lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
This was such a great book, so enjoyable, and a good look at addiction and family!
inahreads's review
4.0
For some reason, I was stuck in a rut while reading this book. While I did enjoy reading it, it's full of dark themes which made me put down the book countless of times not because I don't like it, but it really made me feel heavy.
The book tells about the story of Cecelia Price or CeCe, and how her life drastically changed because of her brother, Cyrus. From a straight A student, Cece learned how to deal drugs to help her family.
I would say that this book was a tragic story. CeCe had so much potential in her to have just fallen into drug-dealing. The consequences of her actions had affected her greatly. But I couldn't really blame her for that. See, this was a great book that not only dealt about drug abuse, it also greatly dealt with family relationships and friendship and it was beautifully written. The story was so raw and real, I could feel the emotions coming off the pages.
Overall, the book had an impact on me. I loved the way the story was written and told in an alternating timeline. It added depth to the story and character developments. It's a really good book which dealt with drug addiction and loss. It may be triggering for some, but I definitely recommend it.
The book tells about the story of Cecelia Price or CeCe, and how her life drastically changed because of her brother, Cyrus. From a straight A student, Cece learned how to deal drugs to help her family.
I would say that this book was a tragic story. CeCe had so much potential in her to have just fallen into drug-dealing. The consequences of her actions had affected her greatly. But I couldn't really blame her for that. See, this was a great book that not only dealt about drug abuse, it also greatly dealt with family relationships and friendship and it was beautifully written. The story was so raw and real, I could feel the emotions coming off the pages.
Overall, the book had an impact on me. I loved the way the story was written and told in an alternating timeline. It added depth to the story and character developments. It's a really good book which dealt with drug addiction and loss. It may be triggering for some, but I definitely recommend it.
kellyhager's review
5.0
I've loved Kelly Fiore's books since I read Taste Test, and this is easily her best one. (No offense to the others.) Those are just incredibly fun, sweet, fast reads and this one broke my heart.
CeCe carries around a lot of guilt for her brother Cy's death and as a result, she doesn't do that much work to participate in her own defense. (We learn the exact circumstances of his death toward the end of the book, but we know that whatever it is, her involvement was enough to land her in legal trouble).
This book absolutely gutted me. It's so easy to feel guilty for things that aren't your fault, but what CeCe was feeling...without going into specifics, let me just say that Kelly Fiore makes you absolutely feel everything CeCe does and will also give you so much empathy for every character in the book (even CeCe; even Cy).
Highly, highly recommended.
CeCe carries around a lot of guilt for her brother Cy's death and as a result, she doesn't do that much work to participate in her own defense. (We learn the exact circumstances of his death toward the end of the book, but we know that whatever it is, her involvement was enough to land her in legal trouble).
This book absolutely gutted me. It's so easy to feel guilty for things that aren't your fault, but what CeCe was feeling...without going into specifics, let me just say that Kelly Fiore makes you absolutely feel everything CeCe does and will also give you so much empathy for every character in the book (even CeCe; even Cy).
Highly, highly recommended.
ruthsic's review
4.0
Cecelia Price killed her brother. At least, that’s what the police and the district attorney are saying. And although Cecelia is now locked up and forced into treatment, she knows the real story is much more complicated.
Cyrus wasn’t always the drug-addled monster he’d become. He was a successful athlete, but when an injury forced him off the soccer field and onto pain medication, his life became a blur of anger, addiction, and violence. All CeCe could do was stand by and watch, until she realized one effective way to take away her brother’s drugs while earning the money she needed for college: selling the pills.
Soon, CeCe becomes part drug dealer, part honor student. But even when all she wants is to make things right, she learns that sometimes the best intentions lead to the worst possible outcome.
Thicker than Water is Cecelia's story written in retrospective as well as the present. Cecelia is at a correctional facility, being held until her trial - the one for being responsible for her brother's death. She starts off from a place of guilt, because she feels responsible for killing her brother. As the story unfolds, we see how her circumstances led her to making mistakes, how her brother forces her hand, and lastly the absence of a solid support system that leads her down a wrong road.
Cecelia has pretty much been second place to her brother all her life - and even when he becomes an addict, his needs keep superseding hers in the eyes of her father. Her parents are in denial, and she can't help not be so, since her very future is tied to the fact that he is bringing it down. To earn money to keep them afloat, she starts selling his pills, thinking that she is also preventing him from taking those in the first place. However, even at the time of the trial, she keeps feeling that she was guilty. At first, she declines the help she is getting but by the end of the story we see her grateful for it.
What's highlighted in the story is the fact that sometimes kids feel compelled to be responsible, especially if they don't have a parent that is doing so. Cecelia starts to step up because of her father's shortcomings, but she has her own limitations that she tries to overcome by the wrong means. Even when she is being helped, she refuses to accept it because not leaning on somebody else has been the norm for her. It's a different type of coming-of-age because it shows that teenagers don't need to be expected to turn overnight into adults. The writing was empathetic, allowing us to put ourselves into her place, feel her resentment, her anger, her helplessness and more importantly, her guilt. I loved the book, and the ending was realistic and suited the story, so overall, I was pleased with how this one was.
Received a free galley from HarperTeen via Edelweiss; this does not influence my opinions or the review.
Cyrus wasn’t always the drug-addled monster he’d become. He was a successful athlete, but when an injury forced him off the soccer field and onto pain medication, his life became a blur of anger, addiction, and violence. All CeCe could do was stand by and watch, until she realized one effective way to take away her brother’s drugs while earning the money she needed for college: selling the pills.
Soon, CeCe becomes part drug dealer, part honor student. But even when all she wants is to make things right, she learns that sometimes the best intentions lead to the worst possible outcome.
Thicker than Water is Cecelia's story written in retrospective as well as the present. Cecelia is at a correctional facility, being held until her trial - the one for being responsible for her brother's death. She starts off from a place of guilt, because she feels responsible for killing her brother. As the story unfolds, we see how her circumstances led her to making mistakes, how her brother forces her hand, and lastly the absence of a solid support system that leads her down a wrong road.
Cecelia has pretty much been second place to her brother all her life - and even when he becomes an addict, his needs keep superseding hers in the eyes of her father. Her parents are in denial, and she can't help not be so, since her very future is tied to the fact that he is bringing it down. To earn money to keep them afloat, she starts selling his pills, thinking that she is also preventing him from taking those in the first place. However, even at the time of the trial, she keeps feeling that she was guilty. At first, she declines the help she is getting but by the end of the story we see her grateful for it.
What's highlighted in the story is the fact that sometimes kids feel compelled to be responsible, especially if they don't have a parent that is doing so. Cecelia starts to step up because of her father's shortcomings, but she has her own limitations that she tries to overcome by the wrong means. Even when she is being helped, she refuses to accept it because not leaning on somebody else has been the norm for her. It's a different type of coming-of-age because it shows that teenagers don't need to be expected to turn overnight into adults. The writing was empathetic, allowing us to put ourselves into her place, feel her resentment, her anger, her helplessness and more importantly, her guilt. I loved the book, and the ending was realistic and suited the story, so overall, I was pleased with how this one was.
Received a free galley from HarperTeen via Edelweiss; this does not influence my opinions or the review.
karis_rogerson's review
5.0
This book, guys.
I must have loved something about it when I ordered it on Amazon, but then I forgot and felt maybe kinda...unsure about it. But I read it cause I'm a person who reads and finishes the books she buys.
AND I'M SO GLAD FOR THAT.
This book is beautiful. The writing flows and hits you, occasionally, with lines that are just incredible. "He could forget being hurt in favor of being happy." That's one of them that just rocked me.
And the story. I love the way it's set up, the way Fiore brings us slowly into realizations of what's happened, the way she organized the chapters. I love the concept — I love that it deals with drug addiction and guilt and shame and healing.
It's a beautiful book. Please read it. Please do.
I must have loved something about it when I ordered it on Amazon, but then I forgot and felt maybe kinda...unsure about it. But I read it cause I'm a person who reads and finishes the books she buys.
AND I'M SO GLAD FOR THAT.
This book is beautiful. The writing flows and hits you, occasionally, with lines that are just incredible. "He could forget being hurt in favor of being happy." That's one of them that just rocked me.
And the story. I love the way it's set up, the way Fiore brings us slowly into realizations of what's happened, the way she organized the chapters. I love the concept — I love that it deals with drug addiction and guilt and shame and healing.
It's a beautiful book. Please read it. Please do.
kazbrek's review
2.0
So this was a really interesting plot, but I think the execution was shitty. It was told through flashback from a rehabilitation facility, primarily for the addition of a shitty romance. CeCe's voice didn't change much from the before to the after sequences. I didn't like her voice much? It didn't sound like a teenager's, and it was overly angsty a lot of the time. Anyways, I was much more interested in the before sequences. Nothing would have been lost if it had been told chronologically.
What I do like: addiction wasn't romanticised, and it was portrayed quite realistically.
What I do like: addiction wasn't romanticised, and it was portrayed quite realistically.
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