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vanessamariebooks's review against another edition
This was the first book we read for my banned book club. The writing is very easy to get into and it's a quick read. I do think it will spark lots of discussions, which is great. This is the perfect type of book to read and discuss in a book club or classroom.
One downside is there's too many characters' POV and it's a short book so it makes it hard to connect with some of the characters and they sometimes fade into the background so you forget who they are. At the end when they mentioned Holly's name again I thought, "wait, was Holly part of the club this whole time?" That's how little we get of her POV. There are 10 girls in the club to begin with and having that many POVs for a book that's less than 300 pages makes it impossible to give each character enough time to feel like a fully fleshed out character, so some of them end up feeling flat. This would have been better if it just focused on maybe 3-4 girls max.
The pacing of the story felt uneven. Based on the synopsis, I thought the revenge schemes would have taken place earlier, but it took a long time before the first revenge scheme happened. Then after the first one occurred, the rest of them happened pretty quickly and then the book ended, so the ending did feel rushed. I am glad we got a little bit of an epilogue cause it did give some closure & resolution as to what happened with all the characters. Without that epilogue, it would have been a more open ended story, which is something I hate.
Overall, despite its flaws it is an engaging story and will spark a lot of good discussions. There isn't much graphic violence or any explicit sex scenes so this could work for younger teens or pre-teens as well.
Content warnings: Domestic violence and child abuse, suicide attempt, attempted sexual assault, teen pregnancy and discussion about abortion, emotionally abusive relationship between one of the teen couples, emotional abuse and manipulation of students by a teacher, sexism/misogyny, eating disorders, torture of a teen by peers, animal experimentation, and murder/attempted murder of abusive parent.
One downside is there's too many characters' POV and it's a short book so it makes it hard to connect with some of the characters and they sometimes fade into the background so you forget who they are. At the end when they mentioned Holly's name again I thought, "wait, was Holly part of the club this whole time?" That's how little we get of her POV. There are 10 girls in the club to begin with and having that many POVs for a book that's less than 300 pages makes it impossible to give each character enough time to feel like a fully fleshed out character, so some of them end up feeling flat. This would have been better if it just focused on maybe 3-4 girls max.
The pacing of the story felt uneven. Based on the synopsis, I thought the revenge schemes would have taken place earlier, but it took a long time before the first revenge scheme happened. Then after the first one occurred, the rest of them happened pretty quickly and then the book ended, so the ending did feel rushed. I am glad we got a little bit of an epilogue cause it did give some closure & resolution as to what happened with all the characters. Without that epilogue, it would have been a more open ended story, which is something I hate.
Overall, despite its flaws it is an engaging story and will spark a lot of good discussions. There isn't much graphic violence or any explicit sex scenes so this could work for younger teens or pre-teens as well.
Content warnings: Domestic violence and child abuse, suicide attempt, attempted sexual assault, teen pregnancy and discussion about abortion, emotionally abusive relationship between one of the teen couples, emotional abuse and manipulation of students by a teacher, sexism/misogyny, eating disorders, torture of a teen by peers, animal experimentation, and murder/attempted murder of abusive parent.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 STARS
"A high school teacher uses the guise of feminist philosophy to manipulate the lives of a group of girls with chilling results." (From Amazon)
A great thriller novel for teens
"A high school teacher uses the guise of feminist philosophy to manipulate the lives of a group of girls with chilling results." (From Amazon)
A great thriller novel for teens
ghostduchess's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Lois Duncan in high school (25 years ago). However, I am now reading through a list of banned books that contained this one and others. I am surprised at the blindness of the characters in the books. Very quickly an adult begins to influence seemingly sweet girls into exacting extreme revenge on their misogynistic community. No wonder women's lib has such a bad name. On the other hand, this book was a commentary on the battle of the sexes and the dangers of just falling in line. I don't see any reason for books to be banned though.
samburkhouse's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Excrement, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Stalking, Murder, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, and Infidelity
raloveridge's review against another edition
4.0
HAHAHAHA OH MAN. I dug this. Maybe this whole book is about the perils of feminism gone too far (OR IS IT), but I'm going to say IT DIDN'T GO TOO FAR ENOUGH.
I think this, in general, sums up my feelings.
I think this, in general, sums up my feelings.
emmonsannae's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This particular novel is much more disturbing to me as an adult than it was when I read it in middle and high school. It’s still relevant in unexpected ways, which I think contributes to its punch power. I remember this being one of my favorite books—it’s still good, but not one I think I’ll be reading again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt