Tweaked by Katherine Holubitsky

Tweaked by Katherine Holubitsky

Summary (from the publisher's website): Sixteen-year-old Gordie Jessup is a good kid but he’s living a nightmare. His eighteen-year-old brother Chase’s two-year addiction to crystal meth has left their family emotionally and financially drained. And just when Gordie thinks he can no longer stand the manipulating, the lying and the stealing, things get even worse. Chase is arrested for aggravated assault, released on bail and sent home to his family. But his dealers are after him and Chase appeals to Gordie for help. Gordie, disgusted with his brother and fully aware that it’s a gamble, risks everything he has in the hope of bringing his family some peace.

Review: There aren't a lot of good books about drug addiction. Well, I shouldn't say that, because there more than likely are a lot, I've just not come across them. Personally, I haven't come across any that take a deep, true look at what dealing with a relative is really like. It's not pretty, it's not easy, and it's not sugar-coated in the least, and I admire the author so much for that. At the same time, though, it doesn't read like a public service announcement. It's emotional and truthful and real.

Gordie is such a good character who was so interesting to read. He isn't perfect, he doesn't always think or do the right things, but he reads like a real seventeen year old boy who's in the hard situation of having a meth addicted sibling. Besides Gordie, the other characters are very well-developed. His parents, the girl he likes, the smaller characters such as the members of the band he was a part of, his boss, even a storekeeper in a pawn shop whose name we never even learned showed depth. The only one who didn't show as much depth as all the others was Chase, and that was realistic of the intensity of his addiction.

I'm trying to think of bad things about the book and failing miserably. The only part that I didn't love was that it took me a little while to get into it, but I was in a weird mood and I think I may have not slept, so that was probably me.

Conclusion: Read it, read it, read it! This is such a good book about such a hard subject, written very very well, and it's definitely worth picking up. Four roses!!