it to be a social good. This important, thought-provoking read will no doubt have a lasting impression on readers.

This female-focused reimagining of The Outsiders abandons the testosterone-fueled rage and gang mentality of S. E. Hinton's classic coming-of-age novel and instead examines societal constraints on and violence toward young women, while exploring the bonds and power of girls' friendships. Mathieu (Afterward, rev. 11/16; Moxie, rev. 11/17) sets her story in 1964 Houston, where Evie, an economically disadvantaged fifteen-year-old, wears the label of "bad girl" as a badge of honor. When Evie is sexually assaulted by Preston, a drunken boy from affluent River Oaks, it is Diane, a "tea-sipper" extraordinaire who left River Oaks in disgrace, who comes to the rescue, inadvertently killing Preston while trying to protect Evie. Evie's "tuff" friends step up to shield Diane from "the fuzz" -- until the brother of one of those friends, who has a romantic history with Diane, is arrested for the murder. Engaging dialogue and melodramatic plot twists keep pages turning as the girls' unlikely bond is solidified and the star-crossed lovers' sad story unfolds. This book holds its own as a standalone novel and offers lots of opportunities for discussion as a companion read to Hinton's. Luann Toth

For "bad girls," hell can be a place on Earth.In Houston in the early '60s, girls only seem to have two choices: be a good girl and get married or be a bad girl and live your life. Fifteen-year-old Evie, from a working-class White family, became a bad girl after her sister's shotgun wedding took her away from home. Mexican American neighbor Juanita, who smokes, drinks, wears intense eye makeup, and runs with the tough crowd, takes Evie under her wing, but despite the loyalty of this new sisterhood, Evie often feels uncertain of her place. When a rich girl from the wealthy part of town named Diane saves Evie from assault by killing the attacker, Evie finds a new friend and, through that friendship, discovers her own courage. This work borrows a few recognizable beats from S.E. Hinton's 1967 classic, The Outsiders-class tensions, friendship, death, and a first-person narrative that frequently employs the word tuff-but with a gender-swapped spin. Overall, the novel would have benefited from a stronger evocation of the setting. During an era of societal upheaval, Evie struggles to reconcile her frustration at the limited roles defined for her and her friends, with many moments of understanding and reflection that will resonate with modern readers' sensibilities-although sadly she still victim blames herself for the attempted assault.Stronger books may exist about the 1960s, but female friendship tales never go out of style. (author's note, resources) (Historical fiction. 12-15)