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Six Angry Girls

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A story of mock trial, feminism, and the inherent power found in a pair of knitting needles.

Raina Petree is crushing her senior year, until her boyfriend dumps her, the drama club (basically) dumps her, the college of her dreams slips away, and her arch-nemesis triumphs.

Things aren’t much better for Millie Goodwin. Her father treats her like a servant, and the all-boy Mock Trial team votes her out, even after she spent the last three years helping to build its success.

But then, an advice columnist unexpectedly helps Raina find new purpose in a pair of knitting needles and a politically active local yarn store. This leads to an unlikely meeting in the girls’ bathroom, where Raina inspires Millie to start a rival team. The two join together and recruit four other angry girls to not only take on Mock Trial, but to smash the patriarchy in the process.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 18, 2020

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About the author

Adrienne Kisner

3 books110 followers
Adrienne Kisner has master's and doctorate degrees in theology from Boston University and was inspired by her work with high school and college students to write Dear Rachel Maddow. She is also a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts with an MFA in writing for children and young adults. Dear Rachel Maddow is her debut.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 390 reviews
Profile Image for Jasmine from How Useful It Is.
1,267 reviews338 followers
April 4, 2020
This book is a fantastic read! I like how Millie stays positive by saying her daily affirmative lines. Knitting group! Love it. I used to go to one and made some great friends but stopped going because I had to move. I really missed it now that I'm reading about knitting group again. Knitting activism is pretty cool in this story! Mock Trial is cool as well and it's my first time learning about it reading this book. My high school never had anything like this. I like Raina's realization about how her boyfriend kept her back from experiencing more. Definitely great advice for teens.


This book is told in the first person point of view following Raina, high school senior as she talks about performing in a play and feeling angry when Brandon, her boyfriend of 5 years who dumped her out of nowhere. The alternating view is Emilia aka Millie, 18. She's upset because the boys got together to come up with a new topic for Mock Trial without including her. Now she's unprepared and basically got kicked out. With the suggestion of Raina, Millie decided to form her own Mock Trial team. Between love, mock trial and drama, the girls discovered something in themselves when they have the freedom to lead. This book is organized by date, beginning January and ends in September in a lawsuit style.


Six Angry Girls is well written and a fast paced read! I enjoyed the humor and how the story is easy to read. I love the awkward moments of crushing on someone and the beginning of dating. They are so cute. This book is very diverse where the characters and their family are same sex dating/married. How quaint that the author bring up Rachel Maddow in this book where that news reporter was her focus for her debut. (See link above for my review). One supporting character irritates me is Millie's dad. The librarian is too awesome! Love how the girls defend themselves from the guys. I recommend everyone to read this book!

xoxo, Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details

***Many thanks to Fierce Reads for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.
Profile Image for Mimi.
386 reviews107 followers
July 29, 2020
"Let's go be angry. Or motivated. But triumphant, either way."

GIRLS GET SHIT DONE.
Profile Image for Enne.
718 reviews113 followers
December 26, 2020
1.5 stars

I’m so disappointed to come here and report to you all that I have, yet again, wasted valuable hours of my life reading a book about “girl power!!” only to find it incredibly trans-exclusionary. Before I get into this, I just want to note that I do not speak for all trans people, and that this is my personal view on this book.

I just thought a lot of the way this book dealt with feminism was incredibly trans-exclusionary and it made me feel like I, as a transmasc nonbinary person, was not a part of any of the conversations this book was trying to have surrounding abortion, sexual assault, and other things that the author refers to as “women’s rights” issues. The entire platform of feminism in this book felt, to me, like it was based around the fact that women have vaginas and men have dicks and if that’s your view of feminism, I think you need to reevaluate everything you think you know about it.

I don’t want to get too personal or vulnerable in this review, so I’m just going to leave that there. I don’t think issues like reproductive rights should ever be branded as “women’s rights” issues because in doing that, you’re trying to take nuance out of a conversation that cannot be had without nuance. Reading this book made me feel gross and invalid and just so, so tired, but we don’t have time to unpack all of that right now, so let’s talk about the technical elements that I also didn’t like!!

I thought the writing style was bland and did absolutely nothing for the story. I also thought that the voices of the two main narrators weren’t distinctive at all, mostly because it felt like neither voice was developed enough for me to separate them from each other.

In the same vein, I also found both of the main characters completely insufferable. I don’t know what it was about them that made the author pick them as the choice narrators in a story where literally any other character would have made the book more interesting to read. I felt like both of them lacked development and did not change at all throughout the story. I also couldn’t really bring myself to care about what was going on in either of their lives for the majority of the book.

And that’s not even to mention the horrible first amendment right case that they have to argue for mock trial that got on my nerves, not only because of its content, but largely because of the way the main character decided to handle it. I just think if a member of your team tells you that they don’t want to have to argue against their own right to exist, you should respect that that matters a little more than you winning a competition. One of the main characters placing her own desire to win above the very blatant discomfort most of the team had with doing a case that literally forced them to argue against their own existence and basic human rights really was the final straw for me.

I just really don’t think there was anything at all in this one for me. I was bothered by the way this book discussed feminism and discrimination, among many other things. My dislike of it was only added to by the bland and unlikeable characters and a plot that felt very stagnant and repetitive. The only thing that made it bearable to get through were the side characters. I would like to formally apologize to all of them for having to put up with the MCs. But on the whole, do yourself a favor and skip this one.
Profile Image for Tatiana.
1,384 reviews11.8k followers
Shelved as 'dnf'
September 23, 2020
Winning message and rep, flat everything else, plus impossible to tell POVs apart.
Profile Image for Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany).
1,969 reviews3,286 followers
June 21, 2020
Oh my goodness this is just so good! All the happy, inclusive, girl power feels about taking down toxic masculinity and intolerance, plus it's laugh out loud funny. I definitely recommend giving this one a look.

Raina is excited about her senior year in drama, when her long-time boyfriend suddenly dumps her for someone else and she starts to rethink all her plans. Millie is dedicated to the mock trial team, but then the boys dump her despite her hard work, and at home her father basically treats her like a servant. The two girls end up working together to build an all-girl mock trial team while also getting involved their feminist and politically active local yarn and knitting store.

The team ends up as a very diverse group including a Black writer and rock climber with a broken leg, a transgirl looking for a fresh start at a new school, and two girls on the asexual spectrum who end up with a bit of a romance. This book offers ways to be an activist against hate and misogyny, offers a powerful discussion of what it does and doesn't mean to be a girl, and uncovers systemic microagressions that are often faced. There are definitely bad actors, but the message is one of standing up and taking down patriarchy and toxic masculinity. Even if that means knitting vaginas as a means of political protest. (seriously, some of the knitting protest was kind of hilarious)

I also liked that the adults in this book are a mixed bag with some good, some bad, and some merely human. There are great parents and horrible parents, some great teachers, some oblivious ones, and a pretty misogynistic one. It doesn't feel like a monolith. Do be aware that this includes characters saying things about "traditional values" both in reference to a mock trial case about hate speech, and from a the new girlfriend of Millie's dad who expresses her support for conservative views of gender and marriage. These are not supported as correct and are actively pushed back on, but some readers will want to know that is there.

Overall, I really loved this book and thought it wrapped up nicely and offered great arcs of character growth for these seniors grappling with who they are and who they want to be. Would definitely recommend! I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].
1,363 reviews373 followers
July 6, 2020
Raina is going to demolish her senior year—until her boyfriend breaks up with her, and the heartbreak causes her to forget to submit her cause for a new school play and the sophomores select Our Town. Fed up, grieving and wanting more, she quits drama and joins a knitting club. Meanwhile, Millie is struggling as well. Her father wants her as a Cinderella-servant and the Mock Trial team voted her out—despite her being the reason for their success! When Millie and Raina realize they have more to gain by joining together than standing alone, they form their own all-girl Mock Trial team.

Step 1: Beat the boys.

Step 2: Smash the patriarchy.

Step 3: Take over the world.

Because nothing that defeat the wrath of six angry girls.

~

description

It. Has. Everything.

Knitting, Mock Trial, yarn bombing, smashing the patriarchy, high school, revenge, knit genitalia, letters to the editor, and many different kinds of girls.

Some, like Raina and Millie, want to be on the team. Others slowly warm over to the idea. And one joins at the last minute to smash everything down. There are bi girls, lesbian girls, straight girls, cis girls and a trans girl, and girls of color.

"Here's what I'm recommending—a long, flat scarf. Great project to start, easy to correct mistakes, useful in the Pennsylvania winter, thoughtful gift, and can be used to choke someone. Perfect both practically and metaphorically."


While I feel that the book faltered in the girls and their interactions themselves (most of the Mock Trial team felt like tokenized stick figures), the book shined with the other secondary characters. I loved the women of the Dropped Stitch and their political activism, and I loved the librarian and lawyer-turned-yoga-teacher. I loved Raina's mom, a tired, single parent working as a nurse on the night shift and trying to do her best by her over-achieving daughter.

I loved Raina and Millie's ambition, and their desire to find themselves and do right by themselves and their teammates, particularly when in sticky situations (like when their yarn activism intersects with Mock Trial—seriously, is there only ONE judge in this area?).

And as much as I loved Raina's mom, I was so angered by Millie's dad. He was such a dick and took Millie for granted—he wanted a full-time servant to cook, clean and care for him, without recognizing that she was a person with her own hopes and dreams. It was no wonder that her mom left and remarried, and I did feel strongly for Millie's dad's new girlfriend, but only for a little bit. She was awful, too.

And the Mock Trial teacher-dude was an underhanded dick too. Actually—pretty much all of the dudes in this book were dicks in one way or another. Very few had any redeeming features.

"Do you girls need to get home by a certain time?" said Ms McClain.
"Nope," everyone said.


I also loved that this felt very much like a group of teen girls. They weren't all friends, but they became friends. They came from all different walks of high school to join the team, and each had their own motivations for being there (one was actually forced on there by the librarian, but semantics).

And again, I loved Raina's mom. She gave Raina time to figure it out, and even went, look kid, you're eighteen. You have a lifetime to figure your shit out. It's okay.

And honestly, that was a big sentiment of the book. That it's okay to try something new and realize that you love it, even if that something might not get you into your dream college. That it's right to do the right thing, even if that right thing means that you will probably not get you into your dream college. And that it's okay to not jump immediately into the next big life step, because life happens and dreams might get deferred for a moment, but the friendships and connections you make along the way last a lifetime.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review
Profile Image for Althea.
420 reviews137 followers
November 4, 2020
3.5/ 5 Stars

I’m going to start this review by saying that this is one of the most beautiful and most aesthetically pleasing books that I have ever seen – not just the front cover but the whole design of the book, and even the chapter headings were both pretty and funny (I loved the case numbers!). So of course, I was already sold by that, but the synopsis was equally as intriguing! It follows two teens, Raina and Millie – Raina has just been dumped by her boyfriend after he cheated on her and, thanks to an advice column, has decided to take up knitting; and Millie was the drive behind her school’s Mock Trial team until the all-male team (including Raina’s ex) decides to vote her out, despite all her hard work. So, the two of them decide to start their own Mock Trial team, made up of six very angry girls!

This book sounded right up my street from the get go! Living in Scotland, we don’t really have societies or clubs like Mock Trial (at least not in public schools like mine was) so I didn’t really know what I was getting myself in for, and to be honest, I didn’t really pick it up fully until about halfway through the book. Despite that, I loved the concept of the six, scorned girls going up against cocky, sexist boys – particularly since it felt very much like the experiences I have had being part of a women’s rugby team. I was also really interested in reading another sapphic book in which knitting was a main focus, as it’s a hobby that I’m really interested in picking up, and I loved the focus on using knitting and crocheting as a form of political activism. However, regarding said activism, I did have a couple of issues – in fact they were the main issues I had with the book, and why I docked a star and a half. At the knitting store/club that Raina and another main character, Grace, attend, they decide to protest the backwards anti-abortion stance of one of their legal representatives and so decide to send them knitted reproductive organs and go yarn-bombing. Which, okay, fine. However, so many times throughout the book does it focus on saying these viewpoints and laws are violence against women and that these are female reproductive organs, and not once is it challenged. At one point in the book a trans character is introduced into the Mock Trial team and they discuss what it really means to be a girl, and there is no biological essentialism involved in their discussion at all, which is great. But it never felt like enough – the majority of these girls attend the knitting group at one point or another and not one of them actively challenged the leaders’ cissexism. I don’t know if it was just an oversight on the part of the author, but made me very uncomfortable and it sat in the back of my head throughout the whole book. We also never got any closure regarding said activism either, even if the lawmaker didn’t change his point of view, as is the most realistic ending, I suppose, I’d have liked to at least have got that, but we got absolutely nothing which was frustrating.

Besides that, however, I did enjoy the book, and this isn’t a rant review, I promise! I do want you all to pick this book up! As I was reading the book I couldn’t help but feel like this was if Pitch Perfect were about Mock Trial, and I really enjoyed the vibes that gave me! I loved the two main characters, Raina and Millie, and really felt for them in both of their situations. We have some great representation in the book – Millie is bi/pan and ace, Grace is sapphic and also potentially ace, Izzy is a trans girl, Veronica is Black and Nikita is Asian! It was really heart warming to see their passion and their drive and to see people fighting for them to get the respect and recognition that they deserved. In fact, reading this book made me feel like I could be the seventh angry…well…nonbinary person! I felt so connected to the characters and their anger. The only thing I would have liked is to have seen more of Izzy, Veronica and Nikita, as I didn’t feel like they were fleshed out enough for my liking!

All in all, this was a short and enjoyable read that I think could have benefitted from, not only being slightly longer, but also being edited to get rid of the cissexism. Despite my annoyances with the book, this is still one that I would recommend for a quick, sapphic read to get you out of a reading slump!
Profile Image for Eva B..
1,146 reviews313 followers
September 20, 2022
As an angry girl who loves theatre, social justice, and law, this was a mix of my some of my favorite things, but this didn't do it for me. The final case was handled horribly and I was really annoyed with Grace throughout the lead-up to it (joining Mock Trial means that you need to be willing to take positions you don't agree with, and she treated Millie horribly because of her dislike for the final case. The final case was shitty and awful but you can't just dip out on your team before finals because you disagree with the case you're assigned). And coming back to this review after doing mock trials and such for a class I'm in, she's really just pissing me off. Sure, it was a powerful moment, and as a queer person I enjoyed seeing homophobes being taken down a peg, but the mock trial part of my heart was like "really? That's how we're ending the book?"
Also I'm too competitive and prideful to ever throw a match so there's that too.
I really loved the queer rep as well; Millie is asexual and sapphic, Grace and Claire are sapphic, and Izzy is trans and uses she/her and they/them pronouns. I wish that Veronica and Nikita had been given more page time, and it sort of rubs me the wrong way that Nikita (one of two women of color on the team) is and the two of them have less page time than Claire and the women in the knitting group do.
Profile Image for Samantha (WLABB).
3,373 reviews233 followers
July 30, 2020
After Raina is dumped out of nowhere and Millie is ousted from the mock trial team, they decide to channel their pain into forming a rival mock trial team. Though the team may have started as a means of payback, it grew into something that helped many of these young people reclaim some of their power.

Among the things I think a multitude of readers will embrace are the many facets of inclusion Kisner wove into this story. Aside from an extremely diverse cast, she also addressed inclusivity via the case studies. It was an interesting way to attack the issue, and I appreciated the way each character's opinion and reactions were explored.

I never knew a lot about the mock trial world, and therefore, I learned a lot as I read this story. It was quite fascinating to see what it involved and how they harnessed professionals from the community. I also loved being able to cheer on this team. They had to work really hard to get up and running, and obviously I wanted them to be amazing.

Though mock trial was a big part of this story, it also focused on the personal journeys of Millie and Raina. Raina had been in a relationship for five years, and it took a break up for her to realize her boyfriend was sort of limiting her. It was wonderful seeing her branching out, making new connections, and exploring different options for her future.

Millie was trapped in her situation by a kind of guilt. Her mother divorced her dad, left the family, and remarried. Though Millie kept in touch with her mother, she felt obligated to her father because he stayed. This was a tricky situation for her to navigate, but I was very happy with her choices. It was nice seeing her expanding her social circle as well and finding someone who understood her romantically. I won't lie, this little touch of romance made my big-sap heart happy.

How could I not love a group of young women who harnessed their hurt and rejection in such a fabulous way? I loved that they sought their revenge via mock trial, but I also appreciated the focus on friendship, trust, setting boundaries, trying new things, and discovering the hidden parts of yourself.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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Profile Image for Alex Nonymous.
Author 18 books326 followers
November 4, 2020
My main high school extra-curriculars were debate and theatre (I know, I was clearly incredibly cool) so when I hear theatre kids, mock trial, feminism, and queerdom, I'm legally obligated to read it.

I listened to this in audio and the narrator rocks this. A lot of the time with YA, even really good narrators make it hard to buy that they're narrating for teenagers, but Khristine Hvam fully inhabits the perspective characters.

Also, can we talk about the diversity of our 6 titular angry girls? I don't recall a lot of specific sexualities being listed but we have some girls who like girls and some girls who like boys. One of the girls is trans, 2 are asexual. At least half the cast is non-white. Kisner somehow turns a group of 6 into such a beautifully representation of intersectionality without anything ever feeling forced. No girl is ever defined by what makes her diverse before she's defined as a realistic feeling character and I loved it.

I loved the main plot. Protest knitting? Girls who all got 'dumped' in some way forming a rebellion mock trial team and kicking patriarchal ass? Girls from different social groups becoming a little found family? Incredible. My only wish is that some characters were developed more (mainly Raina's best friend who all but disappears randomly a few chapters in). I also found the relationship conflict in this forced, but it could be because as someone who was really involved in a 'teens pretend to be lawyers' type high school club, someone signing up for said club then almost refusing to participate in nationals because they didn't agree with their side seemed really off to me.
Profile Image for Claude's Bookzone.
1,484 reviews189 followers
August 29, 2020
How is it that I have never heard of the Mock Trial Competition! We don't have it in NZ but I am still amazed that I knew nothing about this incredibly cool activity. When I was at school I would have lived and breathed a club like this. I have even mentioned it to a teacher at the school I work at and we are contemplating how we can make this happen. Mock Trial fan-girling aside.

I loved this book. It has a large eclectic cast of women and in my opinion the author struck a perfect balance between the wonderful voices. I laughed a lot during the knitting political activist group scenes. I mean seriously, knitting female genitalia and mailing them to people who express views that stop equality and inclusion in our society. Gold! Absolute gold! I read a lot about how needle activists have been around for a long time. Again, another very cool thing to learn more about. I might have to dust off my grandmother's knitting needles! Knitting activist fan-girling aside.

I totally recommend this quirky book with it's angry but endearing cast of women to anyone who loves reading books about female empowerment and love. The dialogue is quick and witty and I loved the feminist and LGBTQIA issues the book tackles with a strong clear voice.
Profile Image for Anna.
1,264 reviews223 followers
December 2, 2021
This was so enjoyable and it was the book embodiment of the phrase "girls get shit done"

The rep in this brought me a lot of joy especially since there was not one but TWO aspec characters, both of whom are sapphic. There's also another sapphic character who is presumably a lesbian as well as trans rep with a character named Izzy who uses she/they pronouns. There is also a black rep and fat rep and I want to be best friends with these girls. These are the girls that I wish that I was in high school because holy hell are they powerful. They are holding nothing back in their quest for justice and feminism and fighting back against the patriarchy and shitty ass men in power.

I do kind of wish this book would have used some like specific queer labels because as it stands it's all just kind of vaguely hinted at or stated. The ace characters both comment about not ever wanting to have sex and then obviously there's the comments about sapphic relationships and the trans character talks about transitioning and using both pronouns but never has any sort of label. I also have an issue with the fact that Izzy states multiple times that they use both she AND they pronouns yet I don't think that this book ever used they pronouns for her at any point and that is an issue.

This book essentially follows two main characters and is set up where the chapters are trials or court cases. Our first MC, Raina, gets dumped by her boyfriend of 5 years when he basically just tells her that he's dating someone else and that's that. She has a lot of trauma around that and healing to work on figuring out what she wants out of life now that this relationship that she thought was forever has crumbled. Our second MC is Millie, and Millie is me. Millie is extremely academically focused and has spent her first three years of high school getting the mock trial team that consists of mostly boys to get to State and Nationals her senior year. So she's done all this work behind the scenes for them and her senior year they kick her off the team. The audacity of men. So Millie does what any self-empowered girl boss does and forms her own team for mock trial made up of six angry girls.

I just really loved this group of girls and their collective strength and power to overcome difficulty after difficulty and no matter how many times the incompetent and sexist and queerphobic men in their lives try and push them down, these six angry girls show up and fight and fucking win. And they do it all while knitting and crocheting genitalia to send to politicians and standing up to their terrible parents or teachers or judges etc. A handful of them are also involved in their local yarn store's knitting club and that was just epic as well. I want a group like that even though I cannot knit to save my life.

This book is such a punch to the patriarchy and I know that RBG would be proud of these girls.
Profile Image for Michaela.
24 reviews13 followers
January 5, 2021
4.5 ⭐️

THE REP THE REP THE REP!!! I loved this book so much, it was such a nice, light contemporary that dealt with so many feminist issues really well. It was a really quick read and I loved all of the characters!!
Profile Image for Mads.
179 reviews287 followers
March 25, 2021
michaela’s going to kill me for this, but honestly i was just bored by this book. the multiple POVs had no differential qualities which meant i was constantly flicking back to the chapter header to see who’s perspective i was reading from at any given moment, the general storyline was just ~meh~ and the relationships between all the characters were in desperate need of development.

overall it just wasn’t for me
Profile Image for Star.
220 reviews123 followers
July 16, 2022
Content warnings: misogyny, cheating (referenced), queerphobia, anti-abortion discussion.
Rep: asexual, disabled, trans, poc.


This one was a lot of fun. A LOT of fun!
I want to join an angry knitters group!
I loved every single moment of this one.


(re-adding due to the "big delete" of July 2022)

Bookish links: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Profile Image for Emily✨.
1,558 reviews30 followers
August 19, 2020
Angry (or motivated) girls were several orders of magnitude more efficient than the calmest of men. They were already team players.

Six Angry Girls is about a group of girls who join forces to form a competitive Mock Trial team at their high school, in direct rivalry with the all-boy team their school already has. The dual POV follows Raina, who was cheated on and dumped unceremoniously by her long-time boyfriend, who is a member of the Mock Trial team and has controlled much of Raina's extracurricular life. Millie had been an invaluable member of the Mock Trial team before being voted out by the boys. Millie decides she's tired of doing all the work and receiving none of the credit, and Raina ditches drama club in favor of new hobbies that empower her. Together they form a new Mock Trial team made up of girls, take charge of their lives, and get a little revenge along the way.

There a lot of elements in this story that I really enjoyed. Kisner does a great job from the get-go of illustrating the sort of helpless frustration that entitled boys can wreak on girls' lives, and gets the reader really invested in our characters seeking justice against those who've wronged them. My reading was definitely fueled by wanting to see the all-boys Mock Trial team get their comeuppance! I liked Raina's and Millie's character arcs, and the themes of pursuing your passions and using those passions to seek social justice. The one Black character in the cast, Veronica, objects to the term "angry" and uses "motivated" instead, which struck me as a deft consideration. There is also a member of the team who is amab but uses she or they pronouns, and some discussion over whether that makes them a valid member of the all-girl Mock Trial team (yes, it does). There are also TWO ace-spectrum wlw characters who have a little romance throughout the story (plus some other wlw side characters).

However, there were a lot of things that disappointed me. The book as a whole feels unpolished (though, granted, I read an advanced copy that has not gone through final edits yet). It's pretty short (not even 300 pages) and the author tries to balance the Mock Trial plotline with a knitting activism subplot, but that balance felt really off to me. The knitting plot is okay, but takes up far too much page-time and doesn't ultimately go anywhere. I also wish the Mock Trials had gotten more attention and been more compelling to read about. The only trial that was interesting was the very last one, but all the trials are pretty short (if not skipped over completely) and also kind of boring. The balance between the two POVs also felt off-kilter, with long stretches devoted to a single character instead of switching back and forth evenly between the two. Although there are ace-spectrum characters, the word "asexual" is never actually used-- they're just described as "not liking sex," which is pretty reductive. I also think the narrative subtextually pushes the idea that ace people could only hope to have a successful relationship with another ace person, when that is certainly not the case in reality. The cover design made me think there would be fat representation too, but there isn't.

Overall, Six Angry Girls had a lot of great ideas that kept me engaged and wanting to keep reading, but the execution of those ideas felt lacking in a lot of ways. 2.5 stars

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!

--

2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
34. Read a book you picked because the title caught your attention
Profile Image for Carlie Schadler.
79 reviews36 followers
September 5, 2020
I listened to this adorable audiobook and really enjoyed it! It’s jam packed with feminist and girl power, several LGBTQIA+ main characters, knitters for social justice, mock trial, found family, self discovery, and a whole bunch of sass!! If you want to set fire to the Patriarchy and you love contemporary reads then this book is for you! ❣️
Profile Image for Gerardine  Betancourt .
286 reviews51 followers
April 5, 2020
"Being a girl its in how you stand up to all that stuff that's thrown at you and how you kick ass after "
Six angry high school girls get together in this story, in a difficult time of their lives. All of them have on thing and one goal only, break the patriarchy in the process.
4.5 stars

Merged review:

"Being a girl its in how you stand up to all that stuff that's thrown at you and how you kick ass after "
Six angry high school girls get together in this story, in a difficult time of their lives. All of them have one thing and one goal only, break the patriarchy in the process.
4 stars!!!
Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan Childrens for providing me with a free copy
Profile Image for Paula  Phillips.
4,782 reviews289 followers
September 5, 2020
Lately, I have been reading a lot more YA books as I go through different phases with my reading. I wasn't sure what to expect with Six Angry Girls but I found myself loving this book as it talked about Social Justice and Feminism. The book starts with one of the main girls Raina being dumped by her long-time boyfriend and so she writes a letter to an Agony Aunt who tells her to get a hobby like knitting. She then joins an LYC - Local Yarn Club and finds comfort in knitting and these knitters are very proactive in the community with activism via knitting things like genitals and body parts etc. They have lots of laughs too which I loved. Another one of the Six - Millie has always been part of the local Mock Court Trial club at the school - she is the only girl in the team and now has been dropped from the group as the boys have overthrown her, it also seems wherever she goes, the male sex just wants to walk her over her and she has had enough. With the local female school librarian as their Mock Court Advisor and a group of six misfits who have been pushed aside because of males decide to form their group and prove that females are not the weaker sex and the old saying "Whatever you men do, women can do it better" rings true in Six Angry Girls. This book is the perfect read for any female who has ever felt like they have come second to a male in any situation during their lives.
Profile Image for kim.
453 reviews41 followers
July 13, 2022
Cute cover. That must be said.

This book motivated me to get back into knitting. I already have things in mind that I want to make but need to buy new yarn and needles. I should be like the book and knit some genitalia.

This was a quick read. I liked the premise of the book and the mock trials, but I could not tell the two POVs apart (didn’t help that there was one narrator). Millie’s story was very interesting though.
Profile Image for Dymphna.
76 reviews1 follower
December 10, 2021
I just loved this. I loved everything about it. I loved what it represented. I loved what it did. I literally just finished it and I'm still screaming internally (though this book told me it's very much okay to scream outwardly too).

The title honestly says it all: this is a story about six angry girls going against the world. More specifically, against boys. If that's not enough to convince you, I don't know what to tell you.

We follow the perspectives of two girls, Raina and Lillie. Raina just got dumped by her boyfriend of five years for another girl, and Millie got 'voted' off her mock trial team in favor of privileged boys. Both girls are very upset and they come together to fight against who wronged them. Because guess what? Raina's ex boyfriend is on the mock trial team.

They make a second mock trial team, consisting of six angry girls. They go against other schools and the boy team of their school.

There's so much I loved in this book, I could talk about it forever. It had wonderful discussions about how men see women, how women are expected to do more for less recognition and expected to bend to men's will. It had discussions about men making decisions about women's bodies and rape culture, as well as sexuality and gender.

This was a wonderfully feminist story that I wish I'd read when I was younger. I'm twenty and it still helped me find/be more aware of my own voice and desires.

A strength of the story, apart from everything I've just said, were definitely the characters. Their struggled were very realistic for people their age, and although I can't really relate anymore, I do remember. The way it was written was very realistic. Raina with struggling what she wanted and who she was outside of her relationship. Especially her lack of answers was something I still felt to the core. Lillie with her stupid dad and the one thing she's wanted forever.

Also the ace, Sapphic, and trans rep??? Fabulous. Just go read this already!

So I think this was pretty coherent, now I'm going to just rant because oh my god. Millie's dad???? I have never EVER hated a man more in my life. The AUDACITY this idiot has oh my god, if I ever see him, it would be ON SIGHT. He's not the only one who has the sheer audacity. Every single man on that stupid mock trial team. This book just fueled my hatred for men oh my god.
The romance was also very cute. I liked that it wasn't a main focus and that they had such clear goals and desires (even if they weren't sure what that was). I'm convinced we've been robbed of Raina/Claire enemies to lovers though, that would have elevated everything even more.
Profile Image for Jaye Berry.
1,344 reviews123 followers
September 1, 2020
Six Angry Girls is about a girl named Raina who gets dumped by her boyfriend and her future plans are ruined. She seeks an advice column and ends up getting a new hobby and new friends at a local knitting store- one where they use their knitting for activism. Millie gets treated like a servant by her father and then gets dumped by her all male mock trial team. To fight back they decide to make an all girl mock trial team.

This was cute, and actually made me want to learn to knit, deadass. (Well the Sims knitting pack may be related...) Like seriously I bought knitting needles and yarn before I was even done with this book so, love that for me. The thing with this one though, I wanted more knitting and less endless mock trials and talk of mock trials. The making of the knit lady parts and their meetings were fun and much more interesting than the mock trials. Like pls at one point I was just skipping the trials because they kept going.

I also wanted more anger. Sure these girls were mad but I just wanted something stronger. Maybe there are just too many books I've read that go off but I wanted this one to go OFF, you know? There was so much potential just from the title but it never really went there for me.

Speaking of six angry girls, not really? Yes there were six girls but not all of them were angry and only Raina and Millie get POVs. Probably for the best they didn't all get POVs though because I had a lot of trouble telling Raina and Millie apart. They were just too similar for my dumb ass and I had to rely on characters saying names or one minor detail to remember who it was.

But there was a sapphic ace romance in here that was SO cute and a welcome gift. But I just really wish I had a better feel for all of the girls, not just Raina and Millie.

A solid three stars for me though.
Profile Image for Vee_Bookish.
1,260 reviews278 followers
Want to read
July 6, 2020
Is this a loose retelling of one-of-the-greatest-movies-of-all-time, 12 Angry Men? We love to see it.
Profile Image for Natalie.
715 reviews17 followers
April 19, 2021
SO VERY GOOD~

The characters were lovingly written and very real. Each were unique with individual problems and points of view. Recommend.
July 14, 2020
Six Angry Girls is definitely a new favorite!

This book had all the things I wanted. Friendships, just a bit of romance, lots of feminism, and humor. I laughed out loud more than once. I totally pictured the older women at knitting and it just made me laugh harder.

Raina has been doing theater and is sure about her future. She's going to a college where she can act and she'll be close to her boyfriend's college. They've been together for years and he was the one who encouraged her to act. Brandon did mock trial and wants to be a lawyer. Everything was perfect. Then Brandon told her that he hooked up with another girl and he was now dating her. Raina was so broken. She wrote in to a local newspaper advice column. The answer was to try knitting. It would keep her hands and mind busy.

Millie was looking forward to her last year of mock trial, even though she was the only girl. She knew she did much of the work for everyone and would be good. But then the boys decided to hold auditions instead of using seniority and gave Millie no notice. She didn't do well and quit. Millie was crying in the bathroom when Raina found her. She gave Millie the idea to start her own mock trial team. Millie decided that it had to be an all girl team. She would show the boys that they were wrong.

It took a little while, but Raina and Millie created a team of six girls. Each girl has her own strength that they bring to the team. Well, most of them. Millie starts to crush on the new girl, Grace, so there was a little bit of romance. But it was never the focus of the book. The knitting class ended up being super political. They fought against the newer judge in the area that tended to be tougher on women. There was a lot of knitting of body parts that were sent to the politicians. They used their knitting for activism and I loved every minute of it. There was excellent diversity in this book and lots of eff yous to the patriarchy.

I gave this book 5 stars. Thank you to Feiwel and Friends for my review copy.


Warnings for talk of women's rights, sexual assault (doesn't happen, just mentioned for court cases), misogyny, hate speech/homophobia, and some crappy parenting.
Profile Image for Dominique Davis.
Author 4 books8 followers
September 12, 2020
Where to begin? There’s nothing I hate more than disliking a book that has so much potential, but oh well. This book was so so so basic. I like the message of the book and the themes of feminism, but that alone can’t make a book good. There needs to be more to a book than just its themes and messages. The characters were never really fleshed out they all felt like background characters except for the main two POVs and their characters just seems so interchangeable, that having them both felt unnecessary. Hence why I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. There was nothing special about the writing. And the plot left a lot to be desired. So while the book had a good message and themes of feminism that was not enough to save the book from being a simply uninteresting read.
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