THE POISON APPLES

Three stepdaughters from very different backgrounds attend a posh New England boarding school and eventually plot to get even with their stepmothers by becoming the “Poison Apples” (alluding to the Snow White fairy tale). Alice, Reena and Molly take turns telling the story, which, even though they are different girls with unique backgrounds, is the same: a weak father who gives up everything—including his daughter—to make the aggressive women they marry happy. The Poison Apple members are not really mean enough to exact the punishment they want, but they are entertaining and their hyperbolic tales of woe might be what’s most appealing to gossip-loving adolescents. (Fiction. 12-14)