Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-Opening AND Entertaining, October 30, 2006
This review is from: Lush (Hardcover)
It's interesting how this book came into my hands. My sixth-grade daughter put it there. We spent some time in the bookstore together and she, as usual, picked out half a dozen books. I picked one and it was a loser. So, she offered me, "Lush" by Natasha Friend. I read it in just over an hour, mostly because I couldn't put it down. I will pass it on to her, with only a slight reservation about some youthful /immature sexual references, which, unfortunately, will cross her path one of these days in spite of anything I do or don't do/say. This is the simple and well-written story of Samantha "Sam" Gwynn, a typical, suburban teenager. She's in eighth grade and on the verge of . . . everything. As if dealing with hormones popping all around her at school weren't enough to manage, at home she tries to cope with her father's drinking problem, her mother the enabling yoga freak, and her adorable little brother, Luke. She's feuding with her neighbor, Charlie Parker, believing he stole her bra and charged his buddies a buck to view it, and she develops a crush on a popular high school boy. Sam has friends (a fun and believable trio of girls from school), but she needs a confidant--someone to whom she can express her fears about her father's drinking. She sets her sights on a redheaded girl in the library named Juliet and composes a letter to her. "My dad is what you would call a big drinker (which really equals a big alcoholic--I have done my research)," she writes. Sam leaves the first note with instructions to reply by leaving a note in an obscure book called "The History of Modern Whaling." Thus, an entertaining and mysterious correspondence ensues. As the story unfolds, Sam's humor and intelligence shines through. One can't help but fall in love with her and care deeply about what will happen to her and her family. Natasha Friend is dead-on accurate with the voice/s of the characters and they all pop off the page. I highly recommend this book for many reasons, but particularly for any young person dealing with an alcoholic parent--or for parents of teens who face this issue in their families. References and resources for kids and teens are printed in the back of the book. From the author of "A Line Between Friends," McKenna Publishing Group.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mallory's Magnificent Review, January 23, 2007
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Lush (Hardcover)
The squeal to Perfect, Lush by Natasha Friend could be read from anyone 5th grade to 8th grade. This teaches teens or going on teens a very important lesson. Lush is about a headstrong girl named Sam who has a huge problem on her hands. Her dad is an alcoholic. So when she doesn't know what to do or who to ask she goes to a random girl in the library that she barley knows, and tells her everything About her dad her little brother and the cute boy in the green hat named Drew. But when her little brother gets sent to the hospital and Sam gets invited to a cool senior party by Drew everything goes down hill. So now her only person she can really trust is the random girl at the library. So when Sam goes to this cool senior party Sam gets drunk and for Drew, well he forces Sam to do stuff that she doesn't really want to do. So them she turns to her best friends when they won't even talk to her because she has been keeping all these secrets from them. Could Sam's life get any worse? Readers will be hooked by its creative wording and amazing characters. This is Natasha Friends best work yet.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 20, 2006
This review is from: Lush (Hardcover)
Sam has a secret. Her dad is a swiller, a sot, a toper, a guzzler. Her dad is a lush. She has to navigate junior high, while at the same time keep things from falling apart at home. Watching her mother remain quiet while the family walks on eggshells around her father is driving her crazy. Luke, her four-year-old brother, is who she worries about most of all, though. He isn't old enough to read the signs. The signs of whether it's going to be a good day or a bad day. With no one to talk to, since she doesn't want anyone to know about her father - even her three very best friends - she decides to write a note, sharing all of her feelings, and give it to a total stranger. Sam makes the trip to the local public library several days a week in order to scout out just the right person. She sees a high school girl and decides to make her move. Sam folds the note and leaves it in the study carrel the girl always uses. Sam writes in the note that if she wants to write back, to leave her response in the book The History of Modern Whaling, catalog information 360.68 Ton, between pages thirty-two and thirty-three. Sam chose this book because it has been at least thirty years since someone has checked it out. She is sure the dust-covered book wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Someone does write back, though, but not who she expects. The two start a lengthy correspondence where Sam receives several pieces of advice until finally an incident occurs that leads the secret "advice-giver" to set up a time for them to meet. Natasha Friend has written a touching novel centered around a strong female character. The cycle of emotional abuse that is associated with alcoholism seems to be realistically portrayed and comes full circle, ending with the healing process and what it takes for a family to survive a tragedy, heal, and stay together. Reviewed by: Karin Perry
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