Author: Anonymous
Publication: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult
Audience: 14
and upRating: 5 of 5
Amazon|Goodreads
Synopsis: The author of this diary began journaling on her sixteenth birthday. She lived in an upper middle class neighborhood in Santa Monica with her mom, dad, and Berkeley-bound older brother. She was a good girl, living a good life...but one party changed everything. One party, where she took one taste—and liked it. Really liked it.
Social drinking and drugging lead to more, faster, harder... She convinced herself that she was no different from anyone else who liked to party. But the evidence indicates otherwise: Soon she was she hanging out with an edgy crowd, blowing off school and everything she used to care about, all to find her next high.
But what goes up must come down, and everything—from her first swig, to her last breath—is chronicled in the diary she left behind.
My Thoughts: The cover says it all "One party. One taste. No turning back." I really enjoyed Go Ask Alice, so when I say this I knew that I had to read it. The author of the diary is never named so I will call her Lucy (like the title). Lucy seems like an all american girl with big dreams ahead of her. She doesn't have close friends but all that changes the summer before her junior year. She meets a young man while at yoga and is instantly attracted him. They go on a "date" and this is the beginning of the end for Lucy.
I kept repeating to myself "Peer pressure is the devil" I know it's not always bad but in this story the peer pressure was used and ended in bad results. My heart broke when Lucy wrote "OMG. I just wrote that if I couldn't drink or smoke pot I wouldn't have any fun." I knew how it would end, but I kept hoping that she would make a different choice and somehow the ending would be different. That is the purpose of these types of stories. Give a teen a chance to experience the "high" threw another's eyes and make a different choice. We need to share more books like this with our young ones even if it is not quite age apporporite (tailor it so that it is) we don't want to see anymore Lucy's.
Favorite(yet heartbreaking) Lines:
"November 20
I wish I'd never done any of it. and it's not because it made me feel so bad. It's because it made me feel so good."
I plan to read this eventually. I enjoyed Go Ask Alice when I read it in Jr. High School.
ReplyDeleteIs this based on a real life story? O.o Nonetheless, this book sounds intriguing! Looking at the summary, I kind of have an idea how this story ends..
ReplyDeleteThis sounds intriguing. Even though I have a feeling I know how this ends, I think the journey would make it worth reading.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds interesting and I agree that even though it might be mature for young audiences I think they should be exposed to books about these issues. I love the quote.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting and maybe and intense read, dealing with her problems of drinking and drugs. Good review and I'll put in on my Goodreads TBR. Thanks!
ReplyDelete