POISON IVY

Ivy hands the perfect crime to a teacher aching to have a mock trial to educate the students about the legal system. Cut and dried, she’s been picked on, bullied and emotionally abused for ages by the “Anns.” When Ms. Gold sees an opportunity, she makes the most of it and in no time, has attorneys appointed, the judge selected and, after some negotiation, a jury of peers. Well, no one wants to be Ivy’s peer, really. Told in a series of transcripts that are the statements of the interested parties, including Ann, Benita and Sophia, also known as the “Evil Three,” Koss delivers the crushing and thoughtless cruelty of adolescents with great accuracy. The words of one of the jurors tell it all: “Popularity is the wrong word. Popularity means everyone likes you. But no one likes sour popular girls; it’s more about fear. The word for them is powerful more than popular. Think soulless zombies; think living dead, hungry for fresh blood. If anything I bet my fellow jurors were afraid they’d become the Anns’ next victim if they got caught sympathizing with Ivy.” (Fiction. 11-14)