Compelling, ethically murky tale of famed Italian poisoner.
Parents Need to Know
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Everything Is Poison is a young adult novel by Joy McCullough, based on her own 2022 play La Tofana's Poison Emporium. Set in 17th century Rome, it's the tale of a woman of the era who made it her life's work to invent and distribute an undetectable poison said to have been used by many women to kill their husbands. There's not much historical record of the real Guilia Tofana, whose mother was executed for poisoning her father, and whose Aqua Tofana became the weapon of choice for countless unhappy Roman wives before she was exposed and forced to flee. As in the author's previous historical novel, Blood Water Paint, the characters, world-building, and storytelling, in verse and prose, are powerful and compelling. The moral universe is quite a bit murkier, and some readers will be more persuaded than others by Guilia's insistence that she's just "taking care of people who have nowhere else to turn" when she hands over the deadly little vials—which may lead to some interesting discussions. Expect frequent murders, public hangings, and other violence, luridly described, and crude language including "c--t," "bitch," "whore," and "s--t,"; female characters are called "witch," often by other female characters. Male characters range from well-meaning but weak to violently abusive, and there's a strong ethos of women banding together against a male world and a church out to get them. As Giulia says of one of the more harmless male characters, "Men like Benicio, they have their own little dominion. Even if it's over one powerless woman. If they're to believe a woman could simply slip something into their drink and get away with it, unpunished? Their very foundation crumbles."
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Before the story gets underway, there's a lurid verse scene about the public hanging of a woman. A girl buys a love potion and then seeks and uses abortion drugs when it works too well; a nun seeks help after a botched abortion she's performed on herself; a young girl who supports her family by prostitution is stabbed by a john who doesn't want to pay; another character ventures into a dangerous neighborhood and narrowly escapes rape when a sex worker comes to her rescue. Wives suffer brutal beatings from their husbands, who batter and injure their children as well. A character's mother kills her husband to protect her daughter and is gruesomely executed; in response, her daughter makes it her life work to develop and use a poison that removes the unwanted husband and leaves no trace. While some characterts who poison their husbands are captured and put to death brutally, others go undetected and escape. An angry woman attacks and strikes another, causing her death.
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A young man gets the girl he loves pregnant, then ditches her to marry the girl his family favors; he figures at least he can now have sex with his new wife any time he wants. A young wife gives birth to twins in a long, dramatic childbirth scene. A teen girl works as a prostitute to support her mother and siblings. Two teen girls recall that they had a wedding ceremony and "married" each other when they were little. A nun seeks help in the aftermath of a self-administered abortion, and it's suggested other nuns are also having sex and finding themselves in similar situations. The nuns run a hospital for dying victims of venereal disease ("the pox").
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Occasional "c--t," "whore," "ass." Frequent "s--t," as a key ingredient in a remedy comes from dog excrement. As an everyday thing, Guilia is called a witch, and it extends to her daughter and colleagues.
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Drunkenness is part of the landscape, from sailors carousing ashore to drunken husbands trying to beat their wives to death. Love potions are described by their creator as "hope in a bottle" for the purchaser rather than something that actually works.
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Lots of historical detail about life in 17th century Rome, and the struggles of characters in all walks of life. Lots of detail about the (frequently gross, like a compound scraped off rotting dog feces) ingredients in potions, healing and otherwise, as practiced in the science of the time. Archaic words, like "the menstruum (a solvent) of his breath."
Positive Role Models
some
Carmela is brave, smart, devoted to her mother, anxious to learn and work hard—and also often out of her depth, causing her to make fatefully questionable choices under pressure. She learns forgiveness as girls who were cruel to her and her mother become allies instead. Her mother is brave, protective, loving, and has a murder business on the side of her healing work. Characters are both courageous and murderous: The book's main woman characters are staunch and relentless about helping each other, and wrap themselves in a flag of virtue for "taking care of the people who have nowhere else to turn" by helping them kill their abusive husbands. A priest violates the seal of the confessional by betraying and dooming a woman who seeks sanctuary. A character seeks to atone for past wrongs by providing poison for deadly potions. A young man lacks the courage to stand by the girl who loves him, but finds better and more helpful ways.
Diverse Representations
a little
Relationships of love and trust between male and female characters are almost nonexistent, and seen only fleetingly; the story's male characters appear weak, mean, heedless, drunken, and/or violent, and (with the exception of Carmela's father whose only fault was dying too young) cause a lot of damage, though they occasionally try to redeem themselves. All the important characters are female, there's a strong message of women united against a hostile (male) world that's out to abuse and kill them, and a deep dive into the use of menstrual blood as an ingredient in potions. Women of various callings and social classes are regular customers of the apothecary. Religion is seen as evil and oppressive rather than helpful and supportive.
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Positive Messages
a little
With a famous historical poisoner as the central character, the ethical compass may seem a bit skewed as the author piles on an impassioned case for why the victims lacked any redeeming qualities and needed killing. Some readers will be more persuaded than others. Messages of family (chosen and otherwise), friendship, forgiveness, empathy, and women banding together against a world of men who are weak at best and viciously evil at worst. Also the importance of the healing arts in everyday life.
EVERYTHING IS POISON if it's used that way, including many essential ingredients in the healing arts. That's one of the first things 16-year-old Carmela Tofana learns as she begins her lessons at the apothecary shop run by her mother, Giulia, and her assistants. In 17th century Rome, their medicinal potions are in high demand. So are their love potions and other remedies their creator terms "hope in a bottle." Of course, Carmela notes, even their best customers and her childhood friends call them witches and shun them in public, and, with Giulia's guidance, she's learned to ignore them, hide her feelings, and be polite in the shop. She's soon out of her depth, as her well-meaning customer service leads to a raft of revelations Giulia had been hoping to keep hidden a while longer—like some horrific family history, and the apothecary's carefully guarded poison, undetectable when used as directed. Moral dilemmas and insights follow.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say :Not yet rated
Kids say :Not yet rated
This is a compelling, ethically complex tale based on a real woman of the era whose undetectable poison allegedly caused the deaths of countless husbands in 17th century Rome. In Everything Is Poison, Joy McCullough delivers a riveting narration with complicated characters, brilliant world-building, and moral dilemmas aplenty as a teen comes to terms with the fact that premeditated murder is part of the family business. Expect scenes of cruel violence, crude and abusive language, and a worldview of women sticking together against a world, church, and legal system that's out to get them as 16-year-old Carmela decides where her loyalties lie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stories, like Everything Is Poison, based on the premise that sometimes premeditated murder is the right thing to do. What other stories do you know that explore this theme? Do you find them persuasive?
Have you ever learned something about a loved one or friend that really shook you and made you rethink your whole relationship? What happened and how did it all turn out?
What can you do to help someone who has no where else to turn, and what's out of your power?
Available on
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Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
Last updated
:
September 18, 2025
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