Lily Archer
Alice, Reena, and Molly meet at an elite boarding school in rural Massachusetts. It takes them a while to realize that they've all landed there primarily because of their wicked stepmothers, but once discovered, this fact binds them in friendship and their shared desire to exact revenge on the new women in their lives during Thanksgiving break. Because readers see them only from the girls' viewpoints, the insensitivity and self-absorption of their stepmothers are stupendously exaggerated—as is the cluelessness of their fathers. This does provide ample scope for humor, however, and allows the girls to have changes of heart as their perceptions mature a tad. Not essential, but good fun.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
