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The Ice Cream Girls

(Poppy & Serena #1)

Dorothy Koomson (Goodreads Author)

really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 10,780 ratings · 942 reviews

As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.

Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two ...more

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Paperback, 470 pages

Published (first published January 1st 2010)

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Apr 26, 2015 Elaine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Don’t be fooled by the cute pastel cover on this one. It isn’t the light summery girly friendship story that I was expecting. In fact, it is probably one of the darkest reads I have read in a long time and Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe are certainly not friends but love rivals. The object of their love is Marcus, an older man and Serena’s teacher.

This is a story of two young naïve girls who are reeled in by Marcus, a predator of the first order in this story of seduction, first love, manipu Don’t be fooled by the cute pastel cover on this one. It isn’t the light summery girly friendship story that I was expecting. In fact, it is probably one of the darkest reads I have read in a long time and Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe are certainly not friends but love rivals. The object of their love is Marcus, an older man and Serena’s teacher.

This is a story of two young naïve girls who are reeled in by Marcus, a predator of the first order in this story of seduction, first love, manipulation, control, domestic violence and murder. When Marcus is stabbed to death one night the two girls are tried for murder. Serena is found innocent but Poppy is sentenced to life imprisonment, but now she is out and determined to clear her name. It is a story that really gripped me and that I found hard to put down as we delved from the present day back to the late 1980s and watched the relationships with Marcus unfold. It would be so easy to sit and read it and say “why didn’t they just walk away”, but these girls had been deliberately chosen and groomed by Marcus for their loneliness, naivety and lack of experience. We all remember our first loves and the agonies of “If I don’t do what he likes, he will dump me” etcetera, and that is with teenagers, up against the sophistication of an older man, these girls didn’t stand a chance.

For the most part, I loved the story and couldn’t put the book down, but there were parts of the book that didn’t seem realistic at all, in particular the court case itself. In reality, the girls would have been dealt with as victims due to their age, and not seductive murdering temptresses. I also couldn’t understand how the girls managed to keep their injuries secret, especially broken ribs which really do hurt and restrict your movement. Why did their families not notice? However, putting all my niggles aside, this is a very good, gripping read that really captured my imagination. In fairness, I would say 3.5 out of 5.
...more

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Jul 10, 2013 F rated it liked it · review of another edition

I read this a long time ago.
I remember liking it.
I do remember the storyline but not the ending.

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May 21, 2017 Bren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of Literary Fiction, fans of character studies, mystery fans.

Shelves: crime, dark-and-heavy, read-and-reviewed, suspense, marriage, social-issues, domestic-thriller, drama-tearjerker, feminism, family-drama

“I did not know that when you drop a stone of a stupid choice in the pool of your life, it can cause a tidal wave to surge outwards, destroying everyone and everything in its path.”
― Dorothy Koomson, The Ice Cream Girls

Everyone has heard of them. Have you? The notorious young "Ice Cream girls". Not more then kids really. So young. They are flashy, they are wild and rebellious.

And they are murderers.

At least one of them is according to the courts. Poppy and Selena were tried. One was sent to jai ...more

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Mar 17, 2018 Tea Jovanović rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-for-pleasure

Dorothy Koomson's masterpiece! I fell in love with her writing with "My Best Friend's Girl" I and was acquiring Serbian editor of that novel...
This title, despite the chick-lit covers, is serious book, having serious theme of child abuse, murder, and impact on lives of two girls and their families... Perfectly researched topic and masterfully written!
#mustread ...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Barbara Elsborg rated it it was ok · review of another edition

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

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May 30, 2010 Siany rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

I could NOT put this book down.
So different to Dorothy Koomson's other books but her best book in my opinion.

I love the characters of Serena and Poppy, and is a shame they couldnt stand each other because they are so alike.
Serena was a very strong character, much stronger than Poppy at times. But I did prefer Poppy. She went through a lot despite being innocent. And in the end it was good to see her "catch a break" as far as her personal life went.

Marcus was scum of the earth and he deserved ...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Dem rated it liked it · review of another edition

The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson was an interesting and easy to read novel.
As School girls Poppy and Serena were the only witnesses to a tragic event. They both end up in different ways paying the price and become known as the Ice Cream Girls. Years later Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what happened while Serena wants no one in her present life to find out about her past. But secrets have a habit of coming back to haunt and this is certainly the case for the Ice Cream Girls ...more

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Feb 11, 2010 Anne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Ice Cream Girls is one of the most cleverly crafted novels that I have read for a long time. It would be so easy to judge this book by it's cover and assume that it's going to be frothy chick-lit - don't fall for the cover - this is a psychological thriller that gripped me from page one and kept me hooked until the very last page.
The story is narrated in turns by Serena and Poppy - the 'Ice Cream Girls' of the title. Serena and Poppy were never friends but their lives have been linked togeth ...more

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Sep 09, 2013 Dale Harcombe rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Two and a half stars. I debated for a long while over a rating for this. In the end I gave it two and a half stars because it was okay but I couldn’t say I liked it. That no doubt has a lot to do with the subject matter. Serena and Poppy stand trial for the torture and murder of Marcus, an ex teacher. Poppy is convicted of the murder and gets sentenced while Serena does not. However she still lives each day with what happened and the secret she has kept from her husband.
While it kept me reading, ...more

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May 18, 2011 Blair rated it it was ok

Shelves: past-and-present, 2010-release, library-books, mystery-thriller-etc

The cover and title, which both suggest a fluffy chick-lit book, didn't attract me to this (I'm really annoyed that I now have to have those hated pastel colours messing up my 2011 Reading Challenge page); but I'd gathered from several sources that it was actually a gripping thriller, and from all I'd heard and read about it, I was intrigued enough to pick it up when I spotted it in the library. The Ice Cream Girls - the title referring to a nickname bestowed upon the main characters by the tabl The cover and title, which both suggest a fluffy chick-lit book, didn't attract me to this (I'm really annoyed that I now have to have those hated pastel colours messing up my 2011 Reading Challenge page); but I'd gathered from several sources that it was actually a gripping thriller, and from all I'd heard and read about it, I was intrigued enough to pick it up when I spotted it in the library. The Ice Cream Girls - the title referring to a nickname bestowed upon the main characters by the tabloid press - tells the story of Serena and Poppy, two girls involved in the torture and murder of a teacher who had manipulated, seduced and abused them as young teenagers. In the present day, Poppy, who was convicted, has just been released from prison, while Serena, who walked free, has built a happy life with her husband Evan and two children. The twist is that Poppy is convinced of her own innocence and determined to see justice done, while Serena appears to be dogged by guilt and is constantly paranoid that the evils of her past will catch up with her. In flashbacks, we slowly discover what really happened between Serena, Poppy and the teacher - the detestable Marcus, who maintained an abusive relationship with both girls - to lead to the murder in 1988. Meanwhile, back in the present day, Poppy searches for Serena and vows to confront her about the crime.

The book is a page-turner, but the writing isn't good; there are lots of sentences that just sound clumsy, or appear to have words or punctuation missing. The mystery/thriller element is compelling, but the book often gets much too bogged down in the interactions between various family members rather than focusing on the main subject, which can be frustrating. However, Koomson has done a wonderful (if that word's appropriate) job of replicating both the behaviour of an abuser and the mindset of the victim. The author has obviously done some serious, committed research on the subject, because in parts it's one of the most realistic depictions of an abusive relationship I've ever encountered. The fact that the girls realise their involvement with Marcus is destructive and are aware that he is the one in the wrong, but still continue tolerating his abuse and feel trapped by their feelings and the isolation he has imposed on them, is particularly striking.

What I didn't find so realistic was the fact that Marcus was able to carry on physically abusing the girls so severely while they were still living at home with their families. We learn that Marcus beats Serena and Poppy so badly that he regularly has to take them to hospital - wouldn't their parents have been informed, since they were 15 at the time? Wouldn't their families (who are portrayed as caring and protective) have noticed the injuries, the constant pain; wouldn't they at least have noticed the girls were away from home so often? And, given the extent of the abuse, wouldn't there have been plenty of physical evidence against Marcus when it came to the trial? As well as eyewitnesses who would have seen him taking them into the hospitals, doctors and nurses who might have wondered why these middle-class teenage girls were covered in bruises and cuts... and if Marlene was seeking a restraining order against him, would this not have been at least brought up in court, even if she refused to testify? It's not the extent of the abuse I find unrealistic, nor the fact that neither Serena nor Poppy walks away - sadly, these details are all too believable - but the idea that everyone would automatically believe two underage girls had 'seduced' and killed a man who was rarely allowed to see his own son, apparently without even asking why they had so many mysterious broken bones and scars. Even if the girls held back on telling the whole truth out of residual love for Marcus, their parents and defence lawyers would surely have been able to piece together a damning case against him without very much difficulty at all. Poppy even mentions that during her prison sentence she received letters from six other girls who had been abused by Marcus. Why wouldn't these girls have come forward, or been sought out by the police/the girls' solicitors? What about all the sexy underwear and clothes he was constantly buying them - he must have been into shops to get them, had receipts - wouldn't that have cast a bit of a different light on the 'they seduced him' story? I could go on.

I'm not a great lover of this genre - the chick/family-lit meets crime thriller sort of thing - and I always seem to end up giving them 3 stars at the most, yet I keep reading them anyway. What can I say? Maybe this is the true definition of a 'guilty pleasure'. I really don't think the plot of this book is up to much at all (there were numerous other plot holes as well as what I've outlined above), but I think it deserves recognition for the author's obvious commitment to her subject matter and the fact that, through writing this book, she is clearly trying to help raise awareness of abusive relationships and domestic violence. Koomson impresses on her readers the importance of 'spotting the signs' through both the narrative itself (towards the end, present-day Serena reaches out to help a neighbour she suspects is a victim) and an author's note at the end. I find this very commendable, particularly in a book aimed at the chick-lit market - even if I didn't love the book itself. ...more

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Apr 04, 2019 Katherine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-stars-books

I think Dorothy Koomson has an extraordinary talent and an incredible originality when she writes her books. I real all her books and to be honest I prefer when she writes something that can be considered a policial or near it (as this book). I think she can create the perfect world and the perfect characters when she writes one and she never forget the romance and this special thing that I couldn't still understand what is but that makes her books perfect.

- First of all, the plot. Complex, full ...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Ari rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

I really did not like reading this book. As an American I found it hard to believe because the press, in fact the whole case was ridiculous. I'm no expert on the American justice system but USUALLY what happens over here is in a case where an adult is sleeping with a teenager (minor), it's considered rape. People do not immediately jump to the conclusion that the teenager SEDUCED the GROWN MAN/WOMAN. And yet that is exactly what happens in The Ice Cream Girls. The press is slimy and the courts a I really did not like reading this book. As an American I found it hard to believe because the press, in fact the whole case was ridiculous. I'm no expert on the American justice system but USUALLY what happens over here is in a case where an adult is sleeping with a teenager (minor), it's considered rape. People do not immediately jump to the conclusion that the teenager SEDUCED the GROWN MAN/WOMAN. And yet that is exactly what happens in The Ice Cream Girls. The press is slimy and the courts are insanely harsh, judges and jury members being rude and just plain unprofessional. I was so angry at how unfairly the girls were treated that I really couldn't see much past that. I did however take note of how engaging the plot was and that it was so difficult to choose who killed Marcus, Serena or Poppy. Likewise my sympathies lay with different characters at different times, I was equally angry with them both but I closed the book admiring both girls for finally saying NO to Marcus in the past and in their present (he haunts both of them). The girls recall the events from 1987-1989 during which they met Marcus, 'fell in love' with him and were severely hurt by him, he kept them terrified of telling their family, friends, etc about him. These recollections back to the past however were choppy, it was never clear when the narration of past events ended and the present day started (their was a date that showed what year it was for the past but not the present).

The Ice Cream Girls is a chilling tale because it's so real, because there are so many women in situations where they are victims of domestic abuse because there are so many women who don't see a way out. THERE IS A WAY OUT and while this book takes a bit of an extreme approach, the lessons are extremely relevant and I really hope this book left an impact on the right people. Both girls were fifteen when Marcus took advantage of them, at first he didn't force himself on them but he paid attention to them. A handsome older man being nice to two young girls who were vulnerable. Of course they would think they were in love with them and then be too afraid to leave. This situation is sadly real, my only hope is that if anyone ends up in the same spot and takes the same way out, the press and the courts are much more sympathetic. The parents too, that was probably the second most painful thing to read about, the parents believing their daughters were killers and being unable to forgive them. I understand too that the author was just presenting the facts about the UK newspapers, tabloids and legal system but these facts ruined my enjoyment of the story. But the author tells a good story, one that is sad and yet hopeful, a fast-paced tale that will haunt you. However the next book I read by this author I want to be signicantly lighter!

...more

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Aug 15, 2010 MelizzaMakes rated it did not like it · review of another edition

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

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Jul 02, 2018 Liz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A friend recommended Dorothy Koomson so when I saw this at the library I grabbed it without reading the blurb. Seduced by the pretty pastel cover I was shocked at the opening page. Shocked but totally hooked! It’s not a book you actually enjoy reading due to the subject matter but it’s one of the most gripping thrillers I’ve read for a while. I did guess the ending though!

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Mar 11, 2020 Kirsty. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A very enjoyable read especially when you can't sleep 😊😴 ...more

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Mar 09, 2017 Redfox5 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, mystery, england, thriller, crime

Oh My! What a book! Although I've read a lot of good books recently, nothing comes close to this! This really was one of those books that it's very hard to put down. I had to know what happened!

This book teases you by telling the story of two girls who were accused of killing a teacher. Poppy went to prison for his murder, Serena was found innocent. The press painted them out to be 'The Ice Cream Girls', two young seductresses who tortured and killed Marcus for fun.

The truth is far from this. ...more

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Aug 31, 2020 Nina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, by-black-women, i-own, fiction, mystery, crime, 2020-read

Guessed the ending about halfway through, but was interesting nevertheless! Intrigued to read the next one.

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Aug 13, 2012 Megan Readinginthesunshine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

I’d read The Ice Cream Girls when it was first released many years ago and liked it, so when I had the opportunity to review the novel to go in line with the release of the TV adaptation, I could not wait to re-read it.

Teenagers Poppy and Serena both fall in love with an older man, Marcus, who happens to be Serena’s teacher. They both fall helplessly in love with Marcus and believe that he loves them too. Then the girls meet, and Marcus continues to draw them in with sweet words, attention, and I’d read The Ice Cream Girls when it was first released many years ago and liked it, so when I had the opportunity to review the novel to go in line with the release of the TV adaptation, I could not wait to re-read it.

Teenagers Poppy and Serena both fall in love with an older man, Marcus, who happens to be Serena’s teacher. They both fall helplessly in love with Marcus and believe that he loves them too. Then the girls meet, and Marcus continues to draw them in with sweet words, attention, and promises that he loves them. However, it soon turns nasty, and manipulative, leaving emotional and physical scars. After a tragic event, Serena and Poppy are dragged through a court case in which the media refer to them as ‘The Ice Cream Girls’.

Many years later, the two girls have led completely different lives. Serena is now married to her husband Evan, and has children, although she is desperate to leave the past behind her and for no one in her present to discover what happened when she was younger. Poppy hasn’t been as lucky, but is determined to set the record straight…

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – for me, this is my favourite novel by Dorothy Koomson and I genuinely don’t think it gets as much recognition as it clearly deserves. Even though the TV adaptation is good, and the actors and actresses have done a great job with the script they have been given, the adaptation is quite different, and nowhere near as BRILLIANT as the novel is. I really hope that the TV adaptation encourages all of the people watching to go out and buy the novel, and to discover that there is a deeper story that will hook you to the pages, move you, and in some cases, possibly change your life.

I originally read this book when I was younger and had a more naive view of the world. I didn’t understand the true implications of emotional abuse and manipulation, of being haunted by memories, of wanting to forget your past and being desperate to move on from situations in life. I read about what happened to Serena and Poppy, and although I desperately felt for them, I never truly understood. And coming back to this book a few years later was an eye-opener for me. I understood that in the way Poppy and Serena weren’t at fault for the things that happened to them in their lives, I was not at fault for the things that had happened in mine. And I came away from this book feeling oddly positive and more confident in the life I have now. I’m sure there are other women out there who feel, like I do, as though this story has said things that they couldn’t put into words.

The Ice Cream Girls is narrated from the viewpoints of both Serena and Poppy, and also alternates between their lives now in the present day, and what was happening back when they were involved with Marcus. Although the novel does cut back and forth, Dorothy Koomson has written the story so well that the narrative effortlessly slips backwards and forwards through time.

The characters are fantastically written, I cannot fault a single thing. Dorothy Koomson has clearly done her research as the characters are so real, so raw and so lifelike. Poppy and Serena in particular are very well portrayed as teenagers, their pain, emotions and feelings are very strong, very real and although it can be difficult reading, it shows the true reality of situations such as this and ultimately, the realism of this book is what makes it so gripping to read. Dorothy has also excelled in her writing of Serena and Poppy as adults. She manages to show the aftereffects of their time as teenagers, how what happened to them has affected their lives in the present, the memories they try to leave in the past and the way their past causes their actions, thoughts and feelings today. Poppy and Serena are instantly likeable, from the beginning they both touched my heart an I wanted to reach out to them, I felt for them with everything they were going through, and very much cared about what happened to them.

The mystery surrounding the tragic event had me hooked too. Without going in to too much detail so I don’t spoil anything, I was constantly changing my mind throughout the book, and even then, I wasn’t prepared for the eventual outcome. Wow.

The Ice Cream Girls is a gripping story that will reach your heart. It is heart-breaking and compelling at the same time, and you will race through the book as I did, wanting desperately to know what had happened to Poppy and Serena, and how they progress through the story. There is a lot of tension, as we discover secrets, betrayal, family relationships, and the issues of innocence and guilt. It is so much more than just a novel, it has important messages and I genuinely hope that this novel continues to help people if they need it. This is a brilliantly written novel that is very thought-provoking, with some shocks, twists and turns, and The Ice Cream Girls will definitely start up many discussions among readers. This is a must read book. ...more

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Sep 09, 2010 The Book Whisperer (aka Boof) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-authors, comfort-reading, read-in-2010, uk, chick-lit

Despite the appearance of the cover (which although it didn’t put me off, I am convinced that it will disuade others from even picking it up to read the blurb on the back) this is more pyschological thriller than chicklit.

The Ice Cream Girls has two narrators: Serena Gorringe and Poppy Carlisle. The book starts with a newspaper clipping reporting the story of the trial of two teenage girls accused of the murder of history teacher who is reported to have been the victim of a jealous school girl Despite the appearance of the cover (which although it didn’t put me off, I am convinced that it will disuade others from even picking it up to read the blurb on the back) this is more pyschological thriller than chicklit.

The Ice Cream Girls has two narrators: Serena Gorringe and Poppy Carlisle. The book starts with a newspaper clipping reporting the story of the trial of two teenage girls accused of the murder of history teacher who is reported to have been the victim of a jealous school girl crush and tortured before the final stab that killed him. The paper shows a photo of Serena and Poppy wearing bikinis on a beach and eating ice cream which is how they came to be dubbed The Ice Cream Girls by the press. What the paper doesn’t report is that the two girls were never best friends; in fact they hardly knew each other, and that they were the victims, not the teacher.

Over twenty years later, Poppy Carlisle is released from prison and she vows to clear her name but in order to do that she must get Serena to confess. Serena is happily married with two children and the last thing she wants is the past raking up, especially as she believes that the right person went to jail.

The book alternates between the two girls and also between time periods so that the reader learns only snippets of information at a time, and is kept guessing. This format works really well as it kept me turning the pages and guessing what had happened to the girls to bring them to that fateful day back in 1989.

I have to say one last thing about the names of Serena and her sisters, Faye and Medina but only because I have seen so many reviews point this out – I am about to show my age now In the book, when talking to each other, the three sisters call each other Sez, Fez and Mez, which hasn’t gone down well with some reviewers. However, growing up in the 80′s I can report that name abreviations of this kind were pretty much the norm in the UK at that time. School playgrounds were littered with Caz, Daz, Baz, Shaz and Maz’s. It’s more that likely that Serena and her sisters would have called each other by these names back then.

Anyhoooo…

I read this book on holiday and I have to say that it was a perfect sunlounger read: it was pacey, engaging and entertaining. Recommended.
...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Leah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-2010, for-review, favorites

After the murder of teacher Marcus Halnsley, Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe find themselves suddenly in the glare of the worlds’ media. Poppy ends up convicted of the crime and gets life in prison whereas Serena gets to walk free. Years later Poppy gets released from prison and is determined to clear her name and get Serena to confess to killing Marcus. Serena, however, wants to keep the past firmly where it is: in the past as she never actually got around to telling her husband Evan about t After the murder of teacher Marcus Halnsley, Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe find themselves suddenly in the glare of the worlds’ media. Poppy ends up convicted of the crime and gets life in prison whereas Serena gets to walk free. Years later Poppy gets released from prison and is determined to clear her name and get Serena to confess to killing Marcus. Serena, however, wants to keep the past firmly where it is: in the past as she never actually got around to telling her husband Evan about the entire debacle. Which girl will win out? Will Poppy finally be able to clear her name and prove her innocence or will Serena manage to keep everything buried back in the 80’s? The most important question of all though is who exactly did kill Marcus Halnsley?

Although I’ve only read one of her books (Marshmallows For Breakfast), Dorothy Koomson is still an author I look out for as I adored Marshmallows For Breakfast. I have all of her other books on my shelf just waiting to be read and when I first heard about her new release The Ice-Cream Girls I was desperate to read it as it sounded fantastic. A fellow book blogger sent a finished copy of the book to me and I eagerly started it.

Dorothy Koomson’s books seem to tackle some difficult issues. I’ve read the blurbs for My Best Friend’s Girl and Goodnight, Beautiful and they sound like serious reads which tackles issues most chick lit authors seem to steer away from. The Ice-Cream Girls is no different and although I haven’t read the two I’ve mentioned, I think The Ice-Cream Girls is probably the most serious issue to be tackled. Koomson does not shy away from the difficult scenes that help shape The Ice-Cream Girls and although I found them wince-worthy I also found them immensely readable because it all helped to create such a fantastic and atmospheric book. Without those scenes, the book wouldn’t have been what it was.

While the main plot of the book may well be Poppy’s bid to clear her name and Serena’s bid to keep everything under wraps, the main plot is also the relationships between Poppy, Serena and Marcus Halnsley. As I mentioned above, some of the scenes do make for hard reading – they’re not terribly graphic but you can still imagine everything that happens – it didn’t put me off at all and those flashback scenes really pull you into the story. The book alternates between Serena and Poppy as well as flashing back and forward from the present and the past but the book is clearly marked as the changes take place. Although Poppy and Serena’s narratives are very distinct so it’s not totally necessary to have the names at the top of the chapters – you know who’s speaking when. The alternating chapters give us a full view of the entire story and to read both girls’ views about the horrific tragedy made for absorbing reading.

You would think that having two potential criminals as main characters would make them unlikeable but I adored both Poppy and Serena. They were like rubber and glue yet one seemingly little thing bound them together in a way neither could imagine. Usually with two female leads, I like one better than the other but here I loved them both equally. Poppy is feisty and her desperation to clear her name radiates off the pages and I was desperate to find out if she could manage to clear her name. I liked Serena right from the off, also, and although I could see Poppy’s reasons for wanting it all to come out in the open, I could also see why Serena wanted to keep everything secret. Maybe it was wrong for Serena to keep everything that happened a secret from her devoted husband Evan but she had her reasons and I could sympathise with her. The respective families of both girls make regular appearances and were all good characters but the book really revolves around Poppy, Serena and Marcus.

It was interesting to see how the intervening years had changed both girls and their lives. Serena, after being cleared of murder, got the chance to live her life as full as she felt she possibly could and ended up married with kids although she did still have quirks and things relating to what happened. On the other hand, Poppy had to deal with 20 years in prison and the fact that everyone seemed to brand her a killer when she believed herself to be innocent. To see how strained Poppy’s relationship with her parents had become was so saddening and it goes to show that just because one person is convicted of something, it doesn’t actually mean they’re the only ones affected. It was an interesting dynamic, seeing the two girls blame each other for what happened and I for one was completely confused as to who actually was the murderer. That last chapter knocked me for six because I had had my ideas about who it actually was who killed Marcus and I found it surprising when we found out who actually had done it. I certainly didn’t expect it. Koomson really did well there with her ending, I must say!

The Ice-Cream Girls completely blew me away. Because I’ve only read one of Koomson’s books I didn’t know what to fully expect from the book and to have such an outstanding read was a pleasant surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the book and while the book may have a sensitive subject at its heart, I thought Koomson tackled it well and must have really done her research. I read – and enjoy – a lot of books but only the special books really stay with me and I think The Ice-Cream Girls is definitely one of those. I rarely say this but if there’s one book you must read this year then The Ice-Cream Girls is that book. ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Annemarie Farthing rated it really liked it · review of another edition

'He had me so convinced of my worthlessness, my ability to exist without him'
Now that is some quote!
What a surprise at the end though!
Mums: watch your darling daughters! ...more

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Apr 19, 2020 Gill Thorpe rated it liked it · review of another edition

This wasn’t what I expected from the author and the previous books I’d read of hers. It was a very emotional and dark read ... a hard subject to write about .

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Nov 29, 2020 Johnreads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"No one outside of our family unit would ever guess that away from prying eyes, we were systematically tearing ourselves apart. Away from the outside world, everyone in our family started to fall to pieces, and never really recovered. Even though our times together are always fun and laughter-filled, the closeness we once shared is gone. In its place is guilt, regret, the ability to say the nastiest things and, for the longest minute on earth, mean every word of them." ...more

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Dec 18, 2020 Sarina marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Dang, I thought this was a WLW romance. I feel misled and betrayed.

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Aug 20, 2020 Amanda Lewis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Couldn't put this down, absolutely loved it, great read. ...more

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Apr 29, 2015 Bill Kupersmith rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: me-emma

According to the media & the prosecution, a popular teacher was murdered twenty years ago by two teenage girls who were photographed kissing & eating ice cream, hence the title of this book. One of them, Serena, was acquitted & is now married to a doctor & the mother of two children. The other girl, Poppy, was convicted & sent to prison for life & has just been released on licence. In fact, the teacher Marcus was a total sadistic sleaze who seduced & abused first Serena & then Poppy, who were ri According to the media & the prosecution, a popular teacher was murdered twenty years ago by two teenage girls who were photographed kissing & eating ice cream, hence the title of this book. One of them, Serena, was acquitted & is now married to a doctor & the mother of two children. The other girl, Poppy, was convicted & sent to prison for life & has just been released on licence. In fact, the teacher Marcus was a total sadistic sleaze who seduced & abused first Serena & then Poppy, who were rivals not confederates. In many respects The Ice Cream Girls reminded me of Alex Marwood’s The Wicked Girls. Having recently read about a case where a 16 y/o boy was sentenced to life for killing a teacher, I can well believe that Poppy might have received such a sentence - so great is the power of the media to incite popular punitive public hysteria. The vindictive & pompous judge who sentences Poppy struck me as very true to life. Stories about young people convicted of murder whose development to adulthood is stunted by receiving a formation in prison fascinate me, whether fictitious (Wicked Girls, Dear Daughter, Amber Fury, Tainted) or in real life (Heavenly Creatures, Amanda Knox), so I empathised strongly with Poppy, & often felt overwhelmed by her frustration & confusion as she tries to experience normal relationships with her estranged parents & new boyfriend Alain. It was harder for me to identify with Serena, tho’ I understood her anxiety about keeping her past history secret from her husband. Ordinary people whose capacity for moral reasoning is stuck @ the level of legality, think that being found guilty by a jury & being morally responsible for a crime are the same thing. Poppy's parents are a classic study in denial & dealing with grief in all the wrong ways & I found Serena’s elder sisters pretty sanctimonious, as was Serena’s husband when he finds out. A real man ought to be proud to discover that he was chosen by a woman who’d been through so much & had such an interesting history. As Ice Cream Girls falls short of the tragic pathos & beauty of The Wicked Girls it’s not in the five-star class but I had it pegged as a sure four star till I sussed out the ending, which I thought was both obvious & gratuitous. But both Serena & Poppy, esp. Poppy, kept me well on edge almost all the way through. On the audio the voices of both Serena & Poppy were excellent, tho’ personally I thought the real Serena would not have sounded quite so posh. We hear only a little of Marcus @ the end & I thought he sounded too vulgar for a teacher & teenage heart throb. But my principal complaint is that whilst the readers’ voices were English, their script had been Americanized, so that knickers become panties & windscreens windshields & mobiles turn into cells - tho’ jumpers didn’t morph into sweaters. We need a term for this process that American editors (or probably their benighted recent graduate English-major editorial assistants) subject British books to in order to dumb them down for American buyers. In future I shall call this activity Yanking, and the editors who perform it will be referred to as Yankers. ...more

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Oct 03, 2019 Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This would have been a five star read for me as I was fully engrossed from the first page, I just found a couple of things rather unbelievable and unrealistic and although it is a work of fiction, it had me overthinking these parts. However, I loved the story and how it was told and I will certainly read more by this author again.

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Jun 01, 2020 Faith Strange rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My opinion on my IG account https://www.instagram.com/p/CBy9bGcj_... ...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Gemma rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I think this is more of a 2.5 but, when I finished my boyfriend asked "was it good" and I just replied, "it was ok". Which disappointed me, because after reading the back, and the first few chapters it started off really good and I was gripped. But it lost a bit of it's charm, it was a tough subject, domestic violence, abuse, murder which I felt was handled really well. I can't Quite put my finger on what spoiled it for me.

The story was told through the eyes of the two 'Ice Cream Girls' Poppy & ...more

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Jul 29, 2019 Tasha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Dorothy Koomson is one of my favourite authors ever and this book, The Ice Cream Girls, is the reason why.

Back way back when, I read this book and was completely blindsided by its contents, I'd never read anything like it. It's cover suggested some sort of sweet story, the other books I'd read by Koomson hadn't led me to expect this sort of story at all. It opened my eyes to what a book could be!

The story is gripping, it's dark and twisted, some scenes are brutal, hard to read and will turn you ...more

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About Dorothy Koomson

Dorothy Koomson

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Hello, my name's Dorothy Koomson and I'll try to make this bit that's all about me as interesting as possible.
I wrote my first novel called There's A Thin Line Between Love And Hate when I was 13. I used to write a chapter every night then pass it around to my fellow convent school pupils every morning, and they seemed to love it.

I grew up in London and then grew up again in Leeds when I went to u ...more

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Poppy & Serena (2 books)

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Quotes from The Ice Cream Girls

“Quando se segue um caminho, rumo a uma mudança na nossa vida, não vale a pena parar para cheirar as rosas, digam os famosos livros de auto-ajuda o que disserem. As rosas têm espinhos, e cheirá-las pode ter muito maus resultados. Uma pessoa pode auto-mutilar-se ao fim de anos sem o fazer e acabar por passar a noite no chão da casa de banho, demasiado fraca para se mexer. Parar para cheirar as rosas pode enterrar essa pessoa debaixo de toneladas de memórias de tempos e de coisas que fez que preferia esquecer. Pode acabar por se lembrar que tem um propósito na vida e obrigar-se a voltar ao plano inicial, sabendo, no entanto, que, se não se tivesse distraído com as rosas, já poderia ter alcançado os seus objectivos.” — 2 likes

“I did not know that when you drop a stone of a stupid choice in the pool of your life, it can cause a tidal wave to surge outwards, destroying everyone and everything in its path.” — 1 likes

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