Poison Ivy (review)

Several students take turns telling the story of a high-school government class' surprising project: the trial of three girls for the ruthless bullying of a fourth. Ann, the prime tormentor, thinks the whole production is stupid; Ivy, her victim, mostly imagines herself invisible; Daria, the pathologically shy brain, is devastated to find herself appointed counsel for the defense; while Cameron, Bryce, and Marco are, respectively, the process server (who develops a yen for Daria), the court reporter, and the single member of the jury who votes Ann liable when the whole exercise in justice turns into yet another triumph of the socially powerful and vindicates the popular girls. In its exploration of social hierarchies and different viewpoints, this is similar to but not as successful as Koss' The Girls (BCCB 6/00): while it's clear the teacher majorly screws up and the consequences securely confirm the status quo ("The moral is that winners win and losers lose," says Bryce matter-of-factly), the narrative never really coheres, the ending is too muddy and diffuse for impact, and readers are left with unanswered questions (What was behind the teacher's misguided and ham-handed plan? Is the rumor that Ivy subsequently tried to kill herself true?). Though Brugman's Walking Naked (BCCB 4/04) is a more compelling examination of the subject, Koss does present an intriguing mosaic of human relations with her usual percipience and honesty, and readers may be particularly startled to see the candid acknowledgment of adult inability to make a dent in teen social puissance. This is therefore, despite its flaws, sure to be a powerful discussion-starter about a matter near and dear to young adult hearts.