Poisoned Apples: Poems For You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann

Poisoned Apples: Poems For You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann

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.

These are not the fairy tales you know. This is what happens after the happily ever after.

• Fairy Tale Retellings: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and the Little Mermaid confront a world of Photoshopped poems, Abercrombie dressing rooms, and the pressure to be perfect.
• Feminist Poetry: Sharp, witty, and heartbreaking verses that take on the beauty myth and give voice to the wicked queens, ugly stepsisters, and silenced princesses.
• Dark Fantasy Themes: From the raw honesty of eating disorders to the complexities of toxic friendships, these poems venture into the dark woods of modern teenage life.
• YA Contemporary Poetry: For fans of Ellen Hopkins and Laurie Halse Anderson, these poems capture the authentic, unfiltered experience of being a girl in a world of impossible expectations.

Since 1996, Christine Heppermann has worked as a reviewer and columnist for the Horn Book magazine. She has also written reviews for the New York Times, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the San Antonio Express News, and a variety of other magazines for children's and young adult literature. She resides in Chicago, Illinois, with her family and pet hens.