For Alice, Reena and Molly life is a little bit like a fairy tale…the part where the evil stepmother bewitches the hopeless father and banishes her stepdaughter to a faraway place. In this instance that place is Putnam Mount McKinsey, a posh boarding school in rural Massachusetts. The girls however are determined to fight for their very own happy ending. The Poison Apples club is born and plans for revenge are soon underway…

Told from the perspective of the three main characters, Alice, Reena and Molly who couldn’t be more different, this is a humorous, poignant novel about families and friendships, perfect for a teenage audience.

Written in the first person and directly recounting events from the point of view of each of the characters the book is very direct and feels very personal. It almost feels as though the reader is delving into the  girls' diary entries, as they negotiate their feelings towards family and friends.

 Each of the girls has a similar experience; their fathers decide to introduce a new mother figure to their lives. All of this is a delicate subject that requires careful handling and Lily Archer achieves a good balance between fiction and reality.When the girls rebel against the new mothers in their lives, they all find an escape in boarding school but it is not quite what they had expected, friendships are not very easy to forge. They each begin to wonder if they have actually done the right thing…

The Poison Apples Club is a compelling, funny and emotional rollercoaster story that engages its reader from the outset. There are some great twists and turns in the plot and quite a surprising outcome.

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2008-06-29