I read this in a couple of hours over the weekend, and can recommend it as a fundamentally optimistic look at the work that secondary teachers do (though it's also something of an elegy/jeremiad on the subject of administrative red tape and reactionary PTA parents.) Personally, I found Bruce Holsinger's The Gifted School to be more effective and nuanced in how it handled e.g. race and immigration in 21st-century US school environments. And I was unsurprised, given the tone and sentence structure of this, to learn that Mathieu has previously written YA novels. But I liked its characters, as the author clearly meant me to do.
I thought I knew what to expect with this one. I'd grown up knowing the after hours of school life, my mom an Elementary librarian, now librarian to the high school. I stayed after hours, helping teachers set up lesson plans, arrange their classrooms before the school year. Knew the library back and forth, even acted as a substitute for a few years after finishing high school myself.
While some of it was what I expected, there were elements I didn't expect. Especially the push from district office and the state on how to run things, even if it seemed to the detriment of the students.
Finding a substitute teacher quietly dead in the third floor faculty lounge could be considered a big event. It's only the start however, triggering other events big and small throughout the school year. Who knew honoring the man's wishes - that his ashes be spread on site at the school - would cause more commotion and push back then his death itself.
Told throughout the course of a school year, each chapter following a different teacher or faculty member as they reflect on Mr. Lerher's death, how much they knew the man, where their paths first crossed, and where they are today. Addictions acknowledged, love found and lost, careers starting and ending, jobs on the line and moral struggles. All in all, just another year in the life of a public high school.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. It's quietly understated, no big flashes, but a solid heart to it. Being told from so many voices, there were some storylines and characters I was less fond of, but oddly this helped make the book better as a whole.
Thank you to the publishers through NetGalley for the ARC!
Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu 3/5 ⭐️
This YA book is a gender-flipped reimagining of The Outsiders taking place in Houston, Texas during 1964. Being an H-Town girl myself, I was super drawn to this book. I haven’t come across many books that take place in Houston so it was really neat to see so many local references. The story is about a high school girl named Evie who runs with the “bad girls” and lives in a rougher neighborhood. There’s a big social divide between her group and the kids from the rich neighborhood of River Oaks. At a drive-movie, Evie is attacked by a teenage boy that comes from River Oaks and a girl from the same neighborhood saves Evie from his unwanted advances. The boy is left dead and Evie would never expect that a good girl like Diane would save her. They run away from the scene and both their worlds get turned upside down. Evie has to reexamine everything she thought she knew about what it means to be a “bad girl” and the labels and expectations we put on ourselves, and others. Evie, her friends and family learn the importance of female friendship, standing up for one’s self and supporting the women in our lives.
Moxie: a novel - Jennifer Mathieu (2015): Cover, Dust Jacket, Bookmark and Poster Design by Brenda Pinheiro
“ That girl thinks she’s the queen of the neighborhood
She’s got the hottest trike in town
That girl, she holds her head up so high
I think I wanna be her best friend, yeah” - Rebel Girl, Bikini Kill
Design de Ilustração sem fim lucrativo e desenvolvidos por mim.
Favor não retirar os créditos/Please don’t withdraw credits
*fotos tiradas da internet e do filme Moxie/ *pictures taken from the internet and the movie Moxie
book review || Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu
video review || Raid My Shelves 5 -- Reading Vlog: Original vs Retelling
Right out of the gate, I was a little skeptical going into an Outsider’s retelling, but Moxie won my heart when I read it, so I was intrigued to see what Mathieu would do. I think she managed to pull it off pretty well.
Really loved that there was still plenty of discourse between the two socio-economic groups within the story, but putting things from the perspective of women added a whole new layer to the story. There’s some really great nuances around victim blaming, but also brings up issues of modesty, sexuality, and teen pregnancy. I appreciated that Mathieu also took a little time to acknowledge the civil rights movement and racism that was still pretty prevalent at the time and place this book is set.
Similar to Moxie, I think this is a good book to spark some thoughts and conversations about feminism for younger readers. Definitely think it would make an excellent foil to the Outsiders, which is still a pretty popular choice for English teachers.
Also must praise the atmosphere, as I think Mathieu did a great job of consistently reinforcing the time period and location by products, companies, music, events. Definitely felt like I was in the 60s.
This isn’t a particularly exciting book, however. It’s paced pretty slow, with lots of discussions, but not much action. The writing doesn’t quite have the quotability that Outsiders does, with all the metaphors and allusions around the central themes. I would also say that characters don’t stand out quite as well, either. Evie and Diane are the only ones who go through some development in the story.
All in all, a quick, enjoyable read, best suited for 13-year-olds.
Moxie, de Jennifer Mathieu (traduit de l anglais par Anath Riveline) est un roman ado plein d énergie féministe et d entraide.
Vivian Carter, l heroïne, que tout le monde prend pour une petite fille sage, lycéenne discrète, et fille attentionnée de mère célibataire, a décidé de combattre le gang des garçons sexistes (et le proviseur en prime) pour que la peur et les humiliations cessent pour toutes les filles de son lycée.
Elle va créer un fanzine anonyme et, telle une vengeresse masquée, prendre la tête d un mouvement de rébellion qui n attendait qu une étincelle pour prendre vie.
Évidemment, la victoire n aura pas lieu du jour au lendemain. Et les privilèges sont durs à déboulonner. Mais entre les avancées et les hésitations, Vivian conquiert peu à peu son indépendance vis à vis de sa meilleure amie, de sa mère, de ses grands parents, et de son petit ami.
En résumé, un bon bouquin d émancipation, de courage et d amitié, à remettre entre toutes les mains qui cherchent de l espoir et des idées concrètes d action.
