Title: Beneath a Meth Moon
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Publication Date: February 2nd, 2012
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Genre: Contemporary/Realistic Fiction/Issues book
Audience: Young Adult
Pages: 182
Source: library
Rating: 3.5 I'd friend this book on Facebook
Summary from Goodreads: 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.
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.
My thoughts: As you can probably guess from the premise, this book is
gritty, dark, and very sad. Considering the subject matter revolves around meth
and a lot of personal hurt, I can’t say I “liked” this book, but I did enjoy
reading Laurel’s story.
The writing: This is very fast-paced, which was nice after
my previous read. It is quite short at 182 pages, and though I enjoyed the
story, it did come off a tiny bit to me as one of those “warning” stories,
which I think is partially due to the small pagecount; I think it hinders
getting really close to the character. I loved the way dialogue was handled, as
italics (sometimes even in the middle of a paragraph) rather than with the
typical quotation mark formatting. It seemed much more realistic in terms of
recounting Laurel’s memories and her stories as well as considering the fact that she's on drugs.
Iowa… Though the book never explicitly says “we’re in Iowa”
(I know because I was looking for it, living in Iowa and all), based on snippets, my mad geography skillz tell me they are. (At one point, as Laurel’s recounting how
she ended up in Galilee, her town after Mississippi, and in the general area
where most of the book takes place, it says “I woke up once, and we were in
Iowa. Woke up again and it as near morning and we were here” (44); later it
mentions that you can go west to get to Colorado or Wyoming and east to go to
Illinois and Ohio, and it also mentions going south to Missouri. Ta-da! I’m
guessing Iowa based on those points plus the fact that the descriptions of land
seem to match best with Iowa rather than Minnesota.) Anyway, you’re probably
wondering why this matters. Well… Small towns in rural Iowa (and Illinois,
where I was born & raised) do have meth problems. However, living all of my
(admittedly short) 24 years in small towns in the Midwest, I can’t say that I
connected with the setting like I thought and hoped I would. I find myself wondering how
much research went into the setting… The description of the school and the
initial set-up of the very small downtown area seems accurate, but other than
that, the whole “tons of rehabs all over” and “so many kids who are meth heads
and sit around on street corners begging and towns with loads of building-side murals painted as a warning
to others”… not so much. It felt inauthentic to me.
Though I must say that from the little I know of meth, Laurel’s experiences with the drug do seem greatly detailed and accurate (and horrifying). Laurel is a completely believable character and it’s easy to see how she got caught up with “moon,” especially with all she’s been through already. Of course it’s her story, so we don’t get a whole lot in the way of other characters’ motivations, except for Moses, whom I LOVED. He is such a great character, and I'd feel lucky to count him as a friend. Despite Laurel being quite a pathetic figure throughout much of the novel, her pain makes me want to just hug her, rock her, and tell her everything’ll be okay. Much like what Moses does.
Though I must say that from the little I know of meth, Laurel’s experiences with the drug do seem greatly detailed and accurate (and horrifying). Laurel is a completely believable character and it’s easy to see how she got caught up with “moon,” especially with all she’s been through already. Of course it’s her story, so we don’t get a whole lot in the way of other characters’ motivations, except for Moses, whom I LOVED. He is such a great character, and I'd feel lucky to count him as a friend. Despite Laurel being quite a pathetic figure throughout much of the novel, her pain makes me want to just hug her, rock her, and tell her everything’ll be okay. Much like what Moses does.
Overall, if you’re looking for a gritty depiction of what
meth can do to a person who’s already fragile, this is your book. If you’re
looking for an accurate portrayal of small town life in the Midwest, you may
wish to look elsewhere (only my opinion!).
Oh my goodness! This does sound gripping. I've never read anything dealing with meth before but it sounds both like a good story and also exhausting because of the heaviness of the issue.
ReplyDeleteI love characterization, and you've described Moses as someone wonderful. This one sounds really interesting but I cringe up at the issue-heavy books. I'm working my way there slowly. ;)
It's definitely pretty heavy, but it's short so it goes by quickly. I haven't read many (if any) reviews on it which seems weird since Jacqueline Woodson seems to be quite a prolific writer and has at least 3 Newbery Honors to her books.
DeleteMoses is GREAT! He is the shining light in the darkness that is Laurel's mind. It wasn't my absolute favorite read, but definitely recommended. :)
Fantastic Review, Randi! I read the book and reviewed it on my website...but not to the extent you did. One of the best reviews I've read :) Keep up the great work! ~Amie Beamer www.ReadingYA.com
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