Elizabeth Keenan

In 1992 Baton Rouge, a single rumor has the power to change a girl’s life forever. When it comes to being social, Athena Graves is far more comfortable creating a mixtape playlist than she is talking to cute boys—or anyone, for that matter. Plus her staunchly feminist views and love of punk rock aren’t exactly mainstream at St. Ann’s, her conservative Catholic high school. Then a malicious rumor starts spreading through the halls…a rumor that her popular, pretty, pro-life sister had an abortion over the summer. A rumor that has the power to not only hurt Helen, but possibly see her expelled. Despite their wildly contrasting views, Athena, Helen, and their friends must find a way to convince the student body and the administration that it doesn’t matter what Helen did or didn’t do…even if their riot grrrl protests result in the expulsion of their entire rebel girl gang.

Rebel Girls

It's 1992, and there's a rumor spreading in Baton Rouge... When it comes to being social, Athena Graves is far more comfortable creating a mixtape playlist than she is talking to cute boys--or anyone, for that matter. Plus her staunchly feminist views and love of punk rock aren't exactly mainstream at St. Ann's, her conservative Catholic high school. Then a malicious rumor starts spreading through the halls...a rumor that her popular, pretty, pro-life sister had an abortion over the summer. A rumor that has the power to not only hurt Helen, but possibly see her expelled. Despite their wildly contrasting views, Athena, Helen and their friends must find a way to convince the student body and the administration that it doesn't matter what Helen did or didn't do...even if their riot grrrl protests result in the expulsion of their entire rebel girl gang.

Jessica Williamson

3.75 Stars

Rebel Girls was exactly what I expected it to be and that's kind of a first for me in quite some time so I greatly appreciate that aspect of the novel. I did receive an eARC of this book via the publisher and on of the online sites (but I can't remember which and it was so long ago I can't find it on either site) in exchange for an honest review. And quite frankly I feel horrible that it took me way longer to read it than I had expected. 

Characters **** I really enjoyed Athena and her outlook on a lot of things in life. Her little sister Helen could be VERY little sister-ish at times but I think that added to her charm. Melissa was a decent character and there were plenty of other side characters who really added to the story. One of the best parts of this story was the way the girls bonded together and stood up for one another and for the most part tried their best to take down the (stereotypical) mean girls without stooping to their levels. I love the camaraderie between the women in this book and I think you really have to make great characters in order for that to be accomplished.

Cover ***** I mean, Look at it! Much like The Babysitters Coven and Undead Girl Gang before it, the bright colors and rebel jean jacket theme makes me so dang happy, I could gush about it for weeks on end.

Pace * It was slow. Like REAL SLOW. And I think part of this was because there actually wasn't a whole lot of plot and so some things just felt like they were added in to make it full book length but they weren't necessarily super interesting.

Plot *** The whole standing up for your fellow female plot was great and I absolutely loved that aspect. But Athena's love-life seemed like an afterthought to make there be just a touch more drama and quite frankly it wasn't needed. It didn't feel real and I think it hurt the story overall.

Enjoyment *** I didn't LOVE this and I think that's a plot thing. I wish it had focused more on the societal issues and constructs and spent like time on Athena's love life. I feel like if there had been some bigger arc for her relationship as a whole it wouldn't have felt so pointless but as it is, I was just underwhelmed by the whole thing.

Writing**** I applaud Keenan for her ability to write a story that was so clearly about the women's right to chose and yet not down-speak those who are pro-life. Being pro-choice means that you have the choice to be pro-life. And though there were some negative nasty hags who were pro-life in this story, there were also some pro-lifers who were wonderful people who understood that not everyone had the same opinion as them. Even pro-choice Athena went from shoving propaganda and belittling her pro-life sister Helen at the beginning of the book to understanding that her sister was allowed to make her own decisions. 

Cry Bonus * I cried soooo hard at the homecoming scene. It really was just a beautifully written ending to an otherwise so-so story. I knew where it was going basically from the time the girls all left the washroom but I loved how it got there and the message that it sent. 

Overall I think if you're looking for some 90's nostalgia or want to read about girls coming together and learning how to accept their differences in order to write the wrongs of a Catholic High School, I'd say this is the book for you!

Becca Futrell

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan in exchange for an honest review!

It happened again. I was suckered by a gorgeous book cover. Rebel Girls had it’s pros (one being the book cover), but it unfortunately, also had plenty of flaws.

Rebel Girls has a case of important topic & concept, but not-so-great execution.

Rebel Girls deals with the taboo-subject, abortion, at a Catholic high school. Rumor has it that Athena’s sister, pro-life Helen, had an abortion over the summer & this rumor is tearing her world apart.

One thing that I did enjoy in Rebel Girls is that we get to witness both sides of the abortion debate; pro-lifers & pro-choicers come together to stand up for Helen. This is so very important, y’all & I’m so glad that Keenan had the balls to write something so powerful.

I also really enjoyed Rebel Girls' setting. It’s 1992 — a time where CLINTON was going against BUSH for office. Rebel Girls didn’t really discuss the election a lot; there were references to Bill Clinton playing saxophone on Arsenio Hall, and in general, it was just a blast to the past for me. Okay, sure, I was only 2 — but I still know the references, okay?!

Athena & her best friend, Melissa, were high school goals for me. I wanted to be one of the cool kids with fun-dyed hair & patches on denim. I wanted to stand up for my right to party & all that jazz.

Y’all ready for the cons?

Athena Graves was my least favorite character (excluding the mean girls — I’ll get to one of them next), which really sucks when she’s our leading character. She’s a self-acclaimed feminist who wants to be a Riot Grrrl! That’d be dope, right? However, she’s horrible at practicing what she preaches. She judges her female classmates & is too absorbed with Kyle (at one point awaiting his call & at another, leaving a football game with him when she was suppose to be passing out patches & pins for the supposed ‘rebellion’. Athena was kind of just a flop of a character. Athena is also so pretentious & annoying about music; at one point she even goes through Kyle’s cassette collection & judges him for each band in there.

Leah, our stereotypical mean girl, tends to do things out of spite & jealousy. Which, fine, cool — yet, in Rebel Girls, we partially learn about her at-home life, but it never goes any deeper; leaving a potentially interesting character very undeveloped. I get that she’s not our main character, but why even bring up her personal issues, if you’re only going to leave it on the surface? It felt like a really weak way to explain her awful actions.

In fact, a lot of this story felt unnecessary & left undeveloped. Kyle was an extremely pointless character, Sean was a shit friend who was only used as conflict for the ‘girl gang’ vs. Leah (which, same can totally be said about Kyle) & Trip, who could have been the only decent man in this book, was barely even in it. There was a lot of potential here & yet, it was left undiscovered.

To sum it all up, I’m here for the topic & concept of Rebel Girls, but I really did not enjoy reading this book whatsoever.

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Review can be found here at Booked J.

(3.5) 
  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. 
 

As one of my most anticipated reads of 2019, Rebel Girls was at the tip top of my TBR for the end of summer. Look at that cover! Check out that synopsis! I mean, surely, you can see why it was a priority read for me. 

Sign me up for girls supporting girls, which is one of the biggest messages in Rebel Girls--and double sign me up for a nostalgic setting! If you're looking for something that holds onto a feminist message and taps into our love of the 1990s, and exploration of sisterly bonds, then this book is for you! 

Before I get started, I do want to get into some of the trigger warnings for Rebel Girls: there's a lot of ground to cover with this book and it includes mentions of teenage pregnancy, abortions, racism and more. 

That being said, there are a lot of heavy discussions about ideals re: conservative vs. liberal (conservative setting, Catholic school; a lot of liberal characters, a lot of ignorance in others) so there is a specific level of tension to Rebel Girls. 

While it wasn't my favourite read of the year, it was certainly an enjoyable; feminist throwback of a novel. I couldn't put it down and ate it up within a day because it was truly one of those impossible to put down stories. Something about Rebel Girls felt wholly empowering and optimistic. It never treats its audience in a way that feels like an after school special and I really appreciate that. 

As I read Rebel Girls I found myself thinking of how I wished there had been more books like it when I was a teenager. There's this frankness to it that I was really keen on. It felt blunt and too the point, while still having that undeniable shakiness to it that comes with any of us as we come of age. 

I thought that the central story arches and themes found in Rebel Girls REALLY hit home on some serious issues including gossip that can damage reputations (and the girls who spread it vs. the girls who fight it and stick together despite differing opinions) and the topic of abortion. At its core, Rebel Girls has a fairly simple message--support other girls instead of lying or acting maliciously towards them. 

Further, it explores the bond between family and friends and is just thoroughly enjoyable in doing so. There is some romance sprinkled in, but for the most part Rebel Girls is about creating and holding onto specific bonds and relationships. And speaking up. 

Ultimately, I think that Rebel Girls is a very important novel that should be praised for the manner in which it explores its plotlines. It raises some serious and thought-provoking moments within the era it is set. Truly, I thought that the way in which Rebel Girls explored topics was carefully plotted, not overly done and pretty straight on the nose in terms of honesty. 

Elizabeth Keenan captures the voices of her characters gloriously. You should absolutely add Rebel Girls to your TBR this autumn.

Rebel Girls

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