Beneath a Meth Moon (NOVEL)

 

Title: Beneath A Meth Moon
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Published by: Nancy Paulsen Books



This book 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 (which is only 3 months old). Laurel is a writer and was encouraged by her grandmother to keep writing everything down in a journal and this encouragement continues when she meets a new friend, Kaylee. The words aren’t enough though and in her pain and sorrow she finds some type of peace in her new boyfriend and with him comes his addiction and supply of meth. She quickly becomes addicted and ends up living on the streets because of  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 almost as a wake up call for young adults in 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 a book that I couldn't put down. You see my sister had a drug addiction when after she got divorced. So I could relate to this very emotional story and that it deals with loss, 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. I was crying again and again as I was reading and I was really surprised that a short read could be so emotional and informative. I can see this book being something  parents will want their children to read. This book does justice for children to understand and hopefully take away the life lesson learned and the horrible reality of addiction. People that you wouldn't think of have these problems, and this book would maybe show them that there is a way out.