I believe the word "gritty" is the first adjective that comes to mind to describe this book. Burgess gives us a story of addiction and disintegration, followed by the struggle to rebuild a fully-functioning life. Tar, officially named David, runs away from his physically abusive father and emotionally manipulative mother. He heads to Bristol and falls in with some friendly vegan anarchists, who set him up with a place to live. His girlfriend, Gemma, comes to join him and after becoming dissatisfied with life in the anarchist squat, she meets two heroin addicts who invite her to come and live with them in their squat. She tries heroin, and then gets Tar to try it, and their addiction starts to spiral out of control. At first, they're just smoking it, but then they start injecting it. Burgess portrays their slipping into carelessness, first saying that none of the group ever shares needles, then they start sharing among their core group of 4, and then it becomes clear that no one really cares. The girls in the group either work the street or in a massage parlor, while the boys sell drugs or shoplift. Burgess does a good job of depicting the decay that addiction brings into their lives; it's an engrossing read, but not because it's glamorous, heroin-chic or anything like that. It was like watching a car wreck or someone fallen and bloody on the sidewalk. It was a lot like Trainspotting (the film), in some ways. In the end, Gemma and Tar clean up, but their relationship is unsalvageable. Part of the strength of the novel comes from the use of multiple voices to tell the story. You hear from Gemma and Tar, as well as the secondary characters: Gemma's mother, Tar's dad, Lily, Rob, Richard, and Skolly. It creates a more complete picture of outwardly radiating impact that addition has had on the lives in the novel. Appropriate for mature teens; I would not want younger teens reading this. It would be a good novel for a junior or senior English class, where students can read it with the guidance of a teacher. Recommended for public library teen collections, but it may be too controversial--sex AND drugs--for a school collection. There are some graphic descriptions of injection drug use included. ( )

This is an edgy adolescent lit book that transcends the genre. Adults will enjoy the story too. Smack is action-packed and full of all the good stuf no one will admit to liking. ( )

This is a story of addiction, love, despair, and hope told in many voices. You not only hear the story of Tar and Gemma's spiral into addiction from them, but from those around them. An honest and brutal portrayal of heroin addiction - not one bit preachy.

Other books to try: A Hero Ain't Nothing But a Sandwich ( )

To sum up the book and save you the horror: 1) Running away often leads to drug addiction and other unsavory things. 2) Drugs are bad. 3) Drug addiction leads to more unsavory things, but don't expect this book to be clear about any of them.

I'm having difficulty finding anything good for young adolescents about drug use. They all read (including the much-hailed, much-maligned Go Ask Alice) as pathetic attempts to scare kids, and the information is as incomplete as it is uninteresting. However, on to this book:

As a former heroin addict who has been clean for well over a decade, I may be slightly biased in that I really don't need a book to "scare me straight." I knew going in that I didn't feel like reading yet another drug-elogue. Even if I did, this wouldn't be the one. It's hard to know where to begin, since virtually everything is wrong with this book, and I couldn't find anything to make me like it. I simply pushed through because I tend to do that with books, good or bad. Characters so flat, it was a bit like trying to get a story out of a person nodding out every ten seconds (very frustrating for those of you who've never had the pleasure.) Second, there's a blatant message of "DRUGS = BAD." OK, we got that way back when Ron and Nancy were in the White House. Heck, we had it when Sid and Nancy exploded...and all the other people before and after them. Everyone knows heroin is bad. Ignorance of this fact is not the reason people become addicts. With flat writing, characters and "plot." and a message that beats you about the head like a PSA, there is no way to recommend this book. So many books more accurately and honestly portray the truth of heroin addiction, and they do it in a nuanced, complete and meaningful manner. Despite my love of the shape and texture of this book, I cannot recommend anything within said cover. ( )

Well-depicted setting in a world that will be unfamiliar to many readers. Burgess fills the novel with slang, so much that a glossary is provided. This a good novel of a subculture that will be both foreign and intriguing to many readers. ( )