Robin and Her Misfits

by Kelly Ann Jacobson

Overview

Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Books: Young Adult Literature —LAMBDA Literary
Most Anticipated Young Adult Books —LGBTQ Reads
Recommended LGBTQ+ YA —Reads Rainbow

A roving female gang of fun-loving rebel bikers and street racers, led by Robin, agree to give back to other girls in need of help in this stunning queer mash-up of Robin Hood and Fast and Furious.

Robin and her four Misfits—Little John, White Rabbit, Daisy Chain, and Skillet—have run away from their families in order to live off the grid on their own terms. For a while, they’re hidden, safe, and happy as they commit petty crimes that provide enough to get by. All that matters is keeping their small clan alive. Then, one mission proposed by an unfriendly associate from their past reminds them of their former lives and motivates the group to a new purpose. The five Misfits develop into a league of strong individuals united by a fresh goal: do whatever it takes to help queer girls rise above oppressive laws and attitudes.

Kelly Ann Jacobson, the author of the award-winning LGBTQ+ young adult novel Tink and Wendy, is back with another diverse twist on a popular legend.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781953103314
Publisher:	Three Rooms Press
Publication date:	04/25/2023
Pages:	278
Sales rank:	1,093,736
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	870L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Dr. Kelly Ann Jacobson is the author or editor of many published books, including, most recently, her young adult novel Tink and Wendy (Three Rooms Press), winner of the 2021 Foreword Indies Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction and her contest-winning chapbook An Inventory of Abandoned Things (Split/Lip Press). Kelly’s short fiction has been published in such places as Best Small Fictions, Daily Science Fiction, Northern Virginia Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, New Plains Review, and Gargoyle. Kelly received her PhD in fiction from Florida State University. She currently lives in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she is an Assistant Professor of English at Universityof Lynchburg.

Editorial Reviews

02/20/2023

Jacobson (Tink and Wendy) reimagines Robin Hood as 18-year-old Robin, fearless leader of the Merry Misfits, a band of queer teens, in this rousing heist adventure. While the five teens know nothing about each other’s pasts, choosing to keep their personal histories hidden, they live together at secret Florida hideaway Nottingham, supporting themselves by committing daring highway robberies. When one such job brings Robin face-to-face with parts of her former life, the repercussions cause the group to split up, each member pursuing her own destiny. Five sections featuring alternating perspectives follow Robin, Shakespeare-quoting Daisy Chain, Robin’s best friend Little John, getaway driver Skillet, and hacker White Rabbit. Each girl struggles to break free from individual traumas and outrun dogged pursuers, until they reunite for one last job. The characters’ distinctive voices provide intriguing variety—White Rabbit’s perspective is rendered exclusively via lightning-paced emails—especially as later segments provide new context for earlier goings-on. Jacobson’s take on the well-known tale, told through a cinematic plotline, centers themes of found family and queer love. Most characters read as white. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Books: Young Adult Literature —LAMBDA Literary
Most Anticipated Young Adult Books —LGBTQ Reads
Recommended LGBTQ+ YA —Reads Rainbow

“A diverse and entertaining twist on a popular legend in a YA novel about a roving female gang of fun-loving rebel bikers and street racers who, led by Robin, agree to give back to other girls in need of help in an original LGBTQ blending of Robin Hood and Fast and Furious. . . . Unreservedly recommended for high school and community library LGBTQ fiction collections for young readers ages 14-18.” —Midwest Book Reviews Children's Bookwatch, LGBT Fiction Shelf

“Robin and Her Misfits revisits a classic story about breaking the law, turning it into a poignant, exciting novel about queer love, homecomings, and hope.” —Foreword Reviews

“[A] rousing heist adventure . . . Jacobson’s take on the well-known tale, told through a cinematic plotline, centers themes of found family and queer love.” —Publishers Weekly“A queer retelling of Robin Hood full of heists, heart, and Florida humidity . . . Captures all the nuances of each main characters’ personalities as well as the found family that made Robin Hood and his Merry Men such a beloved classic.” —The Southern Bookseller Review

“In this modern reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood, a cast of queer girls fight to free themselves from the control of powerful crime families and their own pasts. Fast-paced action and high stakes.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Compelling and heart-warming . . . Twists and turns, badassery and a big sense of love.” —Reads With Pride

“Robin and Her Misfits is another superb queer young adult retelling of a favorite classic from the marvelous Kelly Ann Jacobson. Misfits, indeed! Such stunning storytelling, with vibrant characters wholly Jacobson's own. I haven't enjoyed the trials and tribulations of a group of misfits quite as much since watching Times Square. You don't want to miss it.”  —Addie Tsai, author, Unwieldy Creatures and Dear Twin 

"Robin And Her Misfits reads like the action movie with all-female leads you always hoped for... A greasy, gritty adventure carved for those who need a massive flip in the script. This is one gang of master criminal misfits you wouldn't want to mess with... A delightfully queer troop of outliers who dare to lean into all the twists and curves." —Jessamyn Violet, author, Secret Rules to Being a Rockstar

“This lightning-paced novel is addictive for any misfit who’s felt lost and angry, who hankers after a little bit—okay, a whole lot—of revenge. If you’re craving a dose of transgression in your reading, these queer gangster girls, and their madcap capers, are for you." —Lucy Jane Bledsoe, author, No Stopping Us Now and Tell the Rest

Past praise for Kelly Ann Jacobson's Tink and Wendy:
“This atmospheric reimaging is rife with divided loyalties and harsh tragedies. Introspective and character-driven, it retains the misty, fairy-tale feel of impossible things and childhood yearning . . . Jacobson shines in thoughtfully rendering the classic characters as well-rounded, complex, and flawed individuals.” —School Library Journal

“A masterful reinvention of the classic. Full of teenage angst and yearning, it is poignant, relatable, and full of contemporary appeal.” —Foreword Reviews

“A modern tale that completely reinvents the characters ... both beautiful and heartbreaking all in one.” —The Southern Bookseller Review

 

From the Publisher

2023-01-25
Robin and her Merry Misfits steal from the rich and give to themselves.

All five of the Misfits, including Robin, keep secrets about their lives before Nottingham, the home they built on an overgrown, foreclosed lot in Florida. The world rejected them, but they found each other. Together, they steal watches, televisions, diamonds, and more for Uncle Frank, a brutal mob boss who recruited Robin off the streets when she was 16. Their cherished life at Nottingham comes to an end when someone puts a $500,000 bounty on Robin’s head. In this modern reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood, a cast of queer girls fight to free themselves from the control of powerful crime families and their own pasts. The fast-paced action and high stakes offer initial appeal, but the story suffers from bland characterization and sudden plot twists that rely heavily on after-the-fact flashback sequences to explain the events. Robin’s flat personality makes the nonlinear plot more difficult to follow. Both Robin and her best friend, Little John, fall for Daisy Chain, a White, culturally appropriating Manic Pixie Dream Girl who speaks in Shakespeare quotes. Their messy love triangle is resolved by the hasty introduction of a new character. Most of the cast is presumed White; Robin’s surname is Ramirez, but her characterization includes no significant indicators of her ethnicity.

A heist with no payout. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews