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Author(s)

Jean Ferris

Publisher

Farrar Straus & Giroux

Genre(s)

General Fiction

Age Range

14+

Release Date

August 05, 1999

ISBN

0374404755

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Inspired by the author's work in a girls' rehabilitation center.

Ray called it skating when we did the crazy things . . . Hot-wiring a fancy car for a joyride after midnight. Boosting stuff from stores . . .

Sixteen-year-old Dallas loves the rush, the excitement of "skating." But then she and her friends decide to rob a convenience store and it's Dallas who gets caught while the others get away. Since it is her first offense, she thinks her father will help her out - but when the judge says she can go home on probation her father says no, he can't control her. So the judge gives Dallas six months in the Girls' Rehabilitation Center. Once there, Dallas meets an assortment of "bad" girls, many of whom don't expect to change, and those who do often don't make it. How Dallas comes to terms with herself - both the bad and the good - makes for a heartfelt and insightful novel about troubled teenagers and the odds they face in trying to turn their lives around.

Inspired by the author's work in a girls' rehabilitation center.

Ray called it skating when we did the crazy things . . . Hot-wiring a fancy car for a joyride after midnight. Boosting stuff from stores . . .

User reviews

6 reviews

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4 stars

33%

3 stars

17%

2 stars

1 star

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.3(6)

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a little princess

March 06, 2010 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

3.0

Plot

3.0

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Reader reviewed by Haley

I finshed reading the book " A Little Princess" Frances Hodgson Burrnte this a book about a young girl named Sara Crewe, Sara crewe comes to a bording school and the master miss. Minchin's treats her like a little princess. she has a room of her own, a maid to wait on her, and beautiful colthes to wear. Then Sara gets some dredful news about her father. Now she has no money and no place to go The crul miss. Minchin takes away all of Sara's lovley things and makes her work in the kitchin. Sara Crewe has to beleive in her self.

I would recomend this book to people 8+ and people who love fairy tale and emotional book's. Wow! this a great book and a very well written book I LOOOOOOOVEDDDDDD it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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might be called "bad" but its really GOOD

June 24, 2009 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

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Reader reviewed by Sue Bell

I read this book about 7 years ago but it was soooo good I remember it to this day as a compelling read.>subliminal message< READ THIS BOOK >subliminal message< lol. When 16 year old Dallas ( Dallas is a she ) gets caught robbing a conviant store with a gun she gets thrown in to a womans juvenile detention facility. Ackk what a terrifing thought structed scheduals, no makeup and hair care products and not to metion sharing a cell. theres Action, Fighting, and Love, love that dallas has never really experinced before. what a amazing story about a girl overcomming herself . put this on your must read list !!!!!

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Very Interesting

June 20, 2009 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

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5.0

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Reader reviewed by Amy

I really enjoyed reading this book! I really liked being able to see into the eyes of a young teen in a type of rehabilitation program. I also liked seeing her and the other people that she met change over time. I think that this would be a great book for any preteen and older

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1,000 Times

October 31, 2005 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

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5.0

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Reader reviewed by spaZ

Wow! This book is EXCELLENT! I would have to say I've read it 1,000 times, even done a few reports on it.

Okay, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was insightful, but not judgemental. I found during reading this book it was hard to put down. The further you got, it felt like you knew Dallas, like she was your friend, your enemy, your sister, your daughter or even YOU! Whatever Dallas was to you, you knew her.

Dallas was a young girl who was getting involved in the "wrong" crowd. The book follows her trials and tribulations at the rehabiliation center. It talks about everything. It was a wonderful book, I didn't feel like I was missing anything after reading it. <3 EXCELLENT!!!!!

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The titles bad, but the stories good!

May 22, 2005 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

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Reader reviewed by Ams

The book bad is about a young girl who is sent to a rehabilitation center after she is forced by her friends to help them rob a car station and hold a gun up to the man at the cash register. WHen the cops come she is left alone, and after her father refuses to allow her to stay home with him, she goes to the center where she learns what friendship really means and that sometimes you really can't help who you are related to. THe thing i liked about this book was the relationships between the girls at the rehabilitation center.

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No easy answers

May 09, 2005 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

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Reader reviewed by LJK

Bad is the story of Dallas, a teenage girl locked up in the Girls Rehabilitation Center after her first offense when her father refuses to take her home with him. Although Dallas resents being "inside", and longs for her old life, she soon comes to appreciate the structure of her life at GRC. As the months go by, and her release date nears, Dallas wonders if she can have a different life this time.

Bad is realistic without being exaggerated; Dallas and the other girls talk easily about drugs, alcohol, and "skating" (crazy things done for the rush, like stealing cars and shoplifting), but they also cherish the stories that are read over the loudspeaker before bed, and jumping rope becomes their favorite activity. Ferris nicely differentiates between the truly criminal, girls who will fight at the slightest provocation, and the weak, girls who have turned to drugs and crime because of circumstance or weakness. Under the influence of her roommate, a young mother named Shatasia, Dallas longs to go straight, but she and Shatasia both realize the sliding back would be the much easier choice.

Bad is written without judgement, and the adults are just as developed (and sometimes lost) as the girls. The "coaches" who work at GRC are a mixed bunch, and although Dallas doesn't understand her father, the reader sympathizes with his failures. Bad offers no easy answers, but mature readers, even the good girls, will appreciate this well-written novel.

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