There are no spoilers in this review.
When I first lay my eyes on The Accidental Bad Girl, I didn’t think much of it. I thought it would be one of these fun, entertaining reads you’ll end up devouring in a couple of hours, or days and have a good time with, but that’s all. I am thrilled to tell you that, yes, this book is a fun read. But it’s also so, so much more than that.
A GREAT MAIN CHARACTER CARRYING THE STORY
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The main character here, Kendall, is one unapologetic, badass main character I grew to love. Because of a couple incidents, from being caught with her best friend’s ex-boyfriend to having her Facebook hacked, showing pictures of her with a really bad gang of people, Kendall somehow, in the matter of a couple weeks, shattered her image and turned into a “bad girl” for everyone in her school. Instead of hiding away, Kendall starts to take that bad girl image that everyone labels her to and lives it. Like a disguise, just like putting on a mask. As she tries to uncover the mystery of her Facebook hack, gets into a much, much bigger and dangerous scheme of drug-dealing… Kendall just puts on her badass face and does it all. She’s smart, bold, yet she’s also scared and deeply human, too. Following her adventures was such a thrilling ride.
GREAT SECONDARY CHARACTERS AND…NO ROMANCE
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The Accidental Bad Girl is filled with secondary characters, just as well-fleshed out as the main character. I loved Simone, I loved how Kendall and Simone’s relationship started and grew on the page. I really enjoyed Gilly just as well and loved seeing how complex his nice-guy character actually was. The villain of the story, Mason, was also quite well-developed and we could understand his motives as well as his family back story, which was something really interesting to follow, too.
Something that made me really happy about this book was the romance – the hints of it, the little things happening here and there, yet the romance is really, really, really not on the front-page and it’s almost non-existent, really. Was I rooting for something nice to happen? At a time, yes. Was I happy with the plenty of non-romance this book ended up being? HELL YES. Because ultimately, The Accidental Bad Girl was not about a romance of any kind. It really was about the main character, about the mystery and also about so many other important topics, too.
TACKLING IMPORTANT ISSUES, TOO
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The Accidental Bad Girl was a fun read, one I got through pretty quickly and had a lot of fun reading, but under its light appearances, it tackles so many tough and important themes, too. It deals with rape, rape culture. It also deals with slut-shaming, what’s expected of girls vs. what’s expected of boys, and so on. Despite its appearances, it was way more than just a fun read.
OVERALL
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If you’re looking for an entertaining story with a badass main character, a twist of mystery and a book that tackles these important issues, too, you should totally add The Accidental Bad Girl to your TBR.
Final rating: 4 drops!
A million thanks to Amulet Books/Abrams Books UK for sending me a review copy of this book. This did not, in any way, influence my rating and review.
Trigger warnings: drug-use, slut-shaming, rape (mentioned)
Maxine Kaplan, The Accidental Bad Girl, Published by Amulet Books, May 15th, 2018.
After getting caught hooking up with her best friend’s ex on the last day of junior year, Kendall starts senior year friendless and ostracized. She plans to keep her head down until she graduates. But after discovering her online identity has been hacked and she’s being framed for stealing from a dealer, Kendall is drawn into a tenuous partnership with the mastermind of a drug ring lurking in the shadows of her Brooklyn private school. If she wants to repair her tattered reputation and save her neck, she’ll have to decide who she really is—and own it. The longer she plays the role of “bad girl,” the more she becomes her new reputation. Friends and enemies, detectives and drug dealers—no one is who they appear to be. Least of all Kendall.
Did you read The Accidental Bad Girl? Do you want to?
Do you know other books with amazing main characters? If you have recommendations, please let me know in comments!
Marie!! I actually adore this review so, so much, and I’m so happy you enjoyed this book! I will always cheer on unapologetic, badass girls, and I like how there’s a romance that doesn’t overshadow the book – plus, “nice guys” who are actually multi-dimensional are so refreshing to read about, because they often end up a bit bland, and “just” nice.
This is such a lovely review, and my TBR has just grown again & I hate you. (But still love you more than I hate you.) ?
Thank you so, SO much Lily, wow that’s so sweet of you? especially when it comes to my reviews, I am always so nervous about reviews, thank you ahhh ? <3
I really liked how the "nice" guy, at first, definitely is way more than that and I really liked that part of the book, too. I can't wait for you to read it, I'm so excited you added it to your TBR, yay! 😀
Thank you SO much Lily!! <3 <3
I know words don’t help much when I’m nervous or anxious, but you really don’t need to be, because yours are great & I always enjoy reading them! 🙂
You’re welcome, Marie!! ?
Aww thank you so much, that means the world, really <3 <3 <3
great review, Marie! I had been seeing this book around but never knew what it was about. I might pick this one up!
Aww thank you so much! I hope you’ll pick it up at some point and will love it 😀
Thank you Marie! ?
Great review! I had not heard of this one, and I’ve been leaning towards thriller/adventure type of books recently. I’m reading a fluff piece, and I’m definitely not a fan of how it’s written so far! Great post Marie 🙂 xxx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Oh thank you so much Melina! I’m so happy I could make you discover a new book and I hope you’ll love it 😀 Thank you so much!! <3
Great review! I’ve heard of this book but didn’t give it much thought. This looks like a great read and Kendall really sounds amazing. I love badass main characters! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I might give it a shot! 🙂
Oh thank you so much Raven! I’m so happy you enjoyed this review – I hope you’ll give this one a try at some point 😀
Oooh this sounds really interesting! I love it when a book drops the romance factor to focus on the main character’s development and to further explore larger societal issues! Wonderful review! So happy that this book proved to be so much more for you 😀
Aww thank you so, so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this! I was scared a little bit that it would focus on the romance, but I’m glad that there weren’t that much of it AT ALL in the whole book. This too rarely happens haha 🙂
Thank you so much! 😀
Fantastic review, Marie!! ? I love main characters that are badass and strong (since I’m not either of those qualities ?) and that’s great that romance wasn’t the focus of this book! (Even though I adore reading romances, I don’t think every book should have a romance in it, especially if it’s not necessary or important to the plot.) And I’m glad to hear that both the protagonists and the villain had complex character development! I really enjoy books that have three-dimensional and fleshed-out characters, so I’m definitely adding this to my TBR. ❤️
Aww thank you so much Dezzy!! And same, so… that inspires me, in a way? ?
I have to agree with you – more often than not, we get romances when it’s not necessary at all and sometimes could even be better without it. I was happy that this book did not have much of a romance in it 😀
Yay! I’m so happy you were convinced and I hope you’ll love it 😀 x
I wanna read this so bad! I’m glad you enjoyed it
Ahhh I hope you’ll get to read it soon, it was a great book 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
Need to add this to my TBR! The pink hardback is beautiful
Agree, it is absolutely stunning! I hope you’ll love it 😀
Thank you so much for your comment! 😀
You’re welcome!:)
OOH this sounds really good! Although I love romance in my books, I also appreciate it when the romance is super subtle and the book focuses on other important topics. This sounds so good! <3
It is such a great book, I really hope you’ll want to give it a try at some point 😀
Thank you so, so much Kyra!! <3
Oh I love badass characters, I feel like we need more of them in YA books so I’m going to have to add this to my TBR list. In a way, based on what you’ve said about it, it reminds me a little of The Exact Opposite of Okay in terms of the way the things the main character goes through and in terms of the topic highlighted in the story. I loved The Exact Opposite of Okay, so if The Accidental Bad Girl is anything like it I know I’ll love this book too.
I love your aesthetic for this book Marie, and also that hardcover edition is gorgeous.
Great review. 🙂 <3
Yay! That’s fantastic – and it makes me even more impatient to read The Exact Opposite of Okay, too, which has been on my TBR for a little while now 😀 I hope you’ll get to this book soon and that you will love it 😀 And thank you so, so much!! <3 <3
That’s good to hear, I’m hoping given you enjoyed this book you’ll enjoy The Exact Opposite of Okay as well! 😀
That’s all right. 🙂 ❤️
Yay, I am so glad that you enjoyed this book as much as I did, Marie 🙂 This was really an entertaining read with so many important issues discussed. I loved Kendall too. She was a lovely character and I really loved her overall character development.
Haha, I totally agree with the romance part. I don’t think it was required that much in the story but I was happy about the way it turned out.
It was such a great read, I’m so happy I read it 😀 I really loved Kendall, too and YES for the romance. I was happy at how everything turned out just as well and glad it allowed the story to really focus on Kendall as a character, without a romance taking the whole space 🙂
Thank you!! <3 <3
So glad you enjoyed the book. The unassuming cover and fun title looked to be an easy, breezy read. Loved how the MC popped. And the subtle romance was unexpected. This contemporary touched on so many topics without becoming somber. Great review! ❤️❤️
Oh thank you so, so much for your sweet words Dani! I hope you’ll pick it up at some point and that you’ll love it 😀 <3
Wow I love contemporaries that deal with no romance and focus on the main character! I would love to read this! Great review!
YAY! I hope you’ll love it 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment <3