A few spoilers below:
Poison Ivy: Thorns by Kody Keplinger is a solid story about a young girl coming of age and learning about pushing back. Pamela (Ivy to be) is abused in many ways: a classmate, her father, and even herself. The elements that make Pamela into Poison Ivy are actually logical and heartbreaking. After all, you be “mind raped” by your classmate (having lies told about you, being harassed in the hallways), your principal saying to you, “now now little girl, don’t dress so provocative and you won’t tease the nice rich boy from a very generous family” and experimented on by your father to the point of literal death!
The art of Sara Kipin has a combination of both simple and overly done, but not necessary in a bad way. It is done to capture the complexities of the characters. There are trigger elements (the hallway scenes are realistic, but as tastefully done as possible, if such a thing is possible) and some themes might not be for everyone (the illness of the mother, the experiments), especially in illustration format, but at least ages 12/13 and up should be fine with the story.
Yes, there is some same sex kissing (nobody told me it was going to be a kissing book!) and there is some blood (the plants do a mild number on the person they help Pamela kill), but overall, it is just a graphic novel/comic story that is relatable and while not subject easy, an easy read. I admit that it did not “blow me away” but I enjoyed it enough to comfortably recommend
