Review - The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

This book is about two teenage girls, Serena and Poppy, who are interconnected with each other by a person who acts as their lover but is a paedophile. It was a little tricky to read this book at first because of the graphic narrative of things, but I think it is necessary to understand the gravity of the situation. When things are not good, what one believes to be true love might turn into a nightmare. But what do young children understand about how the world functions and the types of people they will encounter as they get older?

The story starts with the current life of both Serena and Poppy. One is living a regular life, and one is in prison. Nobody knows what actually happened, but overnight they became the culprit rather than victims. As the story progresses, they talk about these incidents interchangeably with their present life, which gives you a glimpse of what happened to them. When one is in love while the other person is using that love to feed their carnivorous impulses, it is impossible to hold onto those feelings. They blatantly lie to the point where it becomes so easy to fall for them.

This book illustrates abuse and how, even when victims are saved from it, it can wreak havoc on their lives and those of their families. The trauma they feel years after those past incidents is unimaginable. Additionally, you can spot some symptoms in people who have experienced abuse. One must be more vigilant to determine whether there is a problem with others or those at home. It demonstrates how crucial it is to teach kids the proper values from an early age, such as the fact that no one should ever make them perform any physical act because doing so is wrong. Also, if someone tries to act in a different way, they should immediately confide in their parents or other adults without worrying about being reprimanded. I believe things have changed now as parents have started discussing these issues. Yet there is a long way to go because many people still feel uncomfortable discussing such topics.

Rating – 4/5

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

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Shadow of Life

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