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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062289599

Christine Heppermann

Christine Heppermann is the author of Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty, which received five starred reviews and was named to five best of the year lists in 2014, and Ask Me How I Got Here. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Highland, New York.

Book preview

cover-image

Dedication

For Claudia

Contents

Dedication

The Woods

The Never-Ending Story

The Wicked Queen’s Legacy

Abercrombie Dressing Room

Sleeping Beauty’s Wedding Day

Photoshopped Poem

Prince Charming

A Brief History of Feminism

Suburban Legends

The First Anorexic

A SHAPE MAGAZINE Fairy Tale

Retelling

BFF

Blow Your House In

Mannequins Make Me Feel Like a Failure.—Claudia, age 13

If Tampons Were for Guys

The Giant’s Daughter at Spring Formal

The Anorexic Eats a Salad

A Witch’s Disenchantment

Sweet Nothings

Weight Watchers

To My Sheep, Wherever You Are

First Semester Haiku

Vindictive Punctuation

The Elves and the Anorexic

Runaway

You Go, Girl!

Thumbelina’s Get-Tiny Cleanse—Tested

The Little Mermaid

Health Class

Ugly Stepsister

Transformation

Boy Toy Villanelle

Rapunzel

Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board

Nature Lesson

Red-Handed

Finders, Keepers

Gingerbread

What She Heard the Waitress Say

Going Under

Life Among the Swans

Big Bad Spa Treatment

Human Centipede Two

Spotless

The Beast

Bird Girl

Assassin

View from the Balcony

Pink Champagne

Author’s Note

Acknowledgments

List of Photographs

About the Author

Credits

Copyright

About the Publisher

The Woods

The action’s always there.

Where are the fairy tales about gym class

or the doctor’s office or the back of the bus

where bad things also happen?

Pigs can buy cheap building materials

just as easily in the suburbs.

Wolves stage invasions. Girls spit out

cereal, break chairs, and curl beneath

covers like pill bugs or selfish grannies

avoiding the mess.

No need for a bunch of trees.

You can lose your way anywhere.

The Never-Ending Story

Once there was a girl who wore her bones outside of her body.

Once there was a girl who thought bones looked nice.

Once there was a girl who had limbs as blue as razors.

Once there was a girl who sat by a pool in August

wrapped in a

Reviews for Poisoned Apples

[sarahliz2182 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just picked this up from a library book sale & am so glad I grabbed it. I always love reading the various versions & spins on fairytales & folklore, so I figured, "why not?" But when I sat down & started flipping through the pages, I couldn't stop. Each poem is written in such a fresh style & viewpoint, & equally truthful. I think my favorite right now is, The Giant's Daughter at Spring Formal, but all of them cover the range of what almost every teenage girl shares at some point.

[kristymk18-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow. What a unique and gripping book of poetry. Heppermann takes traditional fairy tales and turns them on their head, rewriting them to tell the tales of modern girls and the many issues they face. The stark reality is that there is so much pressure being a teenage girl (or really a girl of any age). There are thoughts and ideas we "must" conform to and the insurmountable pressure to do so can be damaging. Poisoned Apples is dark, yet soberly honest about the difficulties the modern teenage girl experiences.

[Muna · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I liked some poems and the others were like eh for me.

[pagesandpieces · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful cover, fascinating photography, a handful of really gripping poems. This collection of feminist poems is broadly based on fairy tales addresses issues like eating disorders, body dysmorphia, self harm, societal pressures, idealized beauty, social media and other relevant issues to teen girls. Some of the poems are fantastic, some of them are very repetitive. I wanted to love it, but I felt there were a lot of missed opportunities with regards to the fairy tale concept; some of the connections were weak. Lots of potential- I think this will really be enjoyed by teenage girls.

[veronica.sparrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a literary protest against the beauty myth that girls/women are forced to live with. It is caustic and the poems are beautifully constructed. The photos definitely add to the entire effect.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this brilliant collection of poems, Heppermann offers feminist retellings of traditional fairy tales, legends and biblical stories, exploring such themes as body image, societal stereotypes of beauty and gender roles, sexuality, misogyny, and eating disorders. Dark, witty, caustic, and compelling.

[v_allery · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Retelling fairy-tales is very "in" right now, just as those massive amounts of dystopia that is going on, but I think fairy-tales are perfect just the way they are! And contrary to popular opinion, they do not become redundant when we grow up. They do not deal with a perfect world of princes and princesses, that is just Disney. Some fairy-tales are actually sad, and harsh, and heartbreaking. The Little Match Girl, anyone? The point of my rambling is - I did not enjoy the interpretations of fairy-tales in these poems. At least, not most of them, because some were pretty funny. I always thought that fairy-tales teach morals, they teach to stay strong in the face of trouble, think and try to do good. And I think these are great lessons for children, as well as adults. Especially adults! So why mix those lessons with teen angst escapes me. On the other hand, commenting on the beauty standards, double standards and shallowness of people is done masterfully here. And I am pretty sure most people will not see themselves as the frenemy in that BFF poem, and will not understand what that poem is about, anyway. And they will not get those eating-disorder-problems, because they will feel superior to the girls who were not taught to love themselves just the way they are. And they will feel confused about why in the world that perfect cream that does everything for just 39.99$ is laughed about.All in all, I applaud the idea, but I am not a fan of its cynical disenchantment of fairy-tales. But that is just me. I love fairy-tales.

[mothwing-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Feminist fairy tale poetry, a really enjoyable combination. The subjects often address issues of body image and self-worth as well as eating disorders, sometimes a little unsubtle, often times enjoyable through the lens of fairy tales. Some experiences are too US America specific to resonate with me, others seem truly universal.

[flying_monkeys_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Feminist poetry inspired by the gloomy side of fairytales.I will admit, I saw an ad for Poisoned Apples, loved the title AND the cover, so I decided to pick it up without reading anything else about it. Most of the poems cracked me up (yeah, I have a dark sense of humor sometimes), but when I finished the entire collection, I was left feeling kinda depressed. Given its themes, predominant of which seemed to be body image and eating disorders, that downer vibe would have been expected, had I known more about the collection beforehand. Overall, I would say the collection was more snarky than angry.Here's a breakdown of my top five favorites from Poisoned Apples:"Red-Handed" - Actually read like a modern retelling of LRRH. That, or it was written as a tribute to the naughty girls who love bad boys?"Assassin" - Another one that read more like a retelling of the Evil Queen than deep social commentary."BFF" - Because who hasn't suffered through a frenemy before realizing, "Hey! I don't have to put up with that crap.""Thumbelina's Get-Tiny Cleanse--Tested" - About ridiculous diet fads."Health Class" - I daresay, a true story, at least for some public schooled kids."Big Bad Spa Treatment" - I don't know why, just cuz.Here's two honorable mentions because I actually laughed out loud with snorting (as opposed to simply snickering or giggling):"Photoshopped Poem""If Tampons Were for Guys"Most of the photography enhanced the poems; however, there were a few that felt repetitive and a little cliche. My fave photos: Material Possession by Lissy Laricchia, The Sharing Game by Brooke Shaden (will either give me nightmares or ideas, or both), A Witch's Disenchantment by Lissy Laricchia (is where I'd love to sleep every night), Red-Handed by Brian Oldham, and Know I Do Not by Ashley Gosiengfiao.Not sure who I'd recommend this collection to...3.5 stars

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fantastic set of poems for teenagers! Ranging from body image, to men, to family, and friends, this dark and twisted collection of poetry will be sure to talk to teens. The fairy tale theme is a good cover for some hard topics such as: anorexia, unhealthy relationships, bullying, body image, and more. As the poet says in the author's note at the end, "I have never been particularly brave. But when I put on the mask of fairy tales and started writing these poems, I felt powerful. I felt free to poke around inside stories that scared me or saddened me or made me mad. The more I explored the darkness, the more I realized that the forest only looks impenetrable." The poems are accompanied by dark and sumptuous photography which really helps capture the feeling and essence of each poem. For fans of Francesca Lia Block, young adult poetry, and dark fairy tales.

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: These riveting, captivating poems impressed me in their honesty and uniqueness. I also loved the art that went along with them.Opening Sentence: The action’s always there.The Review:To be honest, I was not sure I would like Poisoned Apples. My experience with poem books in the past have been flawed. To tell you the truth, I’ve never been a huge poem geek, novels are more my thing. But going into these poems, I found myself impressed. They showed both the messy sides of the fairytales and how fairytales are alike to today’s society. It was both modern and fantastical, and I really enjoyed them. There was really funny and really serious ones, but I was drawn to both kinds. They covered a lot of topics and feelings, good and bad, black and white, and a wide range of grey area.This review will be really short, as there isn’t much for me to cover. Poems don’t have the same sense of character arc/development or plotline that a novel has, so I don’t have much to discuss. But these poems did everything. They covered anorexia a couple times, and drugs, and obesity. They talked about fairytales, the unseen parts, like how the ugly duckling wishes she were back in the reeds and not gliding through the water with her stiff, not chatty swans. There was a poem on the dress code, on health class, and other normal, everyday things. In one, a girl lost her virginity; in another, there were haikus written for different classes. Those were hilarious. Altogether, there was a wide range of poems and I enjoyed that there was no apparent order for where the real life ones blurred into fantasy.I really enjoyed the author’s note as well. She talked about how she was meaning for the fantasy aspect and real life one to blur together, as she believes fairytales are retold every day in different forms. A girl living in poverty might be Rapunzel, trapped in her tower, perhaps waiting for a guy to drag her out of it. I didn’t realize that she is a popular editor starting the book, but good for her. Anyway, I found the Poisoned Apples poem book to be really well done, with interesting formatting that didn’t decrease from the story, and a prose that flowed nicely.Notable Scene:Photoshopped PoemSome say the before poemhad character.This poem is much more attractive.With the Healing Brush Tool,I took out most of the lines.I left in a fewso it wouldn’t look unnatural.FTC Advisory: Greenwillow/HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Poisoned Apples. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review

[colereadsbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful book of poetry about the life of the modern teenage girl.In this book Christine Heppermann explores the struggles that the modern teenage girl goes through. She casts everyday girls alongside heroic fairytale characters in these fifty very different poems.I'm going to say from the outset that I know very little about poetry. There is something about it that has never particularly appealed to me, but I found this book of feminist poetry very quirky and different. I was drawn to this book partly because I thought it was going to be retellings of fairy tale stories, but instead I got something much better. Hepperman really gets to grips with a variety of issues, from anorexia to abuse. It also details the length and effort women put in in order to look what society deems as beautiful. This one I found particularly fascinating:Sleeping Beauty’s Wedding Day:“After the kiss and the trip to the castle comes theshowering, shaving, shampooing, conditioning, detangling, trimming,moussing, blow-drying, brushing, curling, de-frizzing, extending, texturizing,waxing, exfoliating, moisturizing, tanning, medicating, plucking, concealing, smoothing,bronzing, lash lengthening, plumping, polishing, glossing, deodorizing, perfuming,reducing, cinching, controlling, padding, accessorizing, visualizing, meditating,powdering, primping, luminizing, correcting, re-curling, re-glossing, and spraying.No wonder that hundred-year napjust doesn't seem long enough.”They are sometimes blunt, sometimes subtle, but all address the harsh reality of today’s society. If that wasn't enough to peak your interest there’s also some really beautiful images throughout the novel that add another layer to the books overall package. I think it’s the sort of book you can return to again and again, and each time you might notice something different or look at one of the poems in a new light.I think it’s very rare to see a young adult poetry book, and I think that’s another reason why I was drawn to the book. There are some parts of the poems that went beyond me, but I think if I was to read them a second time I might find a deeper meaning – as I said I'm not really a poetry person. That being said I really enjoyed it, it was an interesting read and it’s a pretty short book so you can read it in one sitting.Hepperman really takes the bull by the horns and questions what it is to be a woman and addressing how women are affected by today’s media. It’s a very powerful book, and it’s one I’d recommend. It’s bold, it’s beautiful and it sticks with you. Something not to be missed.

[andreablythe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fairy tales neatly blend together with the lives of teenage girls in this darkly funny collection of poems for teens. Definitely from a girl's perspective, these poems explore unfortunate boyfriends, friendships, girl-on-girl cruelty, and other teenage nightmares using the fantastical and strange. As the Hepperman explains, these poems show how a teenage girl walking down the street can feel as though she's trapped in her own personal tower. Many of these poems are simple, narrative poems told from the point of view of a villain or an innocent, if you believe one is any different from the other. The book is also illustrated with fantastical and surreal black-and-white photography, often evoking fairytale imagery.A lot of these poems focus on body image, weight issues, anorexia, and so on. It was by far the most common theme among the poems. And for the most part Hepperman explores these issues artfully, though at times it seemed as though there was too much focus on this subject, the impact dulled by overuse and the ultimate message eventually feeling somewhat trite. However, some of these body image poems were also my favorite in the collection, as with "The Wicked Queen's Legacy", which shows how easy it is to become obsessed with self-image. It used to be just the one,but now all mirrors chatter.In fact every reflective surface has opinionson the shape of my nose, the sizeof my chest, the hair I wash and brushuntil it's so shiny I can see myselfscribbling notes as each strandrecommends improvements.— from "The Wicked Queen's Legacy"One of the things I really enjoyed about this collection was how darkly funny many of the poems were. For example, the poem "Big Bad Spa Treatment" describes how you can get sumptuously treated with "deep-tissue Massage Mallets, / leaving you loose / and gristle free" and a "honey barbecue facial mask". And the evil queen doesn't stop at Snow White in "Assassin," but laboriously works to take out Sleeping Beauty, Gretel, Bo Peep, Goldilocks and others in her need to be the fairest.While I can't say this was the best collection of poetry I have every read (I think there is more mature work out there), it was certainly enjoyable and I would recommend it for just about any teenage girl. I think it would resonate with that age group quite a lot. I would have been obsessed with this collection as a teenager, reading it dogeared and copying quotes down in my journals. I remember facing my own self loathing around my body in high school and the awkwardness I felt around my peers, and I'm sure this book would resonated. It might have even made me feel stronger, as though I could face the world with courage and awesome.

[krmajor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“But you are more than just a hero or a villain, cursed or charmed. You are everything in between. You are everything.” Declarations such as this await the reader of poems that show fairy tales aren’t always what they seem, and although it would be nice to live in a fairy tale world, such a world isn’t possible. The chilling nature of this book lies in the supposed dichotomies between reality and fairy tales, and the realization that the line often blurs. It’s jarring to read about a girl whose Prince Charming isn’t so charming--and treats her like an object. Similarly, it’s disconcerting to read about Sleeping Beauty’s wedding day and the stanza upon stanza of things she must do to make herself look perfect for her wedding. It’s the fairy tales we know as children, updated so we understand them as young adults. Clocking in at 114 pages, Poisoned Apples is a fantastic volume for reluctant poetry readers; because the poems are written in free form, it’s only the rhythm that gives away that it’s really poetry. However, a word of caution: this poetry is best left for older readers; issues like eating disorders, sex, and abuse are present in the poems. For older readers, though, this slim volume will leave an indelible mark on a generation of girls who were taught that princesses lived happily ever after but grow up sometimes learning otherwise. Highly recommended. Grades 9 and up.

[seliz-879521 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just picked this up from a library book sale & am so glad I grabbed it. I always love reading the various versions & spins on fairytales & folklore, so I figured, "why not?" But when I sat down & started flipping through the pages, I couldn't stop. Each poem is written in such a fresh style & viewpoint, & equally truthful. I think my favorite right now is, The Giant's Daughter at Spring Formal, but all of them cover the range of what almost every teenage girl shares at some point.

[bookswithbite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

These are a bunch of poems detailed and written beautifully. They are not your typical lovey dove ones but they take fairy tales and tell them how they are. The drastic measures girls take to be skinny, to be beautiful. It also deals with bullying.Truth: Every poems is short yet very powerful. Here I was thinking I was going to get cool retales of fairy tales but instead I got the truth about beauty. The way it eats someone from the inside out. The truth of words and how much they hurt. Each poem is told from so many different point of views that you can’t help but be consumed by them all.In short, this is great collection of poems that hits you right in the heart. Every girl wants to be a princess but getting there is not easy. Especially with the pressures of this world, girls are dying. The pressure to be skinny, pretty, popular, etc. Poisoned Apples is impressive.