Book Talk #2

Alicia Kenison
12-2-10
Book Talk

Lush By: Natasha Friend

Think back to middle school…it was a tough time, right? Relationships formed, friendships were broken or strengthen and of course development happen and some developed faster than others…Samantha Gywnn for example. She was 13 and had 3 best friends and two large breasts. Boys NEVER looked at her eyes and often stuck oranges in their shirts to poke fun at Sam. But, that was the least of her problems… She lived with an alcoholic father. She wanted more than anything for that to change. She wanted his bottles behind the toilet to disappear she wanted his family to come first and she wanted him to see what this drinking was doing to the family and one day he did. He was keeping an eye on Sam and Luke as he worked and their mother went off to Yoga, it was a nice day but the kids played inside and Luke was bouncy and making a lot of noise and accidently spilt his juice on the blue prints his father spent hours on. So, Patrick Gywnn went ballistic. He swung his Jim Bean bottle and smacked Luke square in the face, blood gushing everywhere. Sam knew this was the last straw. Luke came home with 26 stitches and a possible scar and Patrick was sent to rehab. Meanwhile, the library and books became Sam’s stronghold. She began writing to a secret pen pal revealing everything about her life and asking advice. AJK was the responder, male or female? That was her goal to find out…AJK gave advice on boys, her father, Luke, school, everything. Then a crush began with a high school boy, Drew. They’d kiss in the library and he asked her to go to a party. So she skipped the weekly sleepover at her friends and went to the party, got drunk and slept in a bed with a boy…nothing happened, but she became a slut and whore in an instant. Would she be able to rekindle her friendship? Will her dad quit drinking for good?

Friend’s books are all intense because they revolve around issues. I feel it would be good to teach but difficult because of all the emotional strings. I also feel that it would be crucial to get permission to teach something like this. I feel the end of 8th grade or beginning of freshman year would be a good place to teach this novel because it’s a warning of high school struggles and prepares students for what could happen and is also a great opportunity to talk about being in control when you drink, having sex with someone special and the rumors and silly games that are played to make you feel like shit ultimately. Friend is intense but real, that is what I enjoy about her , she doesn’t hold back and talks us exactly what the middle school jungle was like the only question is are students ever really prepared for what they learn that does not involve a textbook? Are they ready to face reality? When are they ready to face reality?