Customer Reviews

Poison Ivy

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amy Goldman Koss gives us a great story told by eight different points of view. In a government class at school, a group of girls goes on "trial" for their bullying of a classmate they call "Poison Ivy". This story will give you the eight different points of view from each girl on the same event. Very interstingly puts you into the minds and perceptions of each narrator. See how differently these story tellers see things and learn more about human nature with each chapter. For example, Marco beleives if someone gets on your nerves, it is justifiable to be mean to them, it is a reality. Get into the minds of these characters and see just how our schools societies really are.

This is an amazing book: Amy Goldman Koss tackles bullying head-on. She balances the heaviness of the subject with enough humor to make it not only bearable, but highly readable. The device of multiple voices is the perfect choice, giving the story depth, and guaranteeing no preaching is involved.
In a perfect world (which is surely not the one depicted in this story), the heroine would be vindicated, and justice served. But I think it's more thought-provoking and memorable this way. Hopefully, this lack of a happy ending will make readers more likely to speak up, and stand up, when a peer is being teased, mistreated, or harmed in any way; it's up to each of us to stop the cycle. An excellent read both in and out of the classroom.

As I read this book, I felt a variety of emotions including anger, frustration, and sadness. The subject of bullying is one that can easily raise all these emotions and Amy Goldman Koss does an outstanding job of bringing them out.
Ms. Gold wants to hold a mock trial in her government class and she convinces Ivy (aka Poison Ivy) to bring suit against the three girls who gave her the nickname and have been bullying her for years. Lawyers and a jury are selected and the case goes to trial. Koss tells the story with first person narratives from eight of the main characters in the story which really helps the reader feel what the characters are feeling.
The idea of a mock trial might have been a good one but how well can it work when Ivy's lawyer is painfully shy, witnesses openly lie and get away with it and the teacher seems oblivious to all that and more! How can justice prevail in a process so flawed?!
This is not a book that I can say I "enjoyed" (it's too serious a topic for that) but I was touched by the story and impressed with the way Koss brought the subjects of bullying, peer pressure, popularity, and fairness to life. Anyone who has been bullied, done the bullying, or witnessed a bully in action can benefit from reading this book. It would make a great tool for class discussions on the subject!

Ivy has always been taunted and cruelly treated by others, especially The Evil Three, better known as the popular girls Ann, Benita, and Sophie. But for how aloof Ivy acts, no one can really tell how much this bullying affects her, if it does at all. Enter in Ms. Gold, teacher of third hour American Government class, desperate for some conflict so she can hold an in-class trial. It seems that justice will finally be served when Ivy's problem is chosen, because everyone is aware of how Ann and her friends ridicule Ivy at every chance they get, but is anyone actually brave enough to tell the truth and risk Ann's social wrath? Daria, Ivy's lawyer may mean well but is much too deathly shy to make a difference; Wayne, practically the only student who cares about the legal process, is just one jury member; and honest Marco is only another. The odds are stacked up. Who will be brave enough to tell the truth?

Poison Ivy provides an interesting peek into the workings of high school students through a very unique government lesson. I enjoyed Koss's presentation of the story, through a series of interviews because it gave perspectives from all the key players in the pseudo-trial, and a few more. However, I thought only two characters, Marco and Wayne provided the most important content; Marco told the truth, and Wayne gave the moral of the story. The rest was all entertainment, not completely necessary but amusing all the same. It was disappointing how stereotypical characters like Daria and Ann were, and the not confrontational nature of much of the class foreshadowed the ending, eliminating most suspense value this novel could've had. Though I liked experiencing the mock trial with the class, I can't say that Poison Ivy was outstanding in any way.

Social science buffs and lawyer-to-bes will enjoy the content of this novel. Readers looking for the blunt if harsh reality of some aspects of high school will also want to read Poison Ivy.

Wow, Rashomon for teenage drama. I love that this "civil trial" class project is told from eight different points of view. Ivy escapes her tormenters by retreating to dreamy musings about fish; Ann, the bully, is self-righteous with no conscience; Marco is the guy I would have had a crush on; Cameron is the unlikely knight in semi-shining armor. I list these characters because they were so realistic and so fascinating that I want a sequel! I want to know more - what happens with Daria and Cameron? Does Marco find a teacher who appreciates him? Will Ann finally get her comeuppance? These questions are not to suggest that the book is lacking anything, only to say that it is so realistically told and contains such interesting characters.

As a high school teacher, I was quite annoyed by Mrs. Gold, the teacher who thought this bullying trial would be educational. As a former teenage girl, I completely bought every single character as a real person, not just a type. And as a reader, I enjoyed the tangents - about fish, about the Tlingits - and found some lovely, poetic prose in Ivy's fish musings.

I enjoyed this very much. But I DO want a sequel!

"Poisin Ivy" by Amy Goldman Koss is a wonderful novel that shows readers what highschool life is really like. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy legal shows and the movie Mean Girls. This story deals with what its like to confront the "mean girls" of the school and show them how they make you feel. The three mean girls have been harassing one girl names Ivy by calling her Poison Ivy and saying other rude things about her. Her teacher finds out and since they are in the government section of their studies, the teacher decides it would be very good to have a mock trial to see if everyone else thinks the girls are harassing Ivy. The class becomes the jury, lawyers, and one student becomes the judge. They class takes their stands on the problem raised at hand and then the verdict is given. Want to know what the verdict is? Read to find out!

Gold Star Award Winner!

Ivy has been teased and bullied every day since the fourth grade by three very popular girls at school.

Ms. Gold wants to have a mock trial in her government class. She decides that Ivy should sue the evil three.

All Ivy wants is an apology and to be left alone.

Told through eight different voices, this book is about the trial. Not only is Ivy a victim, but we also are told the story of Daria, the painfully shy student who ends up representing Ivy in the trial even though she doesn't want to.

What I had a hard time with was the indifference of the bystanders, those who see the abuse every day but decide they can't or won't do anything about it. I also had a hard time with the teacher, who delights in seeing her students squirm.

But I believe that bullies need to be stood up to - and not only by the victim, but by all of society. This illustrates the fact that when kids see bullying done to others they also need to stand up for what is right and not let them get away with it.

POISON IVY, I believe, is an important book which should be read in junior high and discussed in classrooms across the United States.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

Ivy has been taunted ruthlessly by three popular girls since fourth grade. When the Government class teacher holds a mock trial to teach about our court system and a suit is filed against the bullies, it seems Ivy might finally be left alone.

This outstanding book by author Amy Goldman Koss takes an unflinching look at peer pressure and the fear that drives/propels it. Told in eight believable and memorable points of view, readers glimpse the individual motives and how they all play into the end result.
-- Reviewed by Michelle Delisle

Poison Ivy is a decent book. Not great, not bad. Just decent. There were a total of eight narrators; a few too many for my liking. While it was interesting and entertaining to see things from so many different perspectives, many of the narrators didn't add much to the story. They just provided a different way to give information. Some of the characters were kind of stereotyped: there was the mean girl with the two sidekicks, the quiet, smart girl, and the overeager teacher; while some were original: the wannabe lawyer and the goodhearted guy who actually has trouble making up his mind. The book also could've benefited from being longer; it was very short, and the ending, while unexpected, felt like it needed just a little something more. Poison Ivy is one of those books that you should read if you're interested, but otherwise, you don't need to seek it out.

Oh wow! I just finished reading Poison Ivy by Amy Goldman Koss. It tells the story of a teenager, Ivy, who puts her bullies, the Anns, on trial. It isn't a real trial, but a mock trial in their student government class. Through this trial, all the truths of high school life are revealed. The story is comprised of the different points of view of the key players. Through these characters, we come to understand the class system of high school and the cruelties that lie within.



This book was so interesting and it was also very painful to read. I knew the outcome of the book before I read it. I knew the outcome because I have lived through high school. I know how it works. I was thankfully never in Ivy's position but neither was I in Ann's position. I didn't rule the school, not even close. I was content to have a few close friends and just make it through unscathed. This book shines a spotlight on the cruelties that teens have to go through. I have no doubt that there are hundreds of thousands of Ivies living through high school right now.


I was just immediately taken in by this book. It wouldn't have worked as well as a straightforward narrative. I love how each character has his/her say. All were frustrating, even Ivy herself. It just shows that not everything in this world is cut and dry. This is a thinking book, one that I definitely recommend. The voices are authentic. I have known each of those characters in my life. If you are in high school right now, please read this book. It might change your whole perspective and maybe even your life. Thank you Amy Goldman Koss for writing such an important book.