Monday, September 5, 2011

Clean by Amy Reed

Clean by Amy Reed
Simon Pulse, July 19, 2011


Summary from Goodreads:
Olivia, Kelly, Christopher, Jason, and Eva have one thing in common: They’re addicts. Addicts who have hit rock bottom and been stuck together in rehab to face their problems, face sobriety, and face themselves. None of them wants to be there. None of them wants to confront the truths about their pasts. But they’ll all have to deal with themselves and one another if they want to learn how to live. Because when you get that high, there’s nowhere to go but down, down, down.
Here's another book that's been on my to-read list forever. Clean is the story of five teens attending an adolescent rehab together. Over the space of just a few weeks, these teens get to know each other and themselves in ways they never thought possible.


These five teens are like the Breakfast Club gone horribly wrong. Jason is the local bad boy, Christopher is the lonely nerd, Eva is the bad ass girl, Kelly is the popular rich girl, and then there's Olivia. She's a hot mess, what with an addiction, eating disorder, and a mother who wants Olivia to be perfect, no matter what the cost.


Strangely enough, Olivia is what pulls this motley crew together. Slowly these teens are able to come to terms with what they did while under the influence, and the consequences these actions have brought about. The chapters are told in alternating points of view, but there are also chapters told in screenplay format, and others that consist of excerpts from the teens essays. The differences in point of view allows readers to get more of a complete picture instead of just one person's view.


What I enjoyed about this story was its realistic components. These are some messed-up kids, and Amy Reed doesn't attempt to cure them within the confines of this book. There are some dramatic moments, but there's nothing overly so. You really feel as though you're a fly on the wall of a rehabilitation center, and can understand the feelings and fears this teens face. Tough questions are asked, questions that there aren't easy answers to, and that's OK. That's real life.


Borrowed book from the library.


Enjoy your reading!
Christi

1 comment:

  1. This book was really good. I hated their parents, or most of them but it wasn't because the author's writing; she knew what she was doing. And to think that there's teens going through the same thing or even worse, and who's parents don't give them some sort of support or try to get them help.




    - Mary [Anxirium]

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.