This was the first book we read for my banned book club. The writing is very easy to get into and it's a quick read. I do think it will spark lots of discussions, which is great. This is the perfect type of book to read and discuss in a book club or classroom.

One downside is there's too many characters' POV and it's a short book so it makes it hard to connect with some of the characters and they sometimes fade into the background so you forget who they are. At the end when they mentioned Holly's name again I thought, "wait, was Holly part of the club this whole time?" That's how little we get of her POV. There are 10 girls in the club to begin with and having that many POVs for a book that's less than 300 pages makes it impossible to give each character enough time to feel like a fully fleshed out character, so some of them end up feeling flat. This would have been better if it just focused on maybe 3-4 girls max.

The pacing of the story felt uneven. Based on the synopsis, I thought the revenge schemes would have taken place earlier, but it took a long time before the first revenge scheme happened. Then after the first one occurred, the rest of them happened pretty quickly and then the book ended, so the ending did feel rushed. I am glad we got a little bit of an epilogue cause it did give some closure & resolution as to what happened with all the characters. Without that epilogue, it would have been a more open ended story, which is something I hate.

Overall, despite its flaws it is an engaging story and will spark a lot of good discussions. There isn't much graphic violence or any explicit sex scenes so this could work for younger teens or pre-teens as well.

Content warnings: Domestic violence and child abuse, suicide attempt, attempted sexual assault, teen pregnancy and discussion about abortion, emotionally abusive relationship between one of the teen couples, emotional abuse and manipulation of students by a teacher, sexism/misogyny, eating disorders, torture of a teen by peers, animal experimentation, and murder/attempted murder of abusive parent.

I really have no idea what to rate this book so I gave it 3 stars. I enjoyed it. There is no main character, just an ensemble cast of high school girls (and their parents, and their teachers) and I had a hard time telling them apart until the very end. I think the author was trying to write about gender equality, and about how neither gender should be "in charge", but work together. The message got a little muddled because there's maybe 2 or 3 people in this book that are not complete garbage. I think she wanted to show that going too far in either direction would be bad. ( )

“The silence was gone now, and the night was filled with voices—a chirp, a growl, a twitter—a burst of high-pitched laughter.”
― Lois Duncan, Daughters of Eve

I always loved this book, Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan. Can be read by any age group. And should be.

This book has been labeled the female "Lord of the flies". It was also , back in the day, banned in many places. I really think the reaction to the book was sort of extreme. I feel this is sort of a love it or hate it and I happen to love it.

For those that have no idea what this book is about it revolves around a high school society called Daughters of Eve. The group is presumably about bake sales and parties and only a few girls each year are asked to join.

The leader, Irene Stark is also the school's art teacher. She comes with baggage and does not have the highest opinion of men. Gradually she takes over the lives of the girls within the group, changing them, turning them from happy free spirited young women to bitter enraged angry people who become, like Irene, consumed with rage for the opposite sex. Things quickly escalate and tragedy occurs. Everyone's fate is changed forever.

To me, this is less about Feminism, although that certainly plays a role, and more about group think behavior and the consequences of "going along" with the pack. It also shows how people can be changed through group think or by someone extremely charismatic or in a position of power.

In that regard I do understand the LOTF references. But this is its own book and is unique. It will really make you think about what you would do if in the same position.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject matter. Beyond the plot, I love the descriptions of Michigan, the feeling of all four seasons that Duncan creates and I enjoyed all the characters. Each has their own story and the forces that shape one's life come into play here as each girl is changed for different reasons.

Daughters of Eve has been and remains, very controversial (as a great book should be!). None of the other books by Louis Duncan are remotely like this.

When this book first came out it was at the time when Women's roles in society were changing. Although it may seem dated to readers today it continues to have strong relevance and meaning in today's times as well as in the past.

It is also important to note that many years ago, Duncan updated the book to be more "current" to today's times. Not a whole lot is changed. The word "communist" is changed to "terrorist". Things are made a bit scarier. There are small changes like that. However I prefer the original and I feel bold in stating that I think most people will. It flows better, is more organic and feels more real. I did not think the update was at all needed although it is still a great book.

I am so interested in the differing opinions on this book. When I first read it I was quite young and did not really understand the damage caused Irene caused. It was only when adulthood hit that I began to really get it. That is why I would recommend this for adults too. I actually think adults may get more out of it.

5 stars and one of my all time favorites. ( )

I loved Lois Duncan in high school (25 years ago). However, I am now reading through a list of banned books that contained this one and others. I am surprised at the blindness of the characters in the books. Very quickly an adult begins to influence seemingly sweet girls into exacting extreme revenge on their misogynistic community. No wonder women's lib has such a bad name. On the other hand, this book was a commentary on the battle of the sexes and the dangers of just falling in line. I don't see any reason for books to be banned though. ( )

A potentially triggering YA book about a sorority seeking revenge on their abusers, but a very good one. ( )