Friday, December 6, 2024

Young Adult Fiction: The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow

As someone who completely missed the train for 2016's Girl in Pieces, I am glad to have picked up this year's The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow. With addiction and alcoholism at its center, I expected a story full of intense situations, big emotions, and hard conversations, and that is exactly what is in this book.

The Situation: Fifteen year-old Bella's previously good grades are starting to slip, and she knows the last thing her mother needs is to deal with her daughter's suddenly poor academic performance. If her job does not have her working odd hours, then there is Bella's younger sister, Ricci, to worry over, not to mention the crazy aftermath that comes from divorce. Bella's dad needs her to be normal too, as well as helpful and agreeable. What Bella needs and wants is the ease and comfort that came from hanging out with her grandmother, but her recent passing has removed that option, leaving an empty house where Bella can do the one thing that has brought her any form of comfort lately.

The Problem: For Bella, drinking is no big deal. First of all, everyone does it. Even her grandmother did it. Her friends certainly do it, and why wouldn't they? It makes everything better. And easier. Including high school, which is a feat in and of itself. Even when Bella starts missing assignments and having arguments with people who have always been her friends, some of whom she would drink with, Bella does not think alcohol is the issue. But everything changes when Bella wakes up in the hospital after a party with a fractured face, and a few painful and embarrassing memories of what happened. She is only given one option, and it is rehab, which feels to Bella like an ending, but the real journey has only begun.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction book set mostly in and around modern-day Tucson, Arizona. Bella is a 15 year-old girl who lands in rehab after a night of partying that ends in a hospital visit. There are many things that lead Bella to look for a bottle of vodka to add to her Sprite; or a hidden bottle of rum to steal sips from; or even a bottle of NyQuil from someone's medicine cabinet to chug from for a quick fix. There is the grief over her grandmother's death; her parent's divorce and their constant fighting; her dad's inability to communicate effectively; and of course, the general nightmare that is high school. Glasgow admits in the author's note that she writes from experience, and that the stories in the book may be fiction, but they are common.

My Verdict: Like pretty much any story about addiction, this one was difficult to read in many places. Decisions are made; things are said; and events happen that we wish were pure fiction and had no correlation to real life, but they do...even for 15 year-old girls. What I appreciate about Glasgow is the respect that she shows not only for the subject matter, but to the characters, and not just Bella. The reader will meet kids with different issues, and the story is thoughtfully planned out and not gratuitous in its telling. There is careful thought behind every scene, allowing for a story that feels honest, and not contrived or pandering.

Favorite Moment: Something that Bella deals with when it comes to her parents is this constant feeling of "Bella do it." There are things that her parents should do, but they don't, so Bella just takes care of it herself, sometimes when they ask, and sometimes on her own. This plays out perfectly in a scene involving her little sister when they are staying at her dad's house for the week. It is actually a pretty tough scene, but it perfectly displays the "Bella do it" issue and how her father so easily employs this, while actually doing and saying very little.

Favorite Character: There are a few here, but I will go with Bella's friend Amber, who makes it very clear where their friendship will stand if Bella keeps drinking. There is also Tracy from the rehab, who has clearly seen enough teens in trouble to not be at all bothered by one more angry/scared/hurting resident. 

Recommended Reading: Jeff Zenter's Colton Gentry's Third Act is a novel for adults that follows a man attempting to piece his life together after a regrettable tirade he had on stage while drunk.

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