This was a fun ride pun intended ( )

My overwhelming feeling after reading this book was sadness and outrage on behalf of these two girls who were betrayed by the very people who should have loved and looked out for them - their parents. There's a "Thelma and Louise" feel to the story, where the two girls go from one outrageous adventure to the next. Part of me feels like the story is a fantasy where everything works out where the reality might actually be something very different. Definitely thought provoking. ( )

teen fiction (2 young women take to the road to flee their abusive/constrictive home situation)
for older teens, with potential triggers: includes physical abuse, alcohol and drug use, gun violence and fistfights, sexual situations/making out (but not explicit sex), lots of theft/larceny and some pool sharking.
a fast-paced read with heroines you will root for, and men you will be glad to see the end of. Not really any LGBTQ content, though Winona at one point wonders that she doesn't know if she could be queer; she hasn't had a chance to develop any crushes until she was able to get away from her overbearing and threatening dad. It feels like Winona and Lucille might develop romantic feelings for each other, but the text never goes so far as to hint at more than very close friendship. ( )

Actual Rating: 3.75 Stars

This book took me forever to finish. I actually even started it ages ago, so this is the second time I’ve picked it up. It was okay? Idk, honestly it felt like the universe spent the entire time shitting on Winona and Lucille. ( )

If there’s any book that is both “hard-hitting issue novel” and “pure feminist escapism”, this is it. I spent a lot of time cheering the girls on on their road trip/crime spree because it was so much fun to watch them do things I didn’t know I wanted to see done, especially because they’re coming from a position of righteous anger and going after people who deserve it. And because you kind of can’t help seeing them as underdogs.

But at the same time, this tackles abuse and poverty and sexism in so many facets, not only the situations themselves but also the trauma of the victims, in very realistic ways (panic attacks, ingrained habits, the desire to be seen as more than a body, etc.). And of course, it handles all the crimes well too, balancing “they’re jerks so this is ethical because I’m righting wrongs” with “but you just committed grand larceny” with “holy shit I am not okay”.

The girls are realistically late-teens—aware of their value, their power, and their womanhood, capable of pop music singalongs in glitter wigs and booking motels, but also still making the impulsive and questionable decisions teens sometimes do, like surviving entirely on junk food for a week. And there’s a lot they don’t know about how the world works too, which makes for some fun times. For a given definition of fun. I kept having moments where I’d flip between “yes do the thing!” and “oh honey that’s not the right choice” and “yeah, that’s what I’d probably do too though”, often within the same paragraph.

In short, it might sound like there’s a lot going on in this book but it never feels like there is because everything works so well and the journey’s just so much fun. It’s pretty perfect as a summer read, which I’m sure is why it’s coming out when it is, but I can see it being empowering or at least enlightening for a lot of teens at the same time.

To bear in mind: Contains girls dealing with abusers, poverty, sexism, drug dealers, threats of violence, skeezy jerks, and paedophiles, and also committing all sorts of exciting crimes.

7.5/10 ( )