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Poison

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 2,855 ratings · 281 reviews

A brilliant, twisted, spirited anti-fairy tale from the amazing Chris Wooding

Poison has always been a willful, contrary girl, prone to being argumentative and stubborn. So when her sister is snatched by the mean-spirited faeries, she seeks out the Phaerie Lord to get her back.
But finding him isn't easy, and the quest leads Poison into a murderous world of intrigue, danger...more

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published September 1st 2005 by Orchard Books

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May 03, 2008 Ali rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Ali by: My Lit teacher

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
In Poison, a girl named Poison leaves her life in Gull, where no one ever leaves or changes anything, to rescue her sister who has been taken by phaeries.
I enjoyed this book very much. There were many elements that left you saying, “Wow”, “ew” and “haha” all at the same time. For example, when Poison kills the Bone Witch, it was just so that you didn’t see it coming, giving it the “wow” factor. Also Wooding, being a good writer, wrote it so that it was only a little more than slightly gross l...more
In Poison, a girl named Poison leaves her life in Gull, where no one ever leaves or changes anything, to rescue her sister who has been taken by phaeries.
I enjoyed this book very much. There were many elements that left you saying, “Wow”, “ew” and “haha” all at the same time. For example, when Poison kills the Bone Witch, it was just so that you didn’t see it coming, giving it the “wow” factor. Also Wooding, being a good writer, wrote it so that it was only a little more than slightly gross leaving way for that, “Haha, Poison beat you” feeling.
Wooding is a well rounded author. This means that he is a good setting writer, a good plot writer and a good character writer. This makes the book very pleasing to the senses. Wooding gave his words life with the use of creative paragraph structure. For example to give the words suspense the author used this form: “The second dog was still unaccounted for, and she had to find a good place to hide before…
night …
fell…”
The author also used non-traditional dialogue punctuation. For example when the Bone Witch is talking, her words are in italics with “quotes”. Also, when the Lady of the Cobwebs is talking, Wooding described her voice as “awful, drawn-out rasp, lisping and strange, as if it were being made by a mouth that was not adapted to human language.” To illustrate this, the author uses brackets instead of quotation marks and puts the words in italics. Poison is written in the third person but the writing is so descriptive of Poison’s thoughts, perceptions and emotions it is almost written in the first person. The descriptions left me with that sense of completeness in the book.
There are many things in this book that remind me of classic fairy tales. For example, when she is in the House of the Bone Witch, all of the things are huge. This reminds me of Jack and the Bean Stalk. The Bone Witch even says things like, “I can smell you, my dear! I’ll have your bones!” Also the Bone Witch reminds me of Hansel and Gretel, because she puts Poison in a cage and then she plans to put her in a pot. Also, she is blind and deaf and gets pushed into the same pot. There are many archetypes in the book. Things like stepmother who fights with her stepdaughter, the heroine who has to perform a task in order to gain something, and people who can paralyze with their eyes are examples of archetypes from Poison.
Books are a major theme in Poison. For example, the Hierophant is the master storyteller. What he writes happens. Also some people’s lives are recorded in books and some people may have more than one story about them.
Poison has many unexpected twists and turns. For example, just when you thought everything was going according to Poison’s plan there is a twist. Like when she accuses the murder of the Hierophant on Aelthar, the phaerie king, he tells her it was Scriddle, his advisor, who killed him. That leaves the reader never bored, never knowing what will happen next and therefore wanting to read on.
I would give Poison a 10 on a scale from 1-10 (1 being the least and 10 being the most). I would do that because the book is very descriptive. The author doesn’t simply tell the story. he shows it with the use of many literary devices. I would recommend this book to everyone.

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Aug 14, 2012 Elevetha Houre rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, fairytales, fantasy-adventure, fey, mystery, original, suspense, 2012

When Poison's younger sister is kidnapped by the Phaeries and a changeling left in her place, Poison sets out to find the Phaerie Lord, Aelthar, and rescue her sister, Azalea. Things aren't quite as simple as Poison might hope but she does have the help of a few friends. Loved Bram (he was so sweet), Myrrk was funny, however little he was in the book, I ended up liking Fleet, and Andersen!! He was awesome. Can I has one of him? Aelthar is tricksy cruel and has no love for humans. Poison realizes...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a surprisingly good book. I have never read a book by Chris Wooding before, and although I had to slog through the first chapter, the book really picked up pace from that point on.

Poison lives in a swamp with her step-mother, father and baby sister. Poison is an outcast, she can never understand why the people of the swamp village put up with living the way they do, she can't understand why someone doesn't change things. When Poison's sister is stolen by the Phaeries it is the last stra...more This was a surprisingly good book. I have never read a book by Chris Wooding before, and although I had to slog through the first chapter, the book really picked up pace from that point on.

Poison lives in a swamp with her step-mother, father and baby sister. Poison is an outcast, she can never understand why the people of the swamp village put up with living the way they do, she can't understand why someone doesn't change things. When Poison's sister is stolen by the Phaeries it is the last straw. Poison leaves the village with the local wraith-catcher determined to get her sister back.

This book starts out as a wonderfully Gothic and classic Brothers Grimm-like story. These is not your Disney fairy tale but the dark and scary fairy tale that stays true to a Grimm fairy tale. Initially you think this book is just a very well written story about a girl on a quest to save her sister. As the story progresses it ends up being about so much more. There is much more at stake than Poison's sister. Poison quickly finds out that reality is not what it seems; and deeper questions come up as to who weaves the stories that are a person's life.

This was a delightful book. The details are magnificent and the story is very creative. The plot weaves irony in and out of the story and you will say "huh, wow that was clever." Poison is a strong character and the side characters are also intriguing. Wooding has developed an interesting world where humans are on the bottom of the food chain, except in one aspect.

This is not a book for the faint at heart. Although it is appropriate for preteens and young adults; it is a creepy and scary book. I would put the creepiness right up there with Joseph Delauney's Spook's Apprentice series. This is a wonderful young adult horror though.

I also have the book The Storm Thief by Wooding and I am very much looking forward to reading that book. I am definitely going to look into acquiring more of Wooding's books. He is a great storyteller. I don't think I have gotten such delight out of a fairy tale since I read Ironside by Holly Black. Although this tale is set in a different world; the characters are just as engrossing. (less)

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Nov 26, 2010 Megaball rated it 2 of 5 stars

This started out very strong, which is what I've come to expect from Chris Wooding. I loved the character of Poison, her unconventional relationship with Bram, the eerie set pieces, and the unusual fantasy setting.

Sadly, aside from a memorable sequence involving the queen of the spider realm - who is probably the darkest and most striking character I've ever encountered in juvenile fiction - the book pretty much lost it for me once Poison left her own world and went questing in the realm of Faer...more

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Jul 09, 2010 ICPL Staff Picks added it

Shelves: jason, staff-picks-blog, young-adult

If you could pick any name for yourself, would you choose Poison? In this dark "fairy"-tale fantasy from Chris Wooding, Foxglove lives in the marsh town of Gull where lives are often cut short by nasty beasts and the folk generally lack drive and imagination. On her Nameday, rather than choose one of the traditional flower names, Foxglove decides on Poison…though most of the villagers expected nothing less of this rebellious teenage outcast! After a fight with her stepmother, Poison is visited i...more

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May 09, 2009 Rachael rated it 5 of 5 stars

Poison has always been an independent and strong willed girl, if easily provoked and stubborn. She even chose her name to spite her stepmother. There are very few people Poison truly cares about, one being her younger sister Azalea, so when baby Azalea is kidnapped by phaeries and a demonic changeling left in her place, it’s the final event Poison needs to leave home and embark on a journey. But searching for Azalea is no easy task, especially when phaeries are concerned, because of the gruesome...more Poison has always been an independent and strong willed girl, if easily provoked and stubborn. She even chose her name to spite her stepmother. There are very few people Poison truly cares about, one being her younger sister Azalea, so when baby Azalea is kidnapped by phaeries and a demonic changeling left in her place, it’s the final event Poison needs to leave home and embark on a journey. But searching for Azalea is no easy task, especially when phaeries are concerned, because of the gruesome challenges that lie in her way and the deceitful nature of the Phaerie Lord. And Poison’s phaerie tale takes a turn for the worse when she finds herself caught in the middle of a murderous scheme involving the Lords of the Realms, the fate of the race of man, and the all powerful Hierophant. Because the Hierophant is writing again, and his stories will decide not only the end to Poison’s phaerie tale but the fate of the Realms as well.

Entertaining, fantastical, and thought provoking, Poison is a true joy to read. This novel shows fantasty in a postmodernist view that is completely original. The various settings and interesting and adequately described without being overbearing, and the characters, especially Poison, are mostly well developed and certainly delightful. Wooding creates an entire new world with a multitude of dimensions that is unique and exciting in its exoticness. Even better than reading about Poison’s encounters with various dangers and quick thinking was the Hierophant and his almighty pen. This elusive character raises such deep questions about where individual will stops and fate decided by some higher being begins. I’ll admit that some of Poison’s thought processes are confusing and most definitely trippy, but it is also an excellent display of postmodern thought: how do we know we’re even really alive? This inclusion of this into a world where life is made up of one or more stores was just so fun and enjoyable for me to read about. I love how Poison effectively combines story and thought into a novel I feel is more than worthy of being dissected in a high school English class.

This great novel will likely be enjoyed by fans of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr and Tithe by Holly Black and particularly by those who loved the movie The Matrix.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com (less)

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Jul 09, 2012 Brooke rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: young adults, teens

Poison, a girl who is from a small town called Gull, is a 16 year old teenager who lives with her father Hew, stepmother Snapdragon and her baby sister Azalea.

the main events of the story start with Azalea being snatched by the 'scarecrow' scary name isn't it... not. the scarecrow exchanges azalea for a changeling. once Poison finds that her sister has been replaced by a changeling, she goes to get her back by traveling through different phaerie realms and eventually meeting the phaerie lord in...more

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Sep 29, 2011 Madelyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Madelyn Sweeney
9/29/11
Book Review # 1
Period 7/8
Poison
Poison was never like the other swamp people. They were content with their clothes washing and their baby raising; not to mention ignoring when people went missing. The swamp was not a safe place to live, from creatures living in the waters below, to fairies stealing your children, or anyone they want. It so happened that they took Poison’s little sister, but instead Poison ignoring it she went on a journey to find her, meeting new frien...more Madelyn Sweeney
9/29/11
Book Review # 1
Period 7/8
Poison
Poison was never like the other swamp people. They were content with their clothes washing and their baby raising; not to mention ignoring when people went missing. The swamp was not a safe place to live, from creatures living in the waters below, to fairies stealing your children, or anyone they want. It so happened that they took Poison’s little sister, but instead Poison ignoring it she went on a journey to find her, meeting new friends along the way. Her adventure puts her up against stronger and scarier enemies than you could have ever thought of, with her new friends behind her she might just save her sister yet.
Poison is a story about being yourself even if the whole world is against you. Chris Wooding created a world that I could see clearly and a protagonist that I could relate too. He made perfect supporting characters; they influenced who Poison would become and how far she would go to save her sister. The adventures were so surprisingly horrifying, that my eyes were glued to the book for hours, wondering what would happen next. Wooding made a brilliant plot and an ending that no one could have predicted.
Poison said, “Some of us are born in the right place, and some of us have to go look for it.” This is my favorite quote because it shows how even though Poison was born in such a dull meaningless place she chose not to stay. Poison was never like the other swamp people, unfortunately this made her critical. An example of this is her thought on why she cannot be naive, “Cynicism was a one-way path, and once taken the way back was lost forever”. She realized how cynical she is, but she also realized that it couldn’t be helped because it is who she is. Poison is one of the best books that I’ve read in a while. I would recommend it to anyone that likes complicated but amazing literature.

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Feb 13, 2011 Hope rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this book at my local used bookstore, I love that place. I really love the cover of this book, it kind of reminds me of the Blair Witch Project movie poster or DVD cover, it is kind of creepy.

Poison is a teenage girl who lives in Gull, Gull is black marsh. It is boring sort of place, nothing happens and no one leaves or comes to this place if they do not have to. I really liked Poisons name, I even liked it better how she came about getting the name. You know from very beginning tha...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Felix Zilich rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: elvish-trouble

Девочка живёт на болотах, девочку зовут Отрава. Нет, она сама придумала это имя, чтобы лишний раз досадить взрослым (и собственной мачехе) одним фактом своего существования. Отраве скучно в поселке, она мечтает о путешествиях в далекие страны и невероятных приключениях. Поэтому когда чудовище похищает по приказу эльфийского короля её маленькую сестренку, оставив вместо неё в люльке мерзкого подменыша, девочка собирает пожитки и отправляется в путь.

После долгих и полных смертельных опасностей пр...more Девочка живёт на болотах, девочку зовут Отрава. Нет, она сама придумала это имя, чтобы лишний раз досадить взрослым (и собственной мачехе) одним фактом своего существования. Отраве скучно в поселке, она мечтает о путешествиях в далекие страны и невероятных приключениях. Поэтому когда чудовище похищает по приказу эльфийского короля её маленькую сестренку, оставив вместо неё в люльке мерзкого подменыша, девочка собирает пожитки и отправляется в путь.

После долгих и полных смертельных опасностей приключений Отрава узнает, что в этом мире есть сила, гораздо более могущественная и опасная, чем магия и власть королей – это сказочники. Молчаливые наблюдатели, создающие истории из человеческих судеб. А самый могущественный сказочник – Иерофант – способен не только переписывать судьбы людей и королевств, но также менять по своей воле любые законы нашей реальности.

Крис Вудинг – прекрасный сказочник (и Иерофант тоже замечательный), но у его книги есть одна серьезная проблема – её формат. 300 страниц - слишком много для постмодернисткой притчи, но, в то же время, слишком мало для большого антиклерикального эпоса в духе Филиппа Пуллмана. В итоге, имеем, что имеем. Хорошую кинематографичную сказку, закольцованную автором словно змея Уроборос.
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Sep 28, 2012 Jesseni Vega added it · review of another edition

In,Poison,a girl nicknamed herself Poison on her fourteenth birthday.Poison's baby sister gets kidnapped by Pharies and has to go into a whole other world to save her. She needs to find the Pharies Lord. She meets up with so many mysterious creatures on her journey. This is such a twisted, mysterious adventure to go through.
I wish I could tell you everything but I don't want to give it all away. If you want to know how it ends then pick it up, from beginning to end you will love it!
Although...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Poison is an unconventional selfish and morbid girl but thats just the way she was created and made out to be. She has tendencies to go through sporadic fits of rage, selfishness, and even Depression but they can all be excused in name of the grand picture. Chris Wooding's is always exceptionally thorough without being superfluous. His writing is the kind that makes me want to attain his level of skill. There's this fine balance of descriptive writing that borders between flowery excessiveness a...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Midstar rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing! In ways that I don't have time right now to explain, but I just wanted to get it out there READ THIS BOOK.
***
Okay, here we go. When I started out this book, I thought "why me?" In the tiny list of books we were allowed to read for my English class, Poison was the only fantasy one there while the others were Grapes of Wrath and such that I was not yet prepared to delve into. So, I thought it would be a better choice than anything else. As I began the book I was thoroughly disappointed.

I...more Amazing! In ways that I don't have time right now to explain, but I just wanted to get it out there READ THIS BOOK.
***
Okay, here we go. When I started out this book, I thought "why me?" In the tiny list of books we were allowed to read for my English class, Poison was the only fantasy one there while the others were Grapes of Wrath and such that I was not yet prepared to delve into. So, I thought it would be a better choice than anything else. As I began the book I was thoroughly disappointed.

It began with this girl named Poison in a Swamp place, which could've been exciting (And was to my book club), but for some reason depressed me. And the writing was terrible. Not captivating at all. I thought, am I going to have to trudge through the whole book like this? But never fear. It got a lot better. It took about, oh three chapters or so, but then I began to like it. There are exciting things that happen in the beginning--her sister get's kidnapped by evil phaeries and replaced with a changeling-- but because of the quality of the writing, I just wasn't excited and didn't care.

But then she left the swamp place and set off to have adventures, meeting Bram a wraith-catcher who accompanies her throughout the whole book. This is where it got better. The events that happen after are so shocking, heart-quickening, scary, and just plain genius, screw his writing. The Bone Witch, Anisastra the Spider Queen, and the Hierophant, to name a few of my favorites. Also there is the addition of a delightful character named Peppercorn, for whom I am very fond of, but perhaps because Poison through the whole thing continues to comment on her fondness of the girl.

There were so many shocking things, that I could not contain my excitement and gasps. Also Wooding has a clear grasp of emotions. I have never felt more afraid myself from a book, rather than being afraid for a character, I myself was afraid. Genius.

The ending somewhat did not satisfy me. I felt that there was more to the story that wasn't being told, but that the plot just dropped off. However, if not for the writing, I would name it one of my favorite books, keep an open mind when reading (By the way Myrrk was also one of my favorite characters).

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Apr 26, 2010 Darci rated it 5 of 5 stars

It is midnight and I just finished this book. Let me tell you, this book absolutely blew my mind. I don't think I have read any other teen book that had a story like this. The ending was deep and the imagery was powerful. Their was no faulty flitty love story to it like most teen books, but instead a rich imagination of strong people, troubles, questions, and answers. This is definitely something that I would read again - and I don't often reread books. It had its ups and downs, along with heavy...more

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Dec 22, 2008 Arandomperson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chris Wooding has written this book very well. The characters are described very well and are realistic, including their personalities. He doesn't have them do anyhing that somebody with that personality wouldn't have done in real life. But that doesn't make that book in any way predictable. If you think one thing will happen, suddenly something else happens to make that impossible. But, as with another book of his, Storm Theif, he creates his own kind of world and writes like everybody knows ev...more

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Aug 05, 2007 Cena Keegan rated it 3 of 5 stars

A Very good book, though I wasn't too impressed. So thing's were too much like other stories I had read. Though some part's were WOW. It's A younger reading level then I would like, I knew the end of the book when I got into chapter 3 or 4. So that was disappointing. The book is a good read for when you just want to relax.

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Dec 12, 2008 Jennifer Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audios, 2008-books, fantasy, ya-2008

I’m not sure I really care about the story. If I were reading it I don’t think I’d have gotten past the first few chapters. As an audio, I just have it playing and I’m listening, but I have no great interest in it. I don’t care about the quest, and the adventures so far have been more bleak and gruesome than I expected for a YA Fantasy novel.

Peppercorn bugged me to no end. I cringed everytime she was in a scene. Poison had one moment where the way she acted I wanted to strangle her. And the scen...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Victoria Hooper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror, young-adult, magic, away-with-the-fairies, paranormal, surreal-or-weird, genre-bending

Poison, by Chris Wooding, is the story of a sixteen year old girl called Poison whose sister is stolen by phaeries. Poison, unwilling to accept her sister’s disappearance or the changeling left in her place, sets out to find the Phaerie Lord and demand her sister’s return. Poison soon finds herself pitted against weird and terrifying fairytale creatures. When she faces the mysterious figure of the Hierophant, the most powerful of the Lords, she finds herself in a fight to control her own fate, a...more Poison, by Chris Wooding, is the story of a sixteen year old girl called Poison whose sister is stolen by phaeries. Poison, unwilling to accept her sister’s disappearance or the changeling left in her place, sets out to find the Phaerie Lord and demand her sister’s return. Poison soon finds herself pitted against weird and terrifying fairytale creatures. When she faces the mysterious figure of the Hierophant, the most powerful of the Lords, she finds herself in a fight to control her own fate, as well as the future of all humanity.

First, this book should probably come with some kind of ‘Serious Meta-Fiction Lies Within’ warning label. The meta-fiction itself is actually handled very well, much better than in Sophie’s World, which equal parts bored and irritated me, but not quite as successfully as The Neverending Story, and perhaps a little too heavy-handed at times. Still, despite being quite good meta-fiction, it does come at you a bit unexpectedly and changes the tone of the book very suddenly. So you’re enjoying this pretty dark story of messed up fairytales and creepy-ass scarecrows, and spiders (oh god, the spiders!), and it’s all fast-paced tension and horror, and then you casually turn round and woah! who knocked down our fourth wall? I mean, it was there a minute ago. It was a rather nice one, all mahogany panelled and hung with portraits of fairytale characters with the eyes cut out. And now it’s just gone, a great, gaping, shrieking void where it used to be.

Good stuff... just, a little jarring. Having said that, this really is a fantastic story – gripping, deliciously black, and surprisingly original for a book about fairytales. Don’t be fooled by the presence of phaeries into thinking it’s a paranormal romance. This book takes fairytales and uses everything that’s a little bit macabre, all the sinister characters and terrifying monsters, and adds another sprinkling of scary, then wraps it all up in something very dark and clever. It’s fairytales-as-horror, and from the moment that scarecrow appears, it doesn’t disappoint. Interestingly, seen in this light, the meta-fiction aspect is actually just another element of the horror. Once Poison has had to face all the menacing creatures the Hierophant can throw at her, she is then presented with the most horrifying idea yet: the fear that she is not real, that nothing is real, that everything – her struggles, her whole life – has been ultimately pointless. And, most frightening for a girl like Poison, that she has no free will after all. This is where the author takes meta-fiction and does something a little different with it; rather than a lofty philosophical idea or a comment on what stories mean to us, it is turned into something deeply disturbing and scary.

The characters in the book are well-written; Poison’s companions are likeable and their different personalities offset hers nicely, but at the same time they have an odd sense of being slightly two-dimensional, as if they only exist to complement Poison and to serve her story – which, of course, they do. Poison herself is incredibly strong willed, sympathetic and brave, while at the same time having understandable and relatable faults. She’s probably one of the best written YA heroines I’ve read in a while. And, unusually for a YA book these days, there is absolutely no romance at all. Not even a hint of one. Which, while I like romance, is really quite refreshing.

I was surprised by this story; I had expected something perhaps more generic, but found originality and depth. It’s exciting, scary and dark, and it had me genuinely gripped until the end. It’s also very fast paced, and a quick and easy read. Very much recommended.(less)

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Nov 29, 2011 Makayla (Books Galore) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Poison by Chris Wooding took me on a twisted journey. I was led to places unknown to even me. I felt like I was there with Poison, like I could feel what she felt. At some point in the book, I was hoping and wishing that she found what she was looking for, like it was my own personal goal to help by finishing the book.

Poison is from a small town in the marshes were you pretty much know everyone, and everyone knows you. Poison just happens to be the one that does not belong, she is an outcast, b...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Johnp rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Such an interesting idea - and very well-written!

Poison is a teenager girl living in the Marshes. Here, marshes are just one place that phaeries appear. These phaeries also steal children in the dead of night. Poison's young sister is taken, and Poison decides to go find the Phaerie Lord and get her sister back. Thus begins the adventure.

Poison has to deal with some pretty unbelievable obstacles just to get to the Lord. Then, the drama really begins!

This book is very different in tone than Wo...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventures, fantasy, fractured-fairy-tales

Poison chooses her name on her 14th birthday with gruesome irony of her situation. Not content with her life in the Black Marshes, she uses her sister's abduction by the Phaeries as her excuse to leave. The adventures that follow mold her into what she becomes...

I dont' want to give away too much with that short synopsis, but what you have to know is that the back side/flap/summary doesn't do this book justice. Chris Wooding has created so many fun scenes/moments/tales in this book that spark th...more

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May 14, 2010 Celine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

The first thing that you notice when you start this book, is the main characters name, Poison. Wooding was very clever in choosing this name, 'cause as a little girl that name had an incredible attraction to it. Poison is different. In the town where she is born people, well they just die. They fall in the water or get attacked by the many monsters that lurk around the lake. The people morn the deceased, but do nothing to prevent it. They don't move away and life stays the same.

Then rebellious P...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YA & Adults

Brilliant! I can’t wait to add this book to my personal library and read more from this author. From the beginning I was hooked. The imagery in this story was unreal. It was easy to slip into and become part of the story. So many twists and the ultimate one near the middle floored me. If you like books of witches and evil fairies you will probably enjoy this tale. I loved all the characters, even loved to hate the villains. They were believable and ones that didn’t fade. The scenes with the bone...more

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Nov 28, 2009 Zumana rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is extremely well written. It is all about fantasy and various creatures from a magical world. Poison is a very odd young girl, and she is the protagonist. She ventures on an extraordinary journey to find her beloved little sister. Poison is bright and independent, but she does need some help along the way. She makes many friends in the new world, and they are strange creatures. There is a happy ending to the novel. I also enjoyed reading it very much. All of the details and sensory im...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Wizard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This is probably my favorite book ever. I did an English project on it one time and even learned a new a wonderful word. Because of my love for this book I now try to incorporate "phantasmagorical" into everything i can keeping it in context. Just about everything about this book was lovable. She was very easy to relate to, and as she journeyed(possibly because i read it so many times but) I feel as if i can sense her fear, excitement, misery, and peculiarity.

This book is phenomenal the charac...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

AAAAHHHH!!!!
This. Book. Was. Amazing!
I could barely put this down. What a unique concept, and how well it was carried out!
I read this book with my English class, but I finished it way ahead, because teacher's just can't read fast enough out loud.
I loved that this book was Metafiction, and I feel like I need to read more Metafiction now, because the whole idea is so WONDERFUL.
I am so excited right now that I can't even write a very good review, but I will say this:

IT WAS CLEAN!

IT WAS RIVETING!

Wh...more

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May 27, 2012 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ok, This one is hard to honestly review. I read it once and I thought it was such a brilliant idea with new and exciting characters as well as the ever coveted female lead. I am a personal fan of any book with an independent female lead. This is book has great young female character that I found very easy to connect with throughout the adventure.One day I walked through borders and found a single copy of this book. I reread it at age 16. It is still a brilliant idea. One of those books you could...more

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Aug 20, 2009 Kyerra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Full of twist and turns Poison is perfect. Poison wasn't like the other kids. She never wanted to except her fate the way it was. She wanted to live the swamp village. The thing stopping her was her father and baby sister. When the scarecrow steals her younger sister right before her Poison sets out to find her. As this poisons journys she makes several new friends, defeats a witch, spoilies the plan of the fairy king and his assisant. All to find out that Poison had already found her sister on...more

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Jan 12, 2009 Jaemi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: faeries, fantasy, ya-fiction

When her sister Azalea is exchanged with a Changeling, suddenly the stories Poison has read all her life become real. With the help of Fleet, the only person in the marshes to understand her, Poison sets off to get her sister back.

So begins a journey from the realm of man to the realm of phaerie, from certainty to illusion, from youth to…

Along the way, unlikely friendships are formed and enemies are earned, and the many mysteries Poison has always puzzled over slowly unravel into an even more my...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Cherylann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya

Poison starts out as a typical "quest" tale. Poison's sister Azalea is taken by phaeries and a changeling is left in Azalea's place. Poison sets out to get her sister back. And I was bored. I'll be honest, the first 100+ pages of this book bored me. Quests are a dime a dozen in middle-grades and YA novels. I wanted something that set Poison apart from other books. And then Poison entered the realm of the Phaeries. The last 100+ pages were full of action, adventure, and intrigue, and this typical...more

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About Chris Wooding

Chris Wooding grew up in a small town in Leicestershire, where not much of anything happened. So he started to write novels. He was sixteen when he completed his first. He had an agent by eighteen. By nineteen he had signed his first book deal. When he left university he began to write full-time, and he has been doing it professionally all his adult life.

Now thirty-two, Chris has written sixteen b...more

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Books by Chris Wooding

Retribution Falls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #1)

The Black Lung Captain (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #2)

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Quotes from Poison

“Some of us are born in the right place, and some of us have to go look for it.” — 59 people liked it

“The books were legends and tales, stories from all over the Realm. These she had devoured voraciously – so voraciously, in fact, that she started to become fatigued by them. It was possible to have too much of a good thing, she reflected.
“They’re all the same,” she complained to Fleet one night. “The soldier rescues the maiden and they fall in love. The fool outwits the wicked king. There are always three brothers or sisters, and it’s always the youngest who succeeds after the first two fail. Always be kind to beggars, for they always have a secret; never trust a unicorn. If you answer somebody’s riddle they always either kill themselves or have to do what you say. They’re all the same, and they’re all ridiculous! That isn’t what life is like!”
Fleet had nodded sagely and puffed on his hookah. “Well, of course that’s not what life is like. Except the bit about unicorns – they’ll eat your guts as soon as look at you. those things in there” – he tapped the book she was carrying – “they’re simple stories. Real life is a story, too, only much more complicated. It’s still got a beginning, a middle, and an end. Everyone follows the same rules, you know. . . It’s just that there are more of them. Everyone has chapters and cliffhangers. Everyone has their journey to make. Some go far and wide and come back empty-handed; some don’t go anywhere and their journey makes them richest of all. Some tales have a moral and some don’t make any sense. Some will make you laugh, others make you cry. The world is a library, young Poison, and you’ll never get to read the same book twice.” — 37 people liked it

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