White Lines (edition 2013)

Loved the story line. Deals with addiction. Not sure if teens today would understand the music referances, but I did ( i'm 27 ). ( )

Drug addiction is a subject I haven't personally read a whole lot of, but the two books I have read that dealt with the topic - Crank by Ellen Hopkins and The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx - were quite eye-opening and compulsively readable. As such, I was extremely intrigued with the summary for White Lines, particularly since it seemed like there was going to be a lot more going on in this book than just the drugs. What I found in its pages was a very damaged main character who, despite her issues and flawed way of thinking, was someone I was completely rooting for and hoping she'd figure things out before it was too late.

This book is quite dark, and not just because of the drug use. Cat is emotionally wrecked, doesn't trust easily, and is well aware that her choices aren't the best. The book is scattered throughout with flashbacks to her childhood, when her mother would abuse her or her father would ignore her, and that added a very tangible sense of sadness to the story, even if she herself wasn't necessarily drowning in sorrow the time. Cat was a very conflicted narrator, equal parts sad and angry, mostly going through the motions. Only when she was at the club or doing drugs was she "alive" if you will (which of course was the main draw for her to the drugs in the first place), and I have to give major kudos for the way those scenes were written, in such a psychedelic fashion. The clothing, atmosphere, music and excess were nearly dripping off the page, keeping time with the chaotic and drug-infused thoughts careening through Cat's head. All of this was just utterly atmospheric and kept me thoroughly engaged the entire time.

My one complaint about this book is that the ending is rather nice and tidy, if you will. One of the things I liked most about The Heroin Diaries was when Nikki recounted just how difficult it was to get himself together and leave the drugs behind. I couldn't help but notice that, aside from a paragraph or two, that is decidedly missing from White Lines, and somehow keeps the story from being as completely fleshed out as it could have been. In my opinion, a book dealing with a subject as all-encompassing as drug abuse and addiction is shouldn't be tied up in a nice, neat bow, and I couldn't help but feel that that was precisely what happened here.

Nonetheless, if you're looking for a realistic, gritty and dark YA read that deals with a number of tough topics, do pick up White Lines. The book does a very good job of transporting you to the 1980s, complete with John Hughes movie and New Age music references that made me smile. There are no minced words when it comes to the drug use and club scenes, but all of it comes together to form a really well done book that's extremely readable and really pulls you in. I'd definitely recommend it!

An e-galley was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Taking a different direction in book, I decided to pick up a coming of age tale.
The plot of the book move a lot quicker than what I thought. Cat is alone. Literally all alone. She has been abandon by her parents and well she is living a life style that is fine for now but is slowly draining her. I like that the plot is easy to get into as well as the characters. Each chapter, the readers learn of Cat’s life and her friends. She is closed off and very scared. The plot also moves backwards into the past, giving little pieces of what Cat’s life use to look like. Some parts are nice, while others just make you cringe.
There really wasn’t a love interest till the end. Cat is slowly becoming aware that everything around her is not all what it seems. She longs for love, for a connection to the family she once had. She misses it, she just doesn’t know what she can do to get it back. There are other minor characters who help Cat along the way. One acts like a mom, always on her case about her school, homework, weight, etc. Cat needed that. And there is one “boy” friend who indeed makes her feel like there is something more out there. Cat takes her time, but eventually realizes what she wanted has always been in front of her eyes the entire time.
White Lines is a great coming of age story that is harsh yet hopeful. A strong story that is a success, White Lines is great. ( )

Raw story about life in the 80s right down to the parties, music and drugs that were so the norm in the time period. This story has a lot happening in it and covers a lot of subjects. It is a raw and real story so beware of that. ( )

The funny thing about expectations is how often they're wrong. I really did not expect to like this book, because I hate reading about spoiled rich kids acting out for attention, and the reviews I'd seen had been largely middling. Actually, an unsolicited review copy arrived on the very day I decided this book wasn't for me, because the universe has a sense of humor. Anyway, I actually ended up really enjoying White Lines, which won me over for the strong voice and gritty feel.

On the surface, White Lines is every bit the heir to novels like Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, and it's even set in roughly that era. There's the same pompous sense of style, the flair and snobbery and focus on what people are wearing. Money, drugs and alcohol flow with abundance. Parents flit through only to provide money and housing to their children, too busy with their high society lifestyles to actually parent. Immediate gratification is the main goal of these kids' lives, with questions of the future put off as something to deal with at some later date, as though the problems will melt away.

If what you want from White Lines is a depiction of the seedy club scene of the 1980s, then you will not be disappointed. Cat parties every night, and does a lot of drugs, though primarily cocaine as the title implies. Though she remains somewhat of an innocent in certain areas, she sees a lot and hears about even more. Her job as a promoter brings her into contact with a lot of shady people, most especially the owner of the club where she works, a man in his 40s who obviously has interest in her.

All of that is quite well done and solidly atmospheric, but it's not what sucked me into White Lines like Cat sucked cocaine up her nose. What kept White Lines from feeling tawdry and like a historical fiction version of Gossip Girl was Cat. Obviously, Cat is fucked up, raised primarily by her physically abusive mother, who constantly berated and hit her for not being the perfect little daughter. Cat's father ignored the situation, and eventually divorced her mother for a younger, hotter, more exotic woman, setting Cat up in a downtown apartment by herself.

While Cat struggles with a lot of emotional problems as a result of the physical abuse (fear of being touched), mental abuse (self-doubt), and neglect (feelings of being unwanted), she remains surprisingly self-aware. She knows she's doing stupid things and acting out, but doesn't want to stop. Though she suffers from depression and anger, she doesn't whine. Her primary emotion is rage and not self-pity, which is the thing I cannot stand from characters given every opportunity in life who choose to flush their futures down the toilet. Since I appreciated Cat's willingness to take her life at face value, even if she's not handling it well, I really rooted for her to come to some resolution and not to OD before she can grow up and find people who care about her.

The ending, however, came off a bit too rushed. It reads almost like an epilogue, though it's not labeled as such, jumping into the future and detailing what became of everyone in the short term. This skips a lot of details and character growth that would really have added to the emotional impact of the story. The sudden conclusion left me vaguely unsatisfied and unconvinced.

White Lines is a hard-hitting story of the dark, drug-laced 1980s club scene in New York City, and will appeal to readers who enjoy the works of Bret Easton Ellis or have an interest in that era. It's a very dark, upsetting story, but a worthwhile one. I will be curious to see what Banash tackles next. ( )