Shock Point by April Henry

Shock Point by April Henry is about Cassie Streng, a teenage girl who finds out a shocking secret her step-father, Rick is trying to hide. He's a psychologist and has been prescribing a drug to his patients that causes them to commit suicide! When Cassie finds out, she wants to tell someone... anyone... to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, Rick finds out that Cassie knows and convinces her mother to send her to a "private boarding school" in Mexico called Peaceful Cove. Peaceful Cove is really a prison camp meant to break rebellious teens through power and control and sometimes even pain. Cassie is desperate to escape so she can be reunited with her mother and tell the truth about her stepfather and what he has done. The only problem is, it's nearly impossible to get out... people have even died (or been killed) trying.

This was a great action story and a really quick read. I finished it in a few hours one Sunday afternoon! I really liked the way the author used flashbacks to what happened just before Cassie was kidnapped and transported to Peaceful Cove. It was a really cool way to provide the back story! I also liked the way everything fell into place at the end.

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Glass by Ellen Hopkins is the sequel to Crank. Glass takes off where Crank ends, with Kristina living at home with her parents and her new baby. For awhile, things are OK. Kristina falls into a pattern at home and everything is fine. She feels the constant pull to crystal meth, but is able to stay away from it, especially since she doesn't really have any connections in her home town. That all falls apart when she reconnects with her old friend's sister. Suddenly Kristina is thrown back into her wild ways and is even letting her alter-ego, Bree, show her ugly side. After nearly missing her own son's baptism and falling into a sleep so deep that she didn't wake up to his screams when he rolled under a chair, Kristina's family has had enough. They kick her out of the house, telling her she is not allowed to come home until she is clean. Unfortunately, this was not the "wake-up-call" they were hoping for. Kristina continues to spiral downward and it appears there is no net to catch her.

I liked this book almost better than Crank. It was just the thing to answer my question, "Then what happened?" This book is definitely for a mature audience due to the drug use and physical scenes. From what I know about meth users, this book seems to do a good job showing what life is like for the user, family, and friends - tragic.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank by Ellen Hopkins is about 17 year old Kristina. One summer she goes to Albuquerque to visit the father she hasn't seen in years. While she is there she meets her first boyfriend who introduces her to crank. Kristina begins acting less like herself and more like her alter ego, Bree, as she spends more and more time high. When she returns home to Reno, her spiral downward becomes even worse and she eventually becomes pregnant. Kristina faces many issues as she makes decisions that impact her own life, the lives of her family members, and the life of the unborn child she carries.

This book is written through a series of poems, describing Kristina/Bree and her experience with crank, love, loss, and life. The author's note explains that the story is loosely based on the experiences of her own daughter. I enjoyed this book, although it is definitely for more mature readers.

I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis

I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis is about Diego, a boy who lives in a prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His parents were both arrested on false charges of drug trafficking and were imprisoned there. Diego is free, but must live with his mother in the women's prison because he has no where else to go. Diego helps his mother pay rent on their cramped cell by running errands for the prisoners. They pay him to leave the prison and go to the market or deliver things for them! One day Diego and his friend Mando are offered a job and promised lots of money by some shading looking men. They decide to go with them, and end up deep in the jungle working for drug smugglers without a hope of any payment or escape.

This book gave me a different take on drugs and smugglers. I felt so badly for Diego and Mando! They were trying to make things better for themselves and their families and ended up in a hopeless situation. The smugglers treated the boys as though they were expendable - to them, they were. They could easily find more boys in the city who could be tricked into hard labor for free.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is about Caitlin, a teenage girl who's older sister has just run away, leaving behind the "dream life" and her ticket to Yale. Cass's disappearance has turned the entire family upside down, to the point where no one really notices Caitlin anymore. This is the recipe for disaster for Caitlin, who goes to extremes to be the exact opposite of Cass. Caitlin finds herself in a situation she can't get out of as she struggles with alcohol, drugs and an abusive boyfriend.

I really enjoyed this book. Sarah Dessen did an excellent job of showing what an abusive relationship looks like, and the struggles the person being abused goes through as she comes to terms with her own identity. This book is definitely for more mature readers.