NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Julia Whelan's versatility and warmth capture the courage and desperation of a daring cross-country escapade. Best friends Winona and Lucille have carefully planned their lives after graduation; they intend to escape from their abusive homes. When things go awry, they spring into action to preserve their future happiness. Whelan's pacing heightens the urgency as the young women flee, stealing a car and obtaining funds in risky ways while unsavory figures from their past race to catch them. Whelan's masterful delivery illuminates significant moments and adds levity when the girls do bits together. Her characterizations are well matched to a large cast with conflicting motives that ranges from predators and con artists to long-lost relatives. K.S.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
06/17/2019
Crime does pay in the latest novel by Cavallaro (the Charlotte Holmes series) and Henry (The Love That Split the World), inspired by Thelma and Louise. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Winona is the seemingly perfect daughter of weatherman/local philanthropist Stormy Olsen, who is beloved in public but secretly abusive. Lucille’s childhood has been cut short by having to help her single mother make ends meet and dealing with her menacing, drug-dealing older brother. After the girls meet outside a police station one night, they establish a sustaining friendship. When Winona learns that her mother, once presumed dead, is alive and living in Las Vegas, she fears more abuse from her father. The two high school seniors steal cash and a car, then embark on a journey that involves more theft, illegal gambling, a drug-dealing scam, and a feigned kidnapping. Though some readers may have trouble suspending disbelief as the teens’ capers grow increasingly outlandish, the celebration of young women’s autonomy—taken from men and fueled by rage—is enjoyable, and fans of nonstop action will enjoy the collaborative novel’s unrelenting pace. Ages 14–up. Agent: Lana Popovic, Chalberg & Sussman. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
The girls’ voices are authentic, and readers will enjoy a feeling of female empowerment as they follow them on their road trip... Drawing inspiration from Thelma & Louise, this book provides a fun, fast-paced plot with resourceful feminist protagonists.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Hello Girls is exactly the kind of smart, angry, tender-hearted, patriarchy-dismantling story that I’ve been hungering for, with a gorgeous, complex friendship at its core. Beautifully written, with a thrumming vitality in every sentence and characters so real that their passions, hurts, and triumphs will leave you breathless.” — Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn and Sawkill Girls
“Hello Girls is a razor-sharp union of sidesplitting dark comedy, fierce feminism, and poignant friendship, paced like an Alfa-Romeo at full throttle, and written in gleaming, perfect, gutpunch sentences.” — Jeff Zentner, Morris Award-winning author of The Serpent King
“A stirring tale of female friendship, loyalty, and the depth of love.” — Mindy McGinnis, Edgar Award-winning author of The Female of the Species
“Holy cats, I loved this book. Electric and powerful and so, so smart, Hello Girls is the YA Thelma & Louise I didn’t know was missing from my life. Winona and Lucille—and Cavallaro + Henry—make a fierce, fantastic team.” — New York Times bestselling author Katie Cotugno
“Fans of nonstop action will enjoy the collaborative novel’s unrelenting pace.” — Publishers Weekly
“A wild ride that finds its footing in the deep bonds of friendship.” — ALA Booklist
“A witty, sharply-observed critique of patriarchal norms... a fierce celebration of the power of female friendship... smart, fast-paced, and immensely enjoyable... perfect for fans of Jeff Zentner’s Rayne and Delilah’s Midnight Matinee or Kody Keplinger’s Run.” — School Library Journal
“It’s easy to draw parallels between Hello Girls and other dark girl-power comedies like Thelma and Louise, but Cavallaro and Henry offer something extra in Lucille and Winona’s relationship... The high stakes come across as genuine and realistic, and the girls tackle their traumas with grit and humor. Readers will find comfort in the resilience of the characters and the strength of their friendship.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“If Gillian Flynn decided to write a YA novel, it might go something like this...Cavallaro and Henry write with sharp, crisp voices, imbuing their heroines with wit and outsized imagination. They capture the idiosyncrasies of young female friendship with startling acuity... A novel that taps into something elemental about the ferocity of female adolescence... a page-turning tale with a potent electric current at its heart.” — Entertainment Weekly
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
It’s easy to draw parallels between Hello Girls and other dark girl-power comedies like Thelma and Louise, but Cavallaro and Henry offer something extra in Lucille and Winona’s relationship... The high stakes come across as genuine and realistic, and the girls tackle their traumas with grit and humor. Readers will find comfort in the resilience of the characters and the strength of their friendship.
Jeff Zentner
Hello Girls is a razor-sharp union of sidesplitting dark comedy, fierce feminism, and poignant friendship, paced like an Alfa-Romeo at full throttle, and written in gleaming, perfect, gutpunch sentences.
ALA Booklist
A wild ride that finds its footing in the deep bonds of friendship.
Entertainment Weekly
If Gillian Flynn decided to write a YA novel, it might go something like this...Cavallaro and Henry write with sharp, crisp voices, imbuing their heroines with wit and outsized imagination. They capture the idiosyncrasies of young female friendship with startling acuity... A novel that taps into something elemental about the ferocity of female adolescence... a page-turning tale with a potent electric current at its heart.
Claire Legrand
Hello Girls is exactly the kind of smart, angry, tender-hearted, patriarchy-dismantling story that I’ve been hungering for, with a gorgeous, complex friendship at its core. Beautifully written, with a thrumming vitality in every sentence and characters so real that their passions, hurts, and triumphs will leave you breathless.
New York Times bestselling author Katie Cotugno
Holy cats, I loved this book. Electric and powerful and so, so smart, Hello Girls is the YA Thelma & Louise I didn’t know was missing from my life. Winona and Lucille—and Cavallaro + Henry—make a fierce, fantastic team.
Mindy McGinnis
A stirring tale of female friendship, loyalty, and the depth of love.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
It’s easy to draw parallels between Hello Girls and other dark girl-power comedies like Thelma and Louise, but Cavallaro and Henry offer something extra in Lucille and Winona’s relationship... The high stakes come across as genuine and realistic, and the girls tackle their traumas with grit and humor. Readers will find comfort in the resilience of the characters and the strength of their friendship.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
It’s easy to draw parallels between Hello Girls and other dark girl-power comedies like Thelma and Louise, but Cavallaro and Henry offer something extra in Lucille and Winona’s relationship... The high stakes come across as genuine and realistic, and the girls tackle their traumas with grit and humor. Readers will find comfort in the resilience of the characters and the strength of their friendship.
New York Times bestselling author Katie Cotugno
Holy cats, I loved this book. Electric and powerful and so, so smart, Hello Girls is the YA Thelma & Louise I didn’t know was missing from my life. Winona and Lucille—and Cavallaro + Henry—make a fierce, fantastic team.
Jennifer Niven
Hello Girls made me want to hit the road with my best friend. It’s fierce and funny and full of heart, and made me feel invincible.”
School Library Journal
08/01/2019
Gr 10 Up—In small-town northern Michigan, Winona Olsen and Lucille Pryce are high school seniors, who are sustained by their unlikely friendship. Winona is the sheltered daughter of wealthy, beloved meteorologist Stormy Olsen, who she tells herself is "particular, not violent," despite a cigarette burn to the contrary. Lucille is a diner waitress struggling to keep the electricity on for her working-class family, an effort that is continuously undermined by her drug-dealing leech of an older brother. When Winona finds a letter from her supposedly-dead mother hidden in her father's study, she impulsively steals it. Fearing his violent retribution, she also steals her grandfather's car, and Lucille, enraged to discover that her brother is selling roofies, takes his stash. Together the girls set off to find Winona's mother in Las Vegas, on a road trip punctuated by gambling, a 7–11 hold-up, and a handsome drifter, hotly pursued all the while by Winona's father and a Midwestern drug lord. This novel offers a witty, sharply-observed critique of patriarchal norms and of the societal tendency to simultaneously sexualize and infantilize teenage girls, as well as a fierce celebration of the power of female friendship. Sparkling dialogue, larger-than-life hijinks, and the empowering agency of the protagonists all add to the appeal. VERDICT A smart, fast-paced, and immensely enjoyable YA take on Thelma and Louise. A first purchase perfect for fans of Jeff Zentner's Rayne and Delilah's Midnight Matinee or Kody Keplinger's Run.—Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia
NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Julia Whelan's versatility and warmth capture the courage and desperation of a daring cross-country escapade. Best friends Winona and Lucille have carefully planned their lives after graduation; they intend to escape from their abusive homes. When things go awry, they spring into action to preserve their future happiness. Whelan's pacing heightens the urgency as the young women flee, stealing a car and obtaining funds in risky ways while unsavory figures from their past race to catch them. Whelan's masterful delivery illuminates significant moments and adds levity when the girls do bits together. Her characterizations are well matched to a large cast with conflicting motives that ranges from predators and con artists to long-lost relatives. K.S.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-04-16
Two high school seniors escape their hostile homes in a stolen car, headed from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Las Vegas on a crime spree that turns more dangerous as they rack up the miles.
Winona Olsen is a rich girl whose mother is dead and whose father, Stormy, a beloved local meteorologist, secretly and regularly abuses her. Lucille Pryce lives in poverty with her struggling single mother and threatening, drug-dealing older brother, Marcus. The girls first meet one night outside the police station, bruised and hurt. Instead of reporting the familial crimes, they go to a bar and begin a friendship. It proves a lifeline when soon they are running for their lives: Winona from her father's rage when she uncovers proof of a lie he has told and Lucille from Marcus after she steals his stash to stop him dealing. As they drive off together, they reflect upon the ways in which their lives have been scripted by men—and experiment with taking their power back. The girls' voices are authentic, and readers will enjoy a feeling of female empowerment as they follow them on their road trip (Lucille turns out to be an accomplished card counter and Winona is a pool whiz). The book follows a white default.
Drawing inspiration from Thelma & Louise, this book provides a fun, fast-paced plot with resourceful feminist protagonists. (authors' note) (Fiction. 14-18)
