Daughters of Eve

I don't remember much about this book, but it's a pretty dark and interesting look into the lives of sorority girls.

I loved this book as a teenager in the '80's. A good suspense book - the teacher becomes more and more intense and radical as the school year progresses and each of the "Daughters" reacts to this in a different way. The epilogues are particularly interesting.

At Modesta High School there is a chapter of the Daughters of Eve who are sending out invitations for their new members. They have a new teacher, Irene Stark, who is going to mix things up a bit—you know—really get things done. With Irene leading them, this social club quickly turns into a

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group of girls who will test their social and moral boundaries at every chance they get.

I actually had a hard time with parts of the book. The extreme levels that were taken had me with the feeling that these ideas gave feminism a bad stereotype. I started the book thinking it would be milder but Duncan definitely has you questioning the actions of some of the characters.

I couldn’t wait to get to the end (and boy did it end with a bang!!) to see if I would feel better about their actions. I am pleased to say, when I closed the book and though about their actions as a whole, I was kind of in love with it. I think Duncan was right in writing it with the extremes she did because she smacks you with something that you MUST think about. Irene may be a bit insane at times, but haven’t we all been there? I remember literally seeing red after a comment about women from a guy in college. I was literally blind with rage and wanted to punch him—I didn’t punch him, but I guess I’m a softy that way. The point is that the book was a bit extreme, but I get it.

The best part was that Irene reminded me of a college professor I had for Women’s Studies. She had that passion and enraged fire that made you want to go out and change the world. I love that when I closed the book I felt like I had just gotten out of one of her lectures.

This is an excellent book that may have you questioning both sides but the important thing is that it will make you think.

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What a strange book. At first I couldn't decide whether it was a very heavy-handed feminist book or an equally heavy handed anti-feminist book. Finally I realised that it was actually a psychological thriller, or as a sociological thought experiment. It was an interesting concept, but it sadly did

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lack in subtlety and therefore didn't have the impact it might otherwise have achieved. The funniest part was when they humiliated a boy by shaving his head. His terror and shame would hardly be the same now; interesting to see how transient are the horrors that affect our fragile egos.

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The sad portrayal of the straw feminist ruins one of Lois Duncan's YA thrillers. Too bad.

A new teacher serves as faculty sponsor for the Daughters of Eve club in a Michigan high school. This teacher, Irene, has influence over the girls in the club and uses it as they all share secrets.
The male chauvinism and stereotypical women's roles in this world are just a bit before my time. I

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know people dealt with this in the sixties and seventies, but I never witnessed such actions and attitudes myself (that I recall).

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Even though this book is 40 years old, it has really stood the test of time. An adult reader who remembers the 1970's will recognize echoes of 1970's Feminism, this book holds up surprisingly well. The shocker is that there is no real punishment for the teenagers, nor the adults, who run amuck here.

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

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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.

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