I first read about Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Hepperman on a beauty blog and I immediately put it on my wish list. The poems take important issues that girls and women deal with and wraps them up in fairy tales. The book also includes pictures and artwork throughout ranging from beautifully creepy to everyday ordinary.
The poems deal with everything from feminism to how they spray the clothes at Abercrombie and Fitch (and I work retail near an Abercrombie- some days it will turn your stomach.) The poems also deal with sex, self-image, confidence, eating disorders and how women are often harder on other women than men. (Haven’t we all had a ‘friend’ who never fails to point out how much we’re eating or a relative who loves to say you’d be pretty if you just tried harder? Or is that just me?) The book is mostly aimed toward teens but it’s universal and important. I connected most to the poems dealing with the beauty industry and image. I hate to admit it but I have never met a face cream that I wouldn’t buy, would and have spent money that was supposed to be for food on beauty magazines and taken a supermodels beauty advice one too many times.
I would recommend this and I don’t think it just has to be for women. The art work is beautiful the poems are quick and easy reads that made me think without it feeling to preachy. The only thing I would say is to read it first if your thinking about giving it to a very young girl, just to be on the safe side. There are some poems that reference sex and harassment and artwork I found beautifully creepy might scare someone much younger than myself.