I do not have words for how much I adored this book. I am not eloquent enough for it I think.

I've never experienced the inspiration of this, The Outsiders I mean. And I cannot say anything about how close, or how loyal of an adaption this is. For me, this was Grease. If Grease started off with someone getting killed and friendships so fiercely loyal and close it could blind the sun.

One of the things I loved about this book was that Connie was fiercely loyal toward her own girls. Often the leader of such Clicks, or Queen Bees as I call them, are often quite mean toward their own friends and yet are fawned upon by them. It was mentioned that Connie could be mean. But it was never showed toward her own group. I had my own Queen Bees during my teenage years and that made it more relatable. I never understood the cliché of staying close with someone who was mean to them.

I also loved the way the author made feminism the core subject of this book without making me feel stifled by it. Don't misunderstand me, the book bleeds feminism. But viewed through an much older lens where women lived with much stricter gender roles and had a lot less options than we do today. I loved that Evie was young and discovering herself and didn't know the words to put into feeling what she wanted. Which, if you haven't read it, is feminism. She wanted freedom, and the idea of having to marry right after high school was suffocating. So she did the only thing she could think of: She joined the Bad Girls, and the other unreputable crowd of teenagers that adults called trouble because they were the only ones that seemingly seemed to be fighting against rules and expectations.

But more than anything, I loved the fierce friendship that spawned between Evie and Diana. Or maybe just Evie as a person. The entire book takes time across maybe two weeks and yet this friendship was one of the legends.

Which, as someone who often grows easily attached to people I shouldn't, I felt myself seen in. It was the platonic version of a whirlwind romance.

I also really applaud the decision to put disclaimers, and contact information for various organizations one could contact or call if any of the themes in the book was something you found triggering or experienced yourself. For there were many. From

Spoiler

attempted sexual assault, to police brutality, to alcoholic guardians, and neglect and abuse from parents

I loved this. I really did. Might need to pick up this The Outsider book/movie and give it a twirl.