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.”
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)
