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.
My Thoughts:
Clean is the story of five teens – Olivia, Kelly, Christopher, Jason and Eva, who are all in the same support group in rehab. The story is told in the POV of Kelly and Christopher, but through their narrative, group transcripts, and personal essays within the story, the reader learns why all five of them are there. We learn what drove each of them to drink or do drugs in the first place. Each story truly is heart breaking.
The characters were fleshed out in such an amazing way that I felt for each of them. I understood why they made the choices they did. I loved how the five of them were there for each other. They were supportive in group and outside of it. They needed each other more then any of them realized. Amy Reed did a fantastic job weaving their stories together.
Clean is a fast, but powerful read. Clean should be one of those books that is required for summer reading in high school. It isn’t a book about drugs. It is about the affect of drugs, and knowing that you might feel alone, but you aren’t. There are people experiencing the same things you are and there is help if you want it. I would definitely recommend this book to my middle school and high school students!
Clean will be out in bookstores July 19, 2011.
I was unsure about reading clean, but you convinced me.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I loved this book!
ReplyDeleteTerrific review - adding it to the list of books on addiction for the school library - THANK YOU
ReplyDeletegreat review! this type of contemporary YA i usually stay away from. just not my cup of tea. but clean sounds like an intense read. you've piqued my interest.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds absolute amazing! Thanks to your review I will definitely be checking it out!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great. It's always hard to do stories well that feature multiple main characters. I'm really impressed that the author managed to flesh out five characters.
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