The Poison Apples Reviews - Portrait Reviews

The Poison Apples by Lily Archer
Review by: Amanda



Reena, Molly, and Alice are all incredibly different girls. They couldn't be more different if they tried. Reena, a California girl of Indian heritage is used to being popular and getting what she wants. Molly, a small town New Englander, focuses on academics and reads the Oxford English Dictionary for her own amusement. Alice was born and raised in New York by famous parents, a spoiled little rich girl who is anything but. The three of them meet at boarding school, not hitting it off right away, but finding they do have one incredible common bond: they all have wicked step mothers.

This book wasn't exactly what I expected. With the summary I read, I thought the story would be closer to what you find in fairy tales, a modern interpretation of sorts. I thought that the three different plots would resolve themselves in a way typical of the fairy tale genre, but I wasn't satisfied with the conclusions, not any of them. I loved the characters. Reena, Molly, and Alice were all so interesting to read about because they seem so different from one another, but they have a lot of the same insecurities, a lot of the same thoughts. It helps that the chapters alternate their points of view amongst the three characters as well. If it was told from only one character's point of view, a lot would get lost. You wouldn't be able to see just how easily mistaken the three girls are about one another. And I think that really saves the book.

If I had to rate this on a scale of one to five, I'd give it a three, maybe. It's not the most satisfying of reads, but it's definitely not scraping the bottom of the barrel of YA books. It's just kind of average.