Beneath a Meth Moon [Hardcover]

Jacqueline Woodson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 2, 2012

Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she's still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel's new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T-Boom, co-captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past.

When T-Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she's able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction.

Incorporating Laurel's bittersweet memories of life before and during the hurricane, this is a stunning novel by one of our finest writers. Jacqueline Woodson's haunting - but ultimately hopeful - story is beautifully told and one readers will not want to miss.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Woodson’s first YA offering since After Tupac and D Foster (2008) will not disappoint readers. Fifteen-year-old Laurel is living a post-Katrina nightmare—having lost her mother and grandmother in the storm—but, after moving to Galilee, Mississippi, she’s faring better: she has a best friend, a spot on the cheerleading squad, and an athlete boyfriend, T-Bone. Then T-Bone introduces her to meth, or “the moon,” named for the lightness and nothingness it brings, and her painful past is gone. Woodson deftly cycles back and forth between events surrounding the storm and Laurel’s drug-addicted life on the street. In a short preface, Laurel writes that this story is her personal “elegy to the past,” and narrative techniques—such as weaving italicized thoughts and conversations seamlessly into the text—create the intimate sense of reading a journal. A slim but affecting novel, this ends on a hopeful note: perhaps it is possible to write pain “into the past and leave some of it there,” and reimagine a future. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Woodson returns to her YA roots here. With legions of built-in fans and plans for extensive social-networking/blogger outreach, there’s sure to be a lengthy waiting list for this one. Grades 8-11. --Ann Kelley

Review

"A moving, honest, and hopeful story."

(Kirkus, starred review)

"Woodson maintains tension throughout, making it abundantly clear how easy it is to succumb to meth and how difficult it is to recover from it."

(Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"This powerful, stripped-down novel chronicles a girl's journey from popular cheerleader to homeless meth user to recovering addict...An outstanding novel that succeeds on every level."

(School Library Journal, starred review)

"Woodson takes us on the dark journey of addiction, mimicking the slow, hazy spell of drug use with the lull of her poetic prose. . . . Laurel's descent is brutally honest. . . . An intimate and compelling story of survival."

(The Horn Book)

"As accurate as it is heartbreaking; readers will be deeply moved . . . they'll sympathize with [Laurel's] desire to find some way to feel better. . . . Readers looking to understand the attraction of a destructive substance will get a glimmer of understanding."

(The Bulletin of the Center for Children�s Books)

"Will not disappoint readers. . . . Ends on a hopeful note: perhaps it is possible to write pain 'into the past and leave some of it there,' and reimagine a future."

(Booklist)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books; First Edition edition (February 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399252509
• ISBN-13: 978-0399252501
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jacqueline Woodson's awards include 3 Newbery Honors, a Coretta Scott King Award and 3 Coretta Scott King Honors, 2 National Book Awards, a Margaret A. Edwards Award and an ALAN Award -- both for Lifetime Achievement in YA Literature. She is the author of more than 2 dozen books for children and young adults and lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Written, but Wanted More May 21, 2012

By Alyssa A.

Format:Hardcover

I liked this book. It was a quick read, and I loved how the writing style reflects Laurel's state of mind. Laurel's story is told in brief, halting flashes, jumping from past to present. I really felt like it was written in moments between her highs -- small moments of lucidity when she wasn't feeling the effects of meth. And then, there was a dreamy, almost ethereal quality to the language, which made the narrative seem like Laurel was in-between states. Not quite high, not quite grounded in reality. I thought it was perfect for a journal of a girl who is trying to break her addiction and start a new life.

The story Laurel tells is heart-breaking, and I love how Woodson is able to bring together recent events to tell a story that some teenagers can really relate to. Beneath a Meth Moon tackles the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina and paints a small picture of the suffering and devastation that followed the event. It also goes into the widespread use of meth among teenagers, and how their lives are ruined by their addiction. And despite these horrific and depressing events, she turns it into a hopeful message. Life goes on. We are able to go on with it by just putting one foot in front of the other and getting through bad times step by step.

However, while I appreciated the link between the style and Laurel's frame of mind, I would have liked there to have been more development. In the flashes we get of Laurel's life in a new town, I don't feel as if she has moved on. I don't feel like she has a best friend, or even get the sense of a boyfriend from T-Boom. The way she started meth confused me. T-Boom held out a meth-covered finger to her and told her to sniff. Why did she? Why didn't she just leave the guy? What was going on in her mind while she did this? We don't know.... Laurel never tells us. And while theorizing would make for good discussion in a book club or classroom, I would have liked a little more in terms of why and how, besides the fact that she is depressed about the deaths of her mother and grandmother. I didn't need a lot, but something that hints as to why she felt compelled to start meth in the first place.

Still, I do think this book has a lot going for it. It's a quick read and can be used in a classroom as a perfect source of metaphor, symbolism, and style. But maybe supplement it with a lesson on the dangers and effects of meth, because while Laurel's life does fall apart, the health consequences are briefly mentioned. And with the dreamy quality of the narrative, I'm not sure the second-hand stories of death have enough of an impact.

*I received this book from LibraryThing as part of the Early Reviewers Group in exchange for my honest review.* Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, life-changing book February 3, 2012

By BookLuver

Format:Hardcover

This is one of those books that you can't help but talk about to every single person you meet. I had heard about it a couple of times, ended up picking it up one rainy day and literally stayed up all night reading it. I don't know very much about addiction so I wasn't sure if I would relate, but I was completely drawn in from the first page. At the end, I literally felt winded, like emotionally my jaw had dropped -- but in a completely positive, transformative way. I can't say enough good things about this book. Please do yourself a favor and read it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes me glad for my calm little life May 14, 2012

By M. Knapp

Format:Hardcover

Laurel used to have a fairly average life - school, cheerleading, hanging out in Mississippi. Then a boyfriend introduced her to meth and now she's begging on street corners, knowing her life is in the toilet but unable to shake her cravings. Not nearly as bleak as the writings of Ellen Hopkins (CRANK, et al) or the classic GO ASK ALICE, but still a fairly heavy-handed cautionary tale. A quick read and a great choice for readers who want to spend a few hours immersed in the druggie world, and still be able to sleep in their own beds at night.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a true realistic story June 24, 2012

By Kathleen Thompson

Format:Kindle Edition

Hardly ever is the story of addiction told so honestly. Drugs affect teenagers more than parents think. The book shows how little thinking goes into the fact of a friend offering something to another. Drugs have an allure, especially with all the pressure on teens nowadays. The way the bookis written takes away all the judgement and just leaves the bare bones of what happened.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Emotional Short Read June 3, 2012

By Book Sake VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Beneath A Meth Moon moves back and forth through time and is told by the main character, Laurel. She's lost both her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina and moves from her home to a new town with her father and little brother. Laurel is a writer and was encouraged by her grandmother to keep writing everything down and this encouragement continues when she meets a new friend, Kaylee. The words aren't enough though and in her despair she finds solace in a new boyfriend and with him comes his addiction and supply of meth. She quickly becomes addicted as well and ends up living on the streets due to her addiction. There she meets Moses, an artist, who knows just what Laurel is up to and calls her on it, letting her know that she is going to end up dead if she continues on this way.

This book is written as an elegy, which I have never read before. I read this quickly and in one evening, it is short and the words are printed in a large font on the pages. Even if it weren't formatted that way, I still would have finished it quickly as it was truly engrossing. It is a very emotional story that deals with loss and being lost and not knowing how to process the feelings. The author has handled all of these thoughts and feelings wonderfully and made it very easy to relate to what Laurel is going through. Tears flowed again and again as I was reading and I was surprised that a short read could be so emotional and compelling. I can see this book being something teachers and parents will want their children to read as well due to the life lesson learned and the horrible reality of addiction.

Reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beneath a Meth Moon, A BookBandit Blog Review May 2, 2012

By N., The BookBandit

Format:Hardcover

Before the moon Laurel was a normal girl. A girl who had dreams and aspirations of one day becoming a writer. A girl who had friends and family. But that was before. Before Hurricane Katrina. Before her, her daddy, and younger brother Jessie left to go stay with her aunt. Before the water washed away her home. Before the water washed away her mamma and grandmamma. Before life as she knew it ended.

But when new boyfriend T-Boom turns Laurel onto Moon a new life opens up to her. A life she never knew was possible. Feeling higher than life, the moon allows her to move forward and to forget the past.

Her new life means forgetting. Forgetting the past, the people she loves and who love her, forgetting herself. Is Laurel strong enough to shake her habit, or will she die before she has the chance to?

Written by acclaimed author Jacqueline Woodson, Beneath a Meth Moon is a gut-wrenchingly painful, yet beautiful examination of addiction.

Just under two hundred pages Woodson's has brought the life and struggles of a meth addict to light. These struggles aren't pretty, they are gritty and often ugly. These struggles aren't easy, they're ruthless and full of frightful emotions. These struggles, as Woodson presents them, are startlingly realistic.

Woodson's writing is sharp and purposeful. Beyond that there is a poetic quality to her writing. And even though as hopeless as Laurel's story is, there is a hopeful tone to the overall book. As the story bounces from one point in time to a completely different, unrelated point, readers won't only understand Laurel's life as a meth addict, but will come to appreciate the brutal honesty in which her story is told....

Laurel, who's often portrayed as weak due to her crippling meth addiction, is a strong character. Not just strong, but memorable. Reader's will carry her story with them, in the minds and hearts long after the book has ended. At first glance Laurel often appears helpless, lost, and weak. But the perseverance that lives inside of her makes her a powerful character that is determined to make a better life for herself dispite her problems.

Beneath a Meth Moon is a one of a kind book. Reader's will appreciate Woodson's delicate handling of the subject matter, and will applaud her honesty. Read more ›