Daughters of Eve

Gr 9 Up—The sleepy little town of Modesta is stuck in a time warp. It's never really referred to out loud, but the women and girls there are treated like second class citizens and even servants. But no one really sees anything wrong with it. At the local high school, there's an exclusive service-oriented sorority called the Daughters of Eve. Until recently, they were content with their fundraising for the boys' sports teams and helping at the senior center. But under the reins of a new advisor, the girls begin to see that they are not being treated equitably. They start to take matters into their own hands, dealing out justice—or maybe vengeance—as they see fit. One incident escalates into another and another. How long before they are caught and forced to face their actions? Lois Duncan's novel (Little, Brown, 1979) is an excellent example of vigilante justice gone wrong. The characters act on perceived slights, and the idea of gender equality is turned into something sinister and hurtful. The most troubling aspect of the story is that, except for one or two people, the perpetrators are never held responsible for their actions. While narrator Rebecca Gibel does her best to differentiate the many female characters, there are so many of them that it often becomes confusing. Pass on this one.—Melyssa Kenney, Parkville High School, Baltimore, MD