Lush

Samantha struggles to maintain normalcy while living with an alcoholic father. I thought that this novel was very believable, although somewhat hard to read because of the grittiness.

In my opinion this is a great book because of the character development and it pushes readers to think about tough issues such as alcoholism. The character, Sam, is very well developed from being not only the narrator of the story, but the book also incorporates written letters she writes to the anonymous person who is giving her advice. The character of the father in the story is also well developed since he accurately depicts common characteristics, habits, and signs of someone suffering from alcoholism. The book pushes readers to think about the tough situation of alcoholism and broadens perspectives by sharing the perspectives of all members of Sam's family and how her father's alcoholism is affecting each of them. For example, the show more younger brother is impacted physically by being put into dangerous situations, Sam is impacted mentally by the way she perceives "normal" family situations, and the mother is impacted emotionally by being a victim of verbal abuse. The message I got from this novel is that sometimes you can seek more safety and help from those you do not know. show less

Review: Lush
This book takes us through a tough time in the life of 13-year-old Samantha. She has an alcoholic father, a mother who is in denial (and an enabler), and the usual host of school-mates who don’t always treat her well.
I think Lush would be a good book for a Middle School catalog. First of all, for students who are specifically experiencing alcoholism in their families, they will be able to relate. They will feel that they are not the only ones who are dealing with such things (sneaking around, being afraid of how their family member may act when drinking or using, the need to hide it all). Certain guilty feelings are explored in the book, with Samantha having an odd mix of emotions that are understandable because of what show more she’s dealing with (fear of losing a parent, but a hope that they might actually kill themself and end the struggle, with the guilt of even feeling that way).
All of this happens, while she also has the “normal” teenage problems (boys, puberty, friends, etc.). She is without the support of her parents in dealing with this, and she feel like she can’t tell anyone which adds to her isolation. She does find some relief from this loneliness by sending notes back and forth with an anonymous student. In these notes, she is able to discuss her feelings about her father’s drinking.
Throughout the book, Samantha’s hardships are lightened with an ironic sense of humor, which will keep students entertained, but doesn’t distract from the more serious themes in the book. The book takes a more serious tone when her father, on a drinking binge, smashes a bottle across the face of her 4-year-old brother. Finally her mother (with the help of a neighbor friend) takes her dad’s drinking problem more seriously and her dad goes to rehab.
This book isn’t just good for kids whose parents have addictions. Other students could benefit by gaining empathy and understanding for others who may be going through something like this. It may help them to think more before judging others. It may also help them to stay away from heavy alcohol or drug use, because they’ll have a better understanding of the destruction it can cause in families.
The book also confronts other issues (teen drinking, date rape, lyling, etc.) when Samantha gets pressured into drinking at a party, and is almost raped by 3 boys. Then the boys start gossiping about her, making her out to be a slut. Students can learn from this, about how gossip hurts people, and how they should not jump on the gossip “bandwagon”.
She herself learns a lesson about believing rumors, because the boy that was rumored to have stolen her bra turns out to be innocent. She also learns a lesson about drinking, and how stupid you can act when drunk.
The book also confronts homosexuality, since the person she has been writing to, who she thought was a girl, turns out to be a gay boy. He turns out to be a very good friend to her, and can empathise with her…his own dad wants to make him “not gay” by pushing him to be a better soccer player!
Finally, she has a good conversation with her dad, while visiting him in rehab, and this really helps her outlook. By the end of the book, she manages to make an unlikely friend, and have real conversations with her parents (even telling them about the 3 boys and what they did). She shows real strength in dealing with all of this, and she goes a step further and gets rid of the booze that’s around the house and replacing it with little notes like “think before you drink”!
The book ends on a happy note, with her dad coming home from rehab, with the hope that he will remain sober. The book takes a realistic look at life as the child of an alcoholic parent. It is about a young girl just trying to grow up, even with the cards she’s been dealt.
I think it would be a good book for teenagers to read. Although the content might be a little “adult” for the most innocent of middle school students, it is not entirely inappropriate…and since many middle school students do face issues like this, it would be a good read for most of them. show less

Sam is having a hard time dealing with all the changes in her life, particularly her father's drinking. She writes a note seeking advice from a high school girl about how to deal with her life and leaves it in a book at the library. As the story goes along, Sam's life gets more difficult to navigate and she learns a lot of tough lessons along the way. This was a really quick read that sucked me in and I kept turning the pages until I was through with the book.

Sam is a teenage girl living in an alcoholic household. She can't have friends over for sleep overs, has to hide her father's drinking from the neighbors, and finds herself getting angrier and angrier. To relieve some of the pressure, she picks a nice looking older teen to send a note to about her situation. But the note doesn't get read by the person she wants it to. Instead she finds herself not getting sympathy, but getting tough love. Sam keeps on writing, intrigued by the person writing her back. As her father's drinking becomes worse, Sam finds that she can no longer help him by hiding it.

Friend, author of Perfect, has done it again. She has created a well-written, accessible book about a real teen girl who has to make show more heart-rending decisions that not only affect her but her entire family. The book is a quick read that is sure to be popular with teen girls looking for problem novels. But they will discover that some problem novels, like this one, are the best of the bunch. show less

Friend tackles tough social issues teenages are faced with everyday. Having an alcoholic parent is a situation no teen should be put into... but when faced with the situation where is a teen to turn?

Main character Sam tries to reach out to one of the regulars in the library which she frequents nearly everyday through a note. It is only after sharing some of her most personal stories that she finds out that her note was found by someone else... and things at home with her father are getting ever more crazy. Will she confid in her new friend, get together with the popular high school boy, protect her little brother from here father, or start drinking herself to deal with the stress.

I really did enjoy reading this book, it really grabbed my attention. It was an amazing plot that told about a girl who was dealing with her father's drinking problem. Which is an incident that could happen to any teenage girl. I really like how the author tied together the main characters problem as a teenager and the main character's problems with her dad.