exhaleartist's review against another edition
3.0
This book has been in my Amazon cart FOREVER. I saw it ages ago and it caught my interest. I have been waiting impatiently for it to be released, so when I saw it in the Galley Grab newsletter I was completely psyched. It took me about a week to get to it (my TBR pile is getting a bit out of hand), but when I sat down to read it, I read it straight through!
All of the characters in this book are very flawed, but each is so different. They are all addicts that have been sent to rehab, but for each of them the journey leading there has not been the same. It was very painful reading about the stories behind each of these characters. Kelly has a wonderful family, but one incident with a boy years ago has led her to rehab. Christopher is seemingly a perfect, Christian boy, but that facade hides a scared guy full of pent-up emotion. Jason has suffered years of abuse at the hands of his father, and he struggles not to follow the same path. Eva is a girl who lost her way after the death of her mother, and has been crying out for her father’s notice. Finally there’s Olivia. Olivia refuses to admit that there’s anything wrong, but is probably farther gone than the rest of them. Of all the characters, I really could relate to Eva & Olivia the most. Grief is something I am sadly too familiar with, and it has caused me to do a lot of things I regret, so I could completely understand how it drove Eva. Olivia strives to be perfect and hurts because she can never really achieve perfection. It’s an all too common plight for teens today.
I really enjoyed the way the story is written. It is alternatively told from the viewpoints of the addicts with some chapters told via personal essays, questionnaire answers, or group therapy sessions. It is very creatively done, and the writing itself is very solid. The story, however, is very, very intense. All of it is very emotional and at times, a tough read.
Overall I really enjoyed reading this, but I am not sure if I could read it again just because it was so very intense, heartbreaking. The story, however, is one the really needs to be told continually. This is a book I would highly recommend and I am looking forward to what the author writes next!
All of the characters in this book are very flawed, but each is so different. They are all addicts that have been sent to rehab, but for each of them the journey leading there has not been the same. It was very painful reading about the stories behind each of these characters. Kelly has a wonderful family, but one incident with a boy years ago has led her to rehab. Christopher is seemingly a perfect, Christian boy, but that facade hides a scared guy full of pent-up emotion. Jason has suffered years of abuse at the hands of his father, and he struggles not to follow the same path. Eva is a girl who lost her way after the death of her mother, and has been crying out for her father’s notice. Finally there’s Olivia. Olivia refuses to admit that there’s anything wrong, but is probably farther gone than the rest of them. Of all the characters, I really could relate to Eva & Olivia the most. Grief is something I am sadly too familiar with, and it has caused me to do a lot of things I regret, so I could completely understand how it drove Eva. Olivia strives to be perfect and hurts because she can never really achieve perfection. It’s an all too common plight for teens today.
I really enjoyed the way the story is written. It is alternatively told from the viewpoints of the addicts with some chapters told via personal essays, questionnaire answers, or group therapy sessions. It is very creatively done, and the writing itself is very solid. The story, however, is very, very intense. All of it is very emotional and at times, a tough read.
Overall I really enjoyed reading this, but I am not sure if I could read it again just because it was so very intense, heartbreaking. The story, however, is one the really needs to be told continually. This is a book I would highly recommend and I am looking forward to what the author writes next!
emma123w03's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
liralen's review against another edition
2.0
I wish the author had stuck to one or two points of view.
Although the use of multiple voices was nice at times, I never really got enough of an individual character to connect with any of them. It's pretty clear that the characters are meant not to be stereotypes, but I'm not sure how well that works -- they're ultimately pretty predictable, and there are still a lot of cliches. I am also not sold on the way they all come around to the therapist's way of thinking...which is another thing that maybe could have been solved by cutting down on the number of viewpoints.
Interesting enough, then, but not brilliant.
Although the use of multiple voices was nice at times, I never really got enough of an individual character to connect with any of them. It's pretty clear that the characters are meant not to be stereotypes, but I'm not sure how well that works -- they're ultimately pretty predictable, and there are still a lot of cliches. I am also not sold on the way they all come around to the therapist's way of thinking...which is another thing that maybe could have been solved by cutting down on the number of viewpoints.
Interesting enough, then, but not brilliant.
skysreadingjournal's review against another edition
4.0
Rated this a 4 because I read it a long time ago so I need to read it again but I know I loved this book.
wendytheowl's review against another edition
4.0
FR
La première chose à savoir, c'est que ce livre n'est vraiment pas à mettre entre toutes les mains. Le livre se passe en rehab', on parle de maladies mentales etc. Bref, attention à vous.
J'avais ce livre depuis un long moment, et bizarrement, je ne me décidais pas à le lire. Parce que vu le sujet, je me doutais que ça allait être dur par moments.
Il faut savoir que je suis contre la drogue, la cigarette, l'alcool etc. Je n'y ai jamais touché, et je n'y toucherai jamais.
Alors forcément, ce livre m'a fait froncer le nez par moment !
Outre ça, j'ai beaucoup aimé comment l'auteure a travaillé ses chapitres, c'était facile, agréable.
Je n'ai pas eu spécialement de coup de coeur au niveau des personnages, mais disons que j'avais envie d'aider certains haha.
Un très très bon livre, que je recommande largement !!!
ENG
The first thing to know is that this book is really not for everyone. The book takes place in rehab, we talk about mental illnesses etc. In short, be careful.
I had this book for a long time, and strangely enough, I couldn't make up my mind to read it. Because considering the subject, I suspected that it was going to be hard at times.
You should know that I am against drugs, cigarettes, alcohol etc. I never touched it, and I will never touch it.
So obviously, this book made me wrinkle my nose at times !
Besides that, I really liked how the author worked her chapters, it was easy, pleasant.
I didn't particularly have a crush on the characters, but let's say I wanted to help some haha.
A very very good book, which I highly recommend !!!
La première chose à savoir, c'est que ce livre n'est vraiment pas à mettre entre toutes les mains. Le livre se passe en rehab', on parle de maladies mentales etc. Bref, attention à vous.
J'avais ce livre depuis un long moment, et bizarrement, je ne me décidais pas à le lire. Parce que vu le sujet, je me doutais que ça allait être dur par moments.
Il faut savoir que je suis contre la drogue, la cigarette, l'alcool etc. Je n'y ai jamais touché, et je n'y toucherai jamais.
Alors forcément, ce livre m'a fait froncer le nez par moment !
Outre ça, j'ai beaucoup aimé comment l'auteure a travaillé ses chapitres, c'était facile, agréable.
Je n'ai pas eu spécialement de coup de coeur au niveau des personnages, mais disons que j'avais envie d'aider certains haha.
Un très très bon livre, que je recommande largement !!!
ENG
The first thing to know is that this book is really not for everyone. The book takes place in rehab, we talk about mental illnesses etc. In short, be careful.
I had this book for a long time, and strangely enough, I couldn't make up my mind to read it. Because considering the subject, I suspected that it was going to be hard at times.
You should know that I am against drugs, cigarettes, alcohol etc. I never touched it, and I will never touch it.
So obviously, this book made me wrinkle my nose at times !
Besides that, I really liked how the author worked her chapters, it was easy, pleasant.
I didn't particularly have a crush on the characters, but let's say I wanted to help some haha.
A very very good book, which I highly recommend !!!
herlifewithbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Thought this book was going to be cheesy/cliche. It kind of was, but by the end I was pretty emotional about this large cast of messed up characters. I am a sucker for a good addiction/rehab tale, however... This one was decent.
dmars's review against another edition
4.0
Clean was a good book in my eyes. I've read a lot of books about teens and their addictions, I don't know why but I love them. And Reed gave a great point of view on the topic. I liked how she had the group sessions and writing from the characters personal essays. I do wish though that she had made a follow up book.
But basically Reed gives a great view on addictions and uses great vocabulary for explaining the characters feelings.
But basically Reed gives a great view on addictions and uses great vocabulary for explaining the characters feelings.
ninatest's review against another edition
3.0
Satisfying but not mind blowing. This book deals with teen drug addicts from different background and different situations. It gives five teens viewpoints and thoughts which is interesting and insightful. It just didnt suck me in
bookishdoll's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a huge fan of YA books that talk about rough but real things that lots of people choose to ignore. I wasn't expecting this book to make me cry and feel what the characters were feeling. If you read Go Ask Alice and didn't like this, then maybe this is a book you should try as it shares the similar subject matter but is written differently, one being a long time ago and one being written in modern times. This book made it to my Top Ten list before I was even finished with it.