Read With Conina

Neus, Nora. Robine, Julie. Renegade Girls. Little, Brown Ink. 2025. Gr. 9-12.

Helena “Nell” Cusack is spending the summer of 1888 with her aunt and uncle in New York, hoping to advance her journalism career. She wants to be a stunt-girl for the paper but keeps getting stuck writing pointless fashion articles. When she meets a new friend, Alice, she receives the encouragement she needs to go for her dreams. When Nell’s best friend, Lucia, gets hurt at a garment factory, Nell goes undercover and is shocked to see the dangerous working conditions, as well as the young kids working in them. Her article makes waves, and she continues investigating other factories in town, hoping to uncover who is responsible. All her free time is devoted to Alice, and their friendship builds into a sweet romance based on them feeling misunderstood. “Sometimes it feels like I’m walking through a different world than everyone else (p. 54).” When Nell discovers her uncle is responsible for the factory conditions, she must decide whether to do what is right or stay loyal to her family, all while navigating newfound shame. “Everything good in my life has come from this privilege. And it’s all built upon harm and lies (p. 245).” This graphic novel’s protagonist is based on real life Helena Cusack whose journalism was directly responsible for changing  worker protection laws in Illinois. This story shows a sweet lesbian romance that doesn’t motor the story, but exists naturally. The art features beautiful Victorian clothing and settings, with color heavily correlating to the mood of the text. Helena is able to grow more confident and independent as the story progresses, which enables her to assist Lucia and Alice in finding their courage, too.  Perfect for lovers of Victorian fiction, journalism, and queer characters, this book champions doing the right thing, no matter how hard.