2 stars
This book follows the adventures of Alice, Reena and Molly, three girls brought together by their mutual hatred of stepmothers. They plot to get revenge and decide to carry out their plans during Thanksgving. Except they don't. And their stepmothers can hardlybe classed as "evil". In fact, they're just like most people, throwing a few spiteful comments here and there but never actually doing anything particularly malicious, like posioning someone or stealing their secret supply of chocolate. In fact, one of them even adopts a baby penguin.
This quirky, offbeat modern fairytale could be so much more, but it is let down by a slow start and a disappoining ending. None of the girls manage to get rid of their stepmothers, after going soft, or get the happy ending they crave. They realise that their stepmothers aren't evil, something which Ganesh the penguin could have picked up in about two minutes, and neither girl's situation has changed much by the end of the story, aside from the fact the three teenagers form a strong, predictable friendship. What's interesting is that although they hold grudges against their stepmothers, if their fathers had never remarried in the first place, then neither of them would have met. Which is probably a good thing.
Don't get me wrong, the main characters are realistic and Archer's style manages to capture and mimic that of a teenager, making it more easy for the reader to get into the story, but the plot leaves a lot to be desired, and gets too silly at times - getting locked in a room with the penguin you were trying to kidnap is hardly credible. The Poison Apples will fail to satisfy the more sophisticated reader's thirst for literature and is not the dazzling tale it could be. Maybe it would be better if the girls were older and not still in school, leaving more scope for a more exciting climax, rather than the anticlimax Archer gives. Better luck next time is all I can say.
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