BADASS(ISH)

Alberta teens Davis Klein-Mah, Renzi Chan Cruz, and Jae Schmidt are fighting to protect the environment and their community from an oil pipeline. Unfortunately, local people rely on the pipeline for employment, complicating their task. Various personal circumstances also affect the girls’ involvement: Jae’s mother is a lawyer for Haus Oil, Davis’ parents are Haus Oil engineers, and Renzi is being pursued by Izzy Malone, a boy who’s a vocal activist—and Davis’ recent ex. The central characters are well-rounded, but they each deal with multiple issues that are not sufficiently developed. Davis struggles with PTSD after losing everything, including her beloved dog, in the Fort McMurray fire; she also endured a Twitter backlash for her environmental advocacy, and she struggles with the breakup with Izzy. Renzi is helping her abuelos in Puerto Rico, whose lives were devastated by hurricanes, and figuring out her feelings for Izzy. And Jae, who’s falling for another girl and is self-conscious about her wealth, has a power-hungry mother who’s oblivious to her daughter’s passion for the environment. The teens’ friendships and dedication are touching, but superfluous characters and multiple subplots detract from the power of the central storyline. Jae is white; Renzi is Chinese and Puerto Rican, and Davis is Chinese and implied white.