#19--Lush

Bibliographic Information

Lush by Natasha Friend. Scholastic Press. (2006).

Price:$16.99 for hardback

Pages: 184 for hardback

Plot Summary

Thirteen-year-old Sam is tired of keeping her father’s alcoholism a secret but she knows she cannot tell any of her friends about his dangerous addiction as her mother and grandmother constantly remind her. Desperate for advice she pens a note to a high school girl she spots in the library and leaves it at the girl’s usual study spot. In her note Sam instructs her to respond by placing a letter within the pages of the never checked-out History of Modern Whaling. Thus begins a rather strange correspondence where Sam can finally reveal not only her secrets about her family life but about her high school crush as well. Things however quickly begin to spiral out of control when her father flies into an alcoholic rage and the boy she likes invites her to a high school party. Will her anonymous friend be able to help her out or is she on her own?

Critical Evaluation

Lush is a wonderful book as it honestly examines not only how an alcoholic parent can affect their family but the day-to-day life of a physically mature thirteen-year-old girl. While Sam must find a way to cope with her alcoholic father and passive mother she must simultaneously survive the constant stares and sexually lewd comments of eighth grade boys all of whom have noticed her budding breasts. It would have been easy for Friend to write Lush as a depressing problem novel however because Sam is such a sympathetic and relateable character readers will be able to laugh at Sam’s self-deprecating humor while rooting for her to find a way to deal with her father and her crush. The only potential flaw with the novel is the lack of justice Sam experiences over what happened to her at the party. However, because the novel has an open-ended conclusion readers can at least imagine that everyone gets their just desserts.

Reader’s Annotation

When eighth grader Sam can’t keep the secret that her father is an alcoholic she reveals the truth in a series of notes she trades with an anonymous high schooler.

About the Author

Natasha Friend is no stranger to book challenges as Lush made the ALA’s Top Ten Challenged Books in 2010. She has also written other potentially controversial novels including Perfect about a girl with an eating disorder and For Keeps about a girl with a friend who constantly involves herself in romantic flings. She published her most recent novel My Life in Black and White in 2012.

To learn more about Natasha Friend visit her website here.

Genre

Realistic fiction

Readalikes

Perfect by Natasha Friend

·         Main character Isabelle struggles with the death of her father and an eating disorder

Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix

·         Also about a girl who writes letters as a way to reveal her less than perfect home life. Very compelling and a quick read!

What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sarah Sones

·         Also about a girl who must deal with creepy boys

Tags

4 yr. old, 13 yr. old, 8^th grade, alcoholic father, attempted rape, puberty, yoga

Awards Won/Lists On

2007—ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

2008—International Reading Associations Y.A. Choices

2008—Rhode Island Teen Book Award

Professional Reviews

Booklist

Common Sense Media

Kirkus Reviews

KLIATT

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

Booktalk Ideas

What it’s like having an alcoholic parent

·         Don’t air your family secrets in public (4)

·         Saying you mean something and actually meaning are different things (74)

·         Other parent lies to save face (96)

Letters

·         Initial letter (7)

·         My father, the drunk letter (107-108)

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness

This novel could be used to help teens who must live with an alcoholic parent or who are having a difficult time with puberty.

Reading Level/Interest Level

Reading Level: 3^rd grade

Interest Level: 6^th grade and up

These levels are according to AR Bookfinder

Challenge Issues

This book includes the following potentially controversial elements:

·         Alcoholic father

·         Attempted rape

·         Drunk driving

·         Homosexuality

·         Ouija board

·         Out of wedlock pregnancy

·         Profanity

·         Sexual assault

·         Sexual harassment

·         Talk of breasts

Librarians can point out that reading this book can help people better understand how alcoholism affects families.

Why Was This Included?

I included this because it was recommended on our reading list and because it was a frequently challenged novel. Additionally, I’d always admired the cover art and knew the book was popular with teens so I wanted to read it.