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Oct 27, 2007

Stephanie rated it:

I have to say, I'm pretty shocked by some of the reactions to this book that have been posted here. As a staunch feminist, I have no problem at all with Daughters of Eve. In fact, I'd bet money that Duncan is a self-proclaimed feminist.

I think people are misreading this book as an anti-feminist crusade, when in reality it's a commentary on radicalism gone out of control. Most of the young women portrayed in this book are victims of chauvinism in varying degrees -- Fran is struggling More...

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Sep 17, 2007

Laura rated it:

A straight-up anti-feminist screed, and an embarrassment that Lois Duncan should be ashamed of herself for having written. The whole thing was so dreadful and offensive that I stole it from the Englewood Public Library in New Jersey so that no young minds would be tainted by it. (Yes, I know it was wrong. The only excuse I have is that I was in my early 20s at the time.)

The plot, as I remember it, is that a woman teacher, who’s your run-of-the-mill man-hating, ugly, radical feminist More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 20, 2007

Kyle rated it:

This 1980 book would have really thrilled me in my lesbian separatist days. It is about a feminist club in high school that takes revenge on men when they feel they've been treated unfairly. The author's attitude is unclear. The moral judgements are mostly left up to the reader. First the club members shave the head of a boy who has used one of them for sex and then dumped her. Then they trash the science lab when a boy's project gets picked for the science fair over a better one by a girl. They More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2011

Criss rated it:

I was a little wary about this one (audiobook from the library) because the blurb mentioned feminism gone bad. There's some great stuff in the book; one honest and objective discussion about pregnancy and abortion (not the one Irene has with the girl -- Irene is pushing the girl to make one choice, which is, erm... NOT a "pro-choice" attitude), and some good conversations about sexism and the reality of gender roles and gender norms.

Sadly, the lead "feminist" starts More...

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Nov 14, 2011

NightlyReading Heather rated it:

I can honestly say that I think this has been my favorite audiobook that I have listened to so far. The narrator's voice was awesome. I was able to distinguish between all of the characters that were speaking. She really was able to get her voice to sound just like the guys. I was in awe and mesmerized. I wanted to do nothing but listen to this book from beginning to end.

The book starts off introducing each character and it does not take the listener long to realize all of their diff More...

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Mar 24, 2011

♥Xeni♥ rated it:

This and A Gift of Magic are my two ultimate favorite Lois Duncan books. Not only is her writing style amazing, but these topics felt real to me when I read them the first time, and I still enjoy them now.

In Daughters of Eve, we have a bit of a popular-girls high school setting, but not in the way you would expect. Irene, a teacher, picks those girls who need friendship most and brings them together to create something good, something feminine and powerful. The only drawback is that More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 16, 2011

Scifigal rated it:

This book has not held up well over time. Too much has changed in society for this to feel anything but very heavy handed. The overly feminist tones, the "letting" women have careers, the mothers pushing their daughters to JUST get married and have babies, the men saying "I couldn't have a wife who made more money than me--besides, you'd have to stop working once you had kids..." It made it difficult to read at many points, especially the one daughter whose parents full suppo More...

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May 01, 2009

Mary rated it:

One summer when I was a teenager I read almost every book every written by Lois Duncan. I was really into suspense stories at the time, and I remember just devouring every one of her books I could get my hands on. Out of all the titles I checked out of the library that summer, Daughters of Eve and Stranger With My Face were the two that left a lasting impression on me,so much so that I bought my own copies. They still stay with me almost 10 years later.

Daughters of Eve is a great More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 03, 2011

Crystal rated it:

Oh my god! This book! There are instances when I can't read another word because the situation about on how women are treated are just too much. The men are very offensive and they act like they own the world. Toward the middle when the girls are realizing their worth, I was given some sort of ease. But the story turned again. Ms. Irene Stark their club sponsor is a man-hater-psycho-bitch! And I got the impression that she's trying to turn the girls into man haters too, which is like pretty much More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2009

Kirsten rated it:

This book was a favorite of mine in my teens, so I wanted to revisit it and see what I thought now. It focuses on a girls' club that has a new sponsor, who is a radical feminist and has a tendency to steer the girls' discussion in the direction of men-are-evil. The girls bond together to fight back against discrimination and the oppression they feel, but of course, it soon goes too far, and everything descends into a paranoid mob mentality of us-against-the-world. The last page of this book g More...

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Feb 25, 2010

Margaret rated it:

The Daughters of Eve are the high school's most exclusive club, led by art teacher Irene Stark, and new members Ruth, Jane, and Laura are thrilled to be asked to join. Slowly, the club is led by Irene to question the gender assumptions which hem them in on all sides, and they eventually take some shocking actions in order to redress the balance.

The characterizations are sharply observed, and the character interactions are equally perceptive and often simply painful to read, as the g More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 12, 2008

Ingrid rated it:

I read a lot of Lois Duncan as a kid and when I saw this at a yard sale, I snatched it up. A great read about a girls' club lead by a man-hating teacher. The characters' are nuanced and sympathetic and I love love love the ending.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 11, 2010

Christy rated it:

This could have been a really good book, but the characters were all such stereotypes, it was hard to feel anything for any of them. There was this weird undertone that I couldn't figure out as well. Was the author trying to be pro-strong independent female? If so, she was so heavy handed that it made you almost root against the girls and their journey to independence. It was like she was saying in order to be a strong, independent woman, you have to hate men. That's so far from the truth, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2008

Erin rated it:

I just re-read this. It was one of my favorite teen books...it shows just how easily people can be twisted by left-wing radicalism and how one-sided and scary those view points can be.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 15, 2009

zan rated it:

In her chapter on this book in Shelf Discovery, Lizzie Skurnick refers to it as the book that serves as the source of "a large part of [her:] righteous indignation at the crimes of malekind." I think this could have been the book that serves as the source for my mistrusting of feminists. I don't mistrust all feminists, but it took a while for me to call myself one, and, boy, now do I know why. More...

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Jan 11, 2010

Vekah rated it:

This was a surprisingly dark book for a middle school selection. It is a story about what young girls would do to fit in and feel popular, what trials they can deal with at home (from an abusive father to an overprotective mother and everything in between), and what happens when you have a twisted teacher with her own reasons for supporting their actions. It gave me nightmares when I read it in eigth grade.

Every now and then I pick it up from the shelf and remind myself that my l More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Orchid rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jun 28, 2010

Gentiana rated it:

The story begins with a normal girl who isn't too excited with her life. and shows her experience with the club she joins, Daughters of Eve. The book shows each of the girls lives who are part of this club. With the help of their sponsor, the girls realize how unfair they feel as being girls. Realizing this makes them feel the need to take action. They perform a series of violent secretly to "teach" the town what it needs to learn. I recommend this book strongly to girls since it shows More...

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Jul 22, 2009

Oscar rated it:

Probably the worst book I've ever read in my life, and I've read some TERRIBLE books in my lifetime. This book vilifies feminism (I don't know if this was Lois Duncan's intention, seeing as she's a woman and thereby generalizing that she's cool with her sex) and makes most of her female characters such little wimps. The women with true, for lack of a better word, balls are met with such contempt and then punished at the end.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but god damn it, my spi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 12, 2010

Anastasia rated it:

I wasn't too wowed by this book. It wasn't bad by all means, it just...wasn't anything to write home about. It took a long time to get going and, personally, I thought the ending was extremely unsatisfactory - she ended with a list of what happened, I feel like the book - any book - deserves more than that. Also, although this may just be me, I found it difficult to remember which character was which and what their problems were.

Still, I wouldn't advise not reading this book. It is a More...

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Sep 20, 2010

Hanne rated it:

Daughters of Eve was a disgrace to Duncan's superb talent.

The story lacked significance, and was overpowered with women's sufferage. I liked that the story was told from a plethora of different view points; male, female, young and old.

Overall though, this book was not very good. The story was decent, at best. I much rather prefer Locked in Time or a number of other books by Duncan. If Duncan hadn't had previous books already published; I doubt Daughters of Eve would be More...

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Nov 14, 2011

Clare rated it:

Like the last Lois Duncan book I read for middle-school book club, I found this one also to be long on setup and short on payoff. I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but the book begins with an omen of a candle dripping blood, so I certainly thought the violence referred to on the back cover would be more than a shaved head and a few shattered test tubes. It seemed like the book cut out just as the action was getting good...

1 comment like

Feb 02, 2009

Tracy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Mar 31, 2010

Deborah rated it:

Daughters of Eve is the first book I remember ever reading about teenage pregnancy--although this one has a creepy cult-like, feminist organization that the pregnant teenager is a member of.

After reading a "book report" in Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skunick, I find that there was a heck of a hole lot more to the plot than the pregnancy (i.e. domestic violence, school sports), but that is all that I remember.

3 comments like

Apr 17, 2010

Jessica rated it:

One of the first, if not the first, Lois Duncan thriller I read. It was great and addicting. I loved the idea of it. A club of women who are out for revenge against the people who do their own wrong. A group of sisters against the world. Doing whatever it takes. Okay, so they go/are a little wacko for all that, but awesome, great book anyway.

Plus, I loved the last page were we find out what happened to all the members of Daughters of Eve.

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Jan 31, 2012

Rosalie rated it:

This raises interesting topics about feminism and how women still receive unfair treatment from men, and how our society has not changed much overall. I think this book should be read and discussed more in high school.....
I added more details to my hubpages review
http://japanesefiction.hubpages.com/hub/...

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Apr 04, 2010

Andrea rated it:

Published in 1979, this book has a strong message about women's role in society and the changes from one generation to the next. Worth reading, though a little weird of course. Also touches on the power of persuasion/adult's control over teens, family alcoholism and teen pregnancy/abortion. Sorority in a high school = Daughters of Eve.

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Mar 15, 2010

Ashley rated it:

This book is scary because it could happen. When I started reading this book, I was thrilled that there were strong female characters who started to stand up for themselves. Many of the men in this book are absolutely awful, and almost deserved what they got. I do say almost though because nothing excuses the behavior that teacher pulled from these girls. This book is a lesson about extremism everywhere. No matter who you are, what the problem is, or how justified you feel, there is no excuse or More...

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Nov 14, 2011

Maya rated it:

Reread this book and loved it.

Lois Duncan updated it for the new generation, and I loved the way she intensified the acts that the Daughters of Eve commit. I was not as big a fan of the inserted references to cell phones, but I understand why she and her editor may have felt that was necessary.

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Jul 01, 2009

ambrose added it

my girlfriend and i talked about this a bit and we couldn't decide if this was pro or anti-feminist. at first it seems decidedly feminist. but then the main feminist turns creepsville and then there's some violence because of the feminism. as for the book itself - eh.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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