Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780062289575)

Every little girl goes through her princess phase, whether she wants to be Snow White or Cinderella, Belle or Ariel. But then we grow up. And life is not a fairy tale.

Christine Heppermann's collection of fifty poems puts the ideals of fairy tales right beside the life of the modern teenage girl. With piercing truths reminiscent of Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, this is a powerful and provocative book for every young woman. E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, calls it "a bloody poetic attack on the beauty myth that's caustic, funny, and heartbreaking."

Cruelties come not just from wicked stepmothers, but also from ourselves. There are expectations, pressures, judgment, and criticism. Self-doubt and self-confidence. But there are also friends, and sisters, and a whole hell of a lot of power there for the taking. In fifty poems, Christine Heppermann confronts society head on. Using fairy tale characters and tropes, Poisoned Apples explores how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, and their friends. The poems range from contemporary retellings to first-person accounts set within the original tales, and from deadly funny to deadly serious. Complemented throughout with black-and-white photographs from up-and-coming artists, this is a stunning and sophisticated book to be treasured, shared, and paged through again and again.

Author: Christine Heppermann
ISBN-10: 0062289578
ISBN-13: 9780062289575
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Language: English
Published: 09/23/2014
Pages: 128
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 7.20h x 5.10w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 07/01/2014 pg. 123
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2014
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2014 pg. 125
Publishers Weekly 09/08/2014
Booklist 10/15/2014 pg. 39
PW Best Children's Books 11/03/2014 pg. 46
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 12/01/2014 - Book Of Special Distinction
PW Children's Starred Reviews 12/01/2014 pg. 111
Kirkus Best Young-Adult Books 12/01/2014 pg. 62
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2015 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In Style
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2015 - Recommended - Hard To Beat