Linnea Due

An eye-opening novel about a high-functioning alcoholic teenager, 17-year-old Niki Etchens. Readable, informative, not an after-school special. There's a lot of information about what alcoholism means, and the author doesn't whitewash Niki's life. The book was published in 1980, and I don't know if the culture was just different then, but I was shocked how often Niki drove drunk — even driving her friends home, with rarely anyone blinking an eye. Couldn't believe she never had an accident. Niki is a star pitcher on the girls' softball team, and there's some reflection on the devaluation of girls' sports and female athletes compared to their male equivalents. I appreciated the role Niki's friendship with her best friend, Martha, played in the novel; more than any other part of Niki's life, it's this friendship that shows a clear picture of the harms of Niki's drinking. The book is set in Berkeley, with mentions of the UC and Carmel.… (plus d'informations)

Full disclosure with this one, I saw it on the shelf in Melbourne and didn't buy it. I regretted it so when I saw it on the shelf in Elizabeth's in Perth, I bought it.

Glad I did, it's very hot. Not recommended public reading but wow. Whether close to home, or unlike anything I'd ever experienced, it had me in its grips from beginning to end. Was unsure about releasing this given that I'm in a small town at the moment but then realised there is very little that offends backpackers so this is on the shelf. Two that I left there earlier in the day have found new readers.

Had originally classed this as travel based on its title but no, definitely not travel. Women's lit=!chick lit, so this is a tough call and now in non fiction.… (plus d'informations)