Beneath a Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woodson

Summary:

Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she's still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel's new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T-Boom, co-captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past.

When T-Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she's able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction.

Incorporating Laurel's bittersweet memories of life before and during the hurricane, this is a stunning novel by one of our finest writers. Jacqueline Woodson's haunting - but ultimately hopeful - story is beautifully told and one readers will not want to miss.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com 
Length: 182 pages (Hardcover Edition)
Source: Toronto Public Library
Publication Date: February 2nd 2012

So last week, I was perusing the Toronto Public Library website looking for my next great read and though this was a YA title I was really drawn in by the cover and the summary so once again I found myself putting it on hold and when I got it 2 days later I was so excited I read it that very night!

Unfortunately, the book wasn't as good as the summary made it out to be at all. I was expecting this one to be like the book Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks but I was sadly mistake. This one was a very dull read for me. I think that the writer was trying to make it seem heartbreaking and in my opinion she did a very poor job at trying to write about a topic that is affecting today's younger crowd. We all know Meth is killing *beep*loads of kids today and I appreciate that she was trying to shed light on the issue I just think it fell short.

The story was fragmented and I found Laurel to be irritating and unlikeable. I understand that she lost her mother and her grandmother at a young age leaving her with her father and her baby brother after Katrina took them but I hated the way it was written there was very little dialogue and it jumped around more than necessary. One second she was a nice kid just getting to know people and the next she's doing drugs behind a store with T-Boom (What a stupid nickname). It was rididulous and annoying. Yes I know that the main character was a junkie but that doesn't mean that writing the story haphazardly is a good approach. All in all the book was a complete failure for me. I regret wasting the hour I spent reading it and I wish I had never read this one at all.

Honestly, I would never recommend this book to anyone. I don't think that is is worth reading at all but as always I urge you to give it a try and form your own opinion of it. If you do read it and end up liking it comment on my review and leave me a link yours I'd love to read it!

To purchase the book from Amazon CLICK HERE

To visit the author's website CLICK HERE

★