The Green-Eyed Monster
Give young teens a spooky tale to enjoy this fall
By PHOENIX CARLISLE | Cover courtesy of SCHOLASTIC
Need a spooky tale you can whisper at an all girls slumber party? A tale that will make your eyes glow with envy and fear?
From Scholastic’s Poison Apple series, book No. 2 will surely satisfy your need for spooky reads this fall. The Green-Eyed Monster by Lisa Fiedler is the perfect choice to introduce your young teen to spooky books.
Chloe never thought she’d have a friend as stylish, confident … or mysterious as Taylor, who definitely has secrets. She doesn’t like to talk about where she’s from, and she has a weird habit of predicting things before they happen. Not to mention she has a nasty jealous streak that seems to motivate her spite. Sometimes Taylor gets so green with envy she doesn’t even seem human.
So when a string of “accidents” hurts everyone who’s ever had something Taylor wanted, Chloe is scared for her friend, the upcoming play production and maybe even herself after landing a leading role. Is Taylor just a mean girl or is she some kind of monster?
The Poison Apple series was my first introduction to horror as a preteen. These books are full of awkward, silly and self-discovering moments with a touch of added spookiness for full effect! This one was my favorite. Chloe was a simple theatrical girl trying to figure out why everything was going wrong in her life and especially to her best friends.
There is always that liberating moment in any chick flick or cheesy book where the main girl realizes she doesn’t need to look up to the mean popular girl to appreciate who she truly is. It is a fun Halloween read that compliments real insecurities and friendship struggles because we all know that friend who is willing to push down others to get ahead.
Of course, we need to have empathy, even with these hard-to-love characters. This book guides us in quality foreshadowing you wouldn’t expect to in the final reveal of who Taylor truly is … or more like what Taylor is.
Thinking back on Taylor, I understand what a well-crafted character she is. The events she had to undergo would also lead to a motive similar to hers in the way she acts.
Even the simplest of good books stay in our minds long after they’re read. A reflection of characters in literature, using our own life experiences to develop more than the initial plots we experienced prior allows us to be empathetic real people.
If you have a teen in your life who is wanting an easy, girly story with a twist then Poison Apple No. 2 is just what you need. The Green-Eyed Monster should be on your fall 2025 to-be-read list. Just make sure to check your eyes — I don’t want to see them glowing with envy by the end.
