Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this book is about a teen girl's addiction to Ritalin. Almost every character -- parent and teen -- takes drugs, prescription or recreational -- and the protagonist quickly becomes a popular dealer at her high school. Additionally there is swearing, drinking, casual sex (a character thinks she's pregnant), and a suicide. This is a cautionary tale, though, full of facts and storylines meant to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse.
Families can talk to their teens about the relevance of this book. Why was it published now? Do they have friends -- or other classmates -- who use prescription drugs, legally or illegally? What have they heard about "study drugs" like Ritalin and Adderall?
Also, this book shows both kids and parents taking lots of prescription drugs; are we too dependent as a society? How do ads on TV that promise dramatic weight loss or the end of depression impact our culture?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kate Pavao
Teens will never forget that this book has a message: to educate kids -- and parents -- about the dangers of presciption drugs:
Narrator Thyme not only details her own addiction, but documents their prevelance by including bits of open drug talk heard in the hall of her high school, and by weaving facts about the drugs into her story. Her mom even trades Xanax with her co-workers.
This is a dramatic story -- Thyme deals with withdrawal, having her stash stolen (and found by police) -- and even a teen client's suicide. But it is a timely book, too. The author connects the dots masterfully, showing how the pressure to succeed combines so dangerously with the prevelance of pills, prescriptions, and self-diagnosis, creating a serious culture of dependency for teens and parents alike.
Parents are encouraged to read along -- and discuss -- this book with their teens. See our Common Sense Note for some ideas.
From The Book
Sometime after midnight I finally came downstairs and sat on a stool at the kitchen, slowly but thoroughly finishing off a carton of milk -- no glass required. It felt like I had been through a long, drawn-out battle or extremely sick. I was weak and exhausted, but no longer felt like killing myself. Just enough back to good old Thyme to realize how I had wasted the day.
All because I ran out of pills.
Which I was never, ever going to do again.
Plot Summary:
An overachieving high school student decides she has ADHD and starts taking Ritalin (stolen from a friend). Soon she's hooked, diagnosing her peers so she can deal to them -- and keep supporting her habit.
Related Books:
Other Books About Teen Drug Use:
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Smack by Melvin Burgess
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Sexual ContentThyme has a boyfriend, but it doesn't go beyond kissing. A friend has casual sex and thinks she's pregnant. |
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ViolenceA teen commits suicide. |
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LanguageLots of "f---." |
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Social BehaviorThyme takes and deals drugs, mostly prescription drugs, some stolen from her parents' friends. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoThis novel is about prescription drug addiction, and almost everyone is taking them, from teens to parents. |
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