Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a raw, heart-wrenching novel about a teenager facing down her struggles with alcohol -- and the journey she must take to heal.
Everyone in Bella's life needs something from her. Her mom needs her to help around the house, her dad needs her to not make waves, her ex needs her to not be so much. The only person who never needed anything from her was her grandmother -- she just needed her to be Bella. Now her grandmother is dead.
There's one thing that eases the pressure, though. Alcohol smooths the sharp edges of Bella's life and makes it all so much easier. What's the big deal? Everyone drinks. And Bella knows she can stop whenever she wants -- she just needs to get through Thanksgiving.
But that night changes everything. A Thanksgiving party and too many drinks land her, unconscious, on her front steps, where her mother finds her in the early hours of the morning. When she wakes up in the hospital with a fractured cheekbone and no memory of the night before, it's clear that it's time to deal with reality. And for Bella, reality means going to rehab.
Gorgeously written and deeply compassionate, Kathleen Glasgow's The Glass Girl is a candid exploration of the forces pushing a girl toward a dangerous path of addiction, and her gradual acceptance that she must face what she's been trying to erase before she can really get better.
Review
This is a compelling teenage read that delves deeply into the causes and effects of addiction, in this case to alcohol.
Fifteen-year-old Bella doesn’t believe that she has a problem, but slowly her life is falling apart. It started with the death of her Grandmother, and her parents constant fighting and separation. They were the triggers, although alcohol had always been accepted in her life, both with family and friends. But it had become far too important and regular in Bella’s life.
Then a near death experience caused by excess drinking forces her parents to send her to rehab. Bella and her Dad still didn’t really think that she had a problem, but here she was. What follows is a dawning realisation of the truth, acceptance and finally the challenge of overcoming her addiction. This is a road that has its pitfalls and stumbles, but Bella is sure that with help she can succeed.
This book has at its heart a message for young people about the dangers of addiction, and the difficulty faced to try to change. But Bella shows the strength that is needed to come out the other side and reading her story could help those starting on this perilous journey, and act as a warning about the dangers of addiction. It is a wonderful story that will best suit readers aged 14 and older with content of substance abuse, strong language and self-harm.
