Trouble Girls

A Novel

By: Julia Lynn Rubin

Narrated by: Emily Shaffer

"Emily Shaffer provides a fast-paced performance of an audiobook about two teenagers who are running away from the law...Shaffer's narration keeps the listener engaged with a production full of emotion and adventure, and brings each of the characters to life." (AudioFile Magazine)

A queer YA reimagining of Thelma & Louise with the aesthetic of Riverdale, for fans of Mindy McGinnis, Courtney Summers, and Rory Power.

Love on the dark side of freedom

When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, they’re looking to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end rustbelt town. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke and an ‘89 Canon to help Lux frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes that Trixie doesn’t really smoke, and a knife she’s hanging on to for a friend that she’s never used before.

But a single night of violence derails their trip, and the girls go from ordinary high schoolers to wanted fugitives. Trying to stay ahead of the cops and a hellscape of media attention, Trixie and Lux grapple with an unforgiving landscape, rapidly diminishing supplies, and disastrous decisions at every turn. As they are transformed by the media into the face of a #MeToo movement they didn’t ask to lead, Trixie and Lux realize that they can only rely on each other, and that the love they find together is the one thing that truly makes them free.

Julia Lynn Rubin takes listeners on “a blistering, unapologetic thrill ride” (Emma Berquis) that will leave them haunted and reeling. Trouble Girls is a “a powerful, beautifully-written gut punch” (Sophie Gonzales).

A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books

©2021 Julia Lynn Rubin (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Full to bursting with morally gray characters in a world that insists on clear cut answers, Trouble Girls is a beautifully written and deeply thoughtful variation on the classic trope of the criminal duo on the run. Like the main character, Trixie, this book will leave you with no regrets." (Dana Mele, author of People Like Us)

"Trouble Girls will grab you by the throat and pull you into the getaway car. A love story that sings with rage and resilience." (Hannah Capin, author of Foul Is Fair)

"A dark and delicious road trip story perfect for our time . . . enthralling at every turn from beginning to bittersweet end!" (Demetra Brodsky, author of Last Girls)

I don’t know how to feel about this book.

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Okay… what was that? Really like what was the point? Was this book interesting?!? Hell yeah it was. Was I infuriated the whole time? Same answer.

That ending was literally unpredictable. Them being caught wasn’t but how it happened was. The whole thing felt useless but the story at its core was about the lengths women will go to try to be safe in a world that wants nothing more than to make them feel crazy. Would they have been believed? Maybe. Honestly, probably they would have. Would any justice come from it? No. Trixie could never get justice and she robbed Lux from being able to. It’s sad but it’s an all too common story. I thought it was brilliant but I also just couldn’t stand the choice these two made. But guess what? They were 17. Not even seniors in high school. They said it so often but I would almost immediately forget. This book is a long one and it could probably do with a chapter less but it was still such a great story.