Lucy in the Sky by Anonymous

From Goodreads:

"A riveting first-person tale of addiction, in the tradition of Go Ask Alice and Jay’s Journal.

The author of this diary began journaling on her sixteenth birthday. She lived in an upper middle class neighborhood in Santa Monica with her mom, dad, and Berkeley-bound older brother. She was a good girl, living a good life...but one party changed everything. One party, where she took one taste—and liked it. Really liked it.
Social drinking and drugging lead to more, faster, harder... She convinced herself that she was no different from anyone else who liked to party. But the evidence indicates otherwise: Soon she was she hanging out with an edgy crowd, blowing off school and everything she used to care about, all to find her next high.
But what goes up must come down, and everything—from her first swig, to her last breath—is chronicled in the diary she left behind."

Goodreads - Lucy in the Sky

I read the book Go Ask Alice at the beginning of the year and had a lot of mixed feelings about it.  It took place in the late 60s and early 70s.  I didn't connect with the book because I didn't grow up in the 60s and 70s and there were references I didn't understand.  After finishing the book I passed it on to a friend for her to read.  I knew that there were other books written in the same format by Anonymous and I was unsure if I wanted to read another one.  I was well aware that the book would be in the same diary format and that the conclusion would probably have a coroner's report or a news report.  I enjoyed the book Lucy in the Sky a little more than I enjoyed Go Ask Alice, however it is hard to enjoy either considering the content of the books.

The book Lucy in the Sky follows a girl, who is nameless by the way, as she embarks into her 16th year of life.  She starts a journal and decides to keep it as up to date as possible.  She falls in love with any boy who will show her attention.  She meets Ross who she thinks likes her and decides to take a hit off of a joint in hopes that he will like her more.  "Lucy" ends up making friends with the wrong people and she falls into more trouble than she ever expected.  Throughout the book she drinks cosmos constantly, smokes weed incessantly, and then gets into severe drug use by using and abusing cocaine, LSD, meth, and heroin.  Throughout her entire drug usage her brother is aware of her abusing, but continues to hide it from his parents until one night she got a DUI and he spilled all the beans.  She started to clean herself up and then decided to try meth.  The night she tried meth she also apparently tried heroin.  The dosage was too much and they had to call an ambulance.  She died while they were taking her to the hospital, but the medics were able to bring her back.  Her parents promptly checked her into a rehab facility where she pulled her life together, met Amy who became her AA sponsor, and she gets clean.  While the reader thinks that our drug addict is clean and has pulled her act together, we find the ending is a news report that is reporting the death of a 16 year old girl who died of an accidental meth and heroin overdose.

I have a few issues with this book.  First off is the fact of this being a "diary".  The book is listed as being written by Anonymous.  There was a lot of debate over Go Ask Alice because it was claimed to be based on a diary by a true addict in the 70s.  Psychologist Beatrice Sparks ended up stating that the book was based off of a diary that a patient of hers wrote.  She basically fluffed it and published it.  The fact that people had to question if that was true made me question if any other books by "Anonymous" are true or at least based on true facts.  All of the books that have the same diary format are published as fiction.  It would just be good to know if this is based on someone's diary or if this is purely out of the mind of someone who thought they should do an updated remake of Go Ask Alice.  The back cover of the book makes it seem as if the book is based off of a girl's diary.  The back cover states, "Read her story in her own words, in the diary she left behind."  I just feel that if it were my child that had gone through this and ended up overdosing, I wouldn't really want to publish her diaries that shared every little drink she had and every drug she tried.  I feel that that is personal and I wouldn't want to share it with the world.  That being said, I'm still upset that the book cover portrays this as being the work of an actual drug addict, while the copyright page in the book states it is a work of fiction.

My next issue with this book is the fact that it is written in diary style by a 16 year old girl.  She writes OMG a bajillion times like IT. IS. OVERKILL!  The style was so annoying that I really wanted to slap the main character because she sounded so immature.  But at the same time someone did a really good job at making the character seem like an immature 16 year old.  I know that at probably 14 or 15 I wrote annoyingly like the main character.  I was naive and was just a kid, exactly like the main character was.  She was just extremely annoying with her usage of capital letters and punctuation in the middle of a sentence.  I just feel that if this girl really did become an addict who was trying to fit in, that she would have at least tried to seem mature in her writing and in her life, but this wasn't the case.  It was really hard to like "Lucy".

"Lucy" has an older brother named Cam who does drink and smokes weed periodically.  He is the typical older brother who is looking out for his younger sister.  He comes to her rescue  and covers for her more than once.  I was so baffled that her brother loved her as much as he did, but he didn't love her enough to tell their parents.  I kept waiting for him to tell his parents because he loved "Lucy" and didn't want to see her overdose, but he doesn't tell until she gets a DUI and he feels that he has to tell.  Of course his parents are disappointed in him and everyone cries, but I was disappointed in the character Cam.  He was kind of making it a double standard that he was allowed to drink and smoke pot, but he didn't want "Lucy" doing it.  If you tell your sister she shouldn't, then you probably shouldn't be doing it either.  I felt that there was a lot of potential for Cam to do the right thing for someone he loved, but the author apparently didn't think he should do the right thing until she was really hooked on drugs and in some serious trouble.  I wanted there to be one knight in shining armor that would help rescue "Lucy" from her downward spiral.  I felt like Cam wanted to be that cool older brother that kept secrets, but he also struggled with doing the right thing.  I would love to read a "diary" from Cam's side of things.  I would love to know if there was something that was pulling his focus that allowed him to keep his sister's drug problem a secret.

The biggest issue I had was "Lucy" glamorizing drug use.  She was so excited every time she tried a new drug and she wrote about how it felt.  She made using drugs seem like the best choice she ever made in life.  I understand that this is from the viewpoint of "Lucy" and this is her diary and she was just writing what she felt. I just feel that if a junior high or high school student were to read this that they would think it was totally okay to do drugs because it will take you on the trip of a lifetime and you will feel AMAZING.  Whoever really wrote and published this should be ashamed of themselves for making drugs sound so appealing.  I think it was great that they admitted our main character into rehab at the end of the book, but it doesn't correct the problem.  It would have been a better ending if "Lucy" hadn't overdosed.  I feel that the ending would have sent a better message if the rehab helped heal "Lucy" of her drug abuse issues.  But instead this book just showed everyone that drugs are fantastic and that even rehab can't save you.

This book was very similar to Go Ask Alice and that was kind of a let down.  I did however enjoy this book taking place in modern age where people have cell phones.  I give the book 2 stars out of 5 because it glamorized drug use and was written in such an immature tone.  I would only recommend this book to mature adults who are able to handle the content in the book.  I have four other books that are written in the same diary format.  I'm somewhat excited to read those because they have different focal points than Lucy in the Sky and Go Ask Alice. 

Ruby Lee & Me by Shannon Hitchcock

From Goodreads:

"When a segregated North Carolina town gets its first black teacher, two girls--one black, one white--come face-to-face with how prejudice affects their friendship.

Everything's changing for Sarah Beth Willis. After Robin's tragic accident, everyone seems different somehow. Days on the farm aren't the same, and the simple fun of riding a bike or playing outside can be scary. And there's talk in town about the new sixth-grade teacher at Shady Creek. Word is spreading quickly--Mrs. Smyre is like no other teacher anyone has ever seen around these parts. She's the first African American teacher. It's 1969, and while black folks and white folks are cordial, having a black teacher at an all-white school is a strange new happening. For Sarah Beth, there are so many unanswered questions. What is all this talk about Freedom Riders and school integration? Why can't she and Ruby become best friends? And who says school isn't for anybody who wants to learn--or teach? In a world filled with uncertainty, one very special teacher shows her young students and the adults in their lives that change invites unexpected possibilities."

Goodreads - Ruby Lee & Me

I have a serious reading problem... I can't stop!!!  I finished this book in about 12 hours and it was absolutely adorable!

The book starts off with a high climactic event when Sarah's younger sister Robin gets hit by a car.  Sarah then has to go stay with her grandparents as Robin is in the hospital in a coma.  She struggles to tell the truth about what happened, which is that she thought the accident was her fault.  We meet Ruby Lee, who is an African American girl the same age as Sarah, who comes with her grandmother to help pick berries at the farm.  We quickly learn that Ruby and Sarah are friends, but have been feeling distant lately especially with the talk of segregation and integration of the schools.  Robin eventually wakes up and Sarah has to learn how to help Robin deal with her injuries.  Various events happen throughout the book that shift between being serious, being sentimental and kind, and being humorous.  The book concludes with Sarah telling her parents that she thought it was her fault and Ruby Lee and Sarah making up and becoming friends again even though they weren't supposed to be.

One of the bigger themes in this book is segregation in 1969.  While the book isn't necessarily focused and centered around segregation, it is mentioned multiple times throughout.  We quickly learn that Ruby Lee is African American and Sarah isn't.  This causes a strain in their friendship at one point in the book.  There is also a mention of Emmett Till in the book and the librarian states that Sarah will have to come back with her parents to read about him.  Sarah is a typical child who is curious as to what segregation is all about and why it is happening.  I think this explains a lot of the curiosity that was taking place at that time with children.  Parents were teaching their children not to be friends with blacks or not to be friends with whites.  The children didn't notice skin color, but they did know friendship.  I think this is also a theme that could be applied today.  People are constantly judging people based on their skin color, their religion, their clothes, etc.  This would be a really good point to bring up to kids to not judge anyone, because they may just be your next best friend.

Friendship is my next point in this book.  Things were definitely changing in 1969 and Sarah and Ruby Lee knew it.  They knew that schools were being integrated with other schools, which meant that whites and blacks would go to school together.  They knew that only whites could eat at Bubba's Grill and swim in the pool.  This meant that even though Ruby Lee and Sarah were friends, they couldn't eat at the same place or go swimming together.  Even though everyone was telling them they couldn't be friends, they were able to overcome the hate in people's hearts.  They had a little tiff in the middle of the book where Sarah called Ruby Lee a very bad name.  Their friendship was off for a little while and it made Sarah really sad.  They ended up making up again and they decided to try to make their friendship work, even though all the grown-ups were frowning upon it.  I love the friendship message that is in this book.  Both girls decided that their friendship was more important than what other people thought of them.  It would be great to talk about peer pressure with this book and how some people will pressure you to be friends with someone or not to be friends with them.  I would really hone in on the value of having a close friend.

I loved this book!  I'm considering reading this book to my 4th graders this year as a class read aloud.  I think there are a lot of good messages that are in the book that we could talk about.  I give this book 5 stars!

Escape From Asylum by Madeleine Roux

From Goodreads:

"The nightmare is just beginning…

Ricky Desmond doesn’t belong in the Brookline asylum. His parents sent him here because they think he’s a deviant—and that he can be cured—but Ricky knows there’s no cure for what he has.

Soon after he arrives, Ricky learns that being locked up against his will is only the beginning of his problems. Rumor has it that the Brookline warden authorizes treatments that aren’t entirely…humane. That he’s a butcher, a monster. And if the screams Ricky hears coming from the basement are any indication, the rumors are an understatement. Now, with the help of a nurse who feels just as trapped in Brookline as he does, Ricky must escape before the asylum claims his sanity—or his life."

Goodreads - Escape From Asylum

When I purchased this book I had just finished Asylum and was getting ready to start Sanctum.  I considered reading this book before I finished the series, but ultimately decided that I should read all three books and then see if this book answered any questions I still had.

This book takes place when Brookline was still an operating and functioning asylum.  Our main character in this book is Ricky.  Ricky is admitted to Brookline because of his anger issues and the more under the radar fact that he is gay.  We also meet Kay who befriends Ricky.  Kay is a male who feels that he is a female, thus making him transgender.  Throughout the book we also meet Warden Crawford and we get to see his "normal" demeanor and behavior with people.  We get a glimpse into what life was like at Brookline while the Warden was still in control.  We also meet some people who have connections to the other books in the Asylum series such as, Dennis, Nurse Ash, Lucy, and the Warden's brother who isn't named, but the reader can only speculate it is Marcus.

This book was a good prequel even though I read it after I had finished the trilogy.  I'm still not sure if I would advise someone to read this before reading the three main books or if I would advise them to read it after like I did.  If you read it before reading Asylum, Sanctum, and Catacomb then there will be a lot that doesn't make sense.  However, if you read it after like I did then a lot of questions will be answered as to what happened at Brookline.  The book had the same photo integration that the other books had.  I felt like the pictures in this book were creepier than the others, and the storyline was darker than the other storylines.  That put a different spin on things because there were some pretty sinister things taking place, and some of them were described in detail with sound descriptions included.

I did not feel that the title fit the book very well.  I was really expecting Ricky to literally escape from Brookline, not someone come and check him out.  I wanted the suspense of him sneaking around without getting caught and then helping his fellow friends out.  It would have been really exciting to see him sneak in and out a couple of times without the Warden knowing, but we all know that the Warden was strict and ran a VERY tight asylum, which hindered Ricky's ability to sneak around.

I also felt like the book ended rather abruptly and that left so many holes and questions for me.  Sure we know that Kay got out and that Ricky moved to New York.  I felt like they were trying to have a relationship of some sort and I thought that was so weird because they had been friends in the asylum.  The book ended so quickly that we didn't really find out what the deal was between Kay and Ricky.  Also Ricky stated that his mother wouldn't be coming to visit him for a long time... why?  Why won't she be visiting?  Also I want to know what the deal was with the warden's brother showing up at the end of the book.  It says that his brother shows up with his son Daniel.  The warden mentions that Daniel is named after him and the Warden reassures his brother that this is what should be done.  I'm going to assume that the boy was Daniel Crawford who we meet in Asylum.  This book takes place in the 60s, which means that Daniel Crawford should be in his 50s when Asylum, Sanctum, and Catacomb take place.  This leads me to wonder if the Warden was able to hypnotize Daniel and finally figured out how to use mind control.  Did the Warden use Daniel as a turning point in the Scarlets?  Was Daniel involved in the Scarlets?  Did the Warden finally figure out how to ensure that people don't age and they stay young forever?  I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!  Plus, how is Nurse Ash related to Daniel's mother since her maiden name was Ash?  What happened with Dennis after he went on his rampage in the basement?  How did Dennis, the Sculptor, become the one that the Warden operated on for the last time?

I will give Roux props for including LGBTQ characters in this book.  I think that it is great that she decided to incorporate bi-sexual and transgender tendencies into her characters and the reasons why they were at Brookline.  She also was able to shed some light as to what life was like in the 60s for people who were members of the LGBTQ community.  It was a cruel world, and people didn't agree with that lifestyle.  While it is heartbreaking to read of what would take place to people who were members of this community, it is also good to see that we have made some improvement in our society.  While members of the LGBTQ community are still suffering day to day, it is good to know that we aren't administering shock treatment or lobotomies anymore.

After I wrote this I was searching for answers to the questions and holes that were left open in the book.  I got to searching and found the official Tumblr of Madeleine Roux.  She has it set up where people can ask questions about anything and everything.  I went ahead and inquired about the Daniel that arrived at the asylum at the end of Escape From Asylum.  I wanted to know if the young Daniel that arrived was the same Daniel in Asylum, Sanctum, and Catacomb.  Roux replied with a very confusing answer and said no that the young Daniel that arrived was the Warden's nephew, making him the Warden's brother's son.  She never replied which brother.  She never explained the storyline there.  It was probably one of the most frustrating encounters I've had with an author.  I, as a fan, was just wanting an answer as to who, what, and why he was there.  Her short and snarky remark kind of irritated me.  It just left a really bad taste in my mouth.

This book left me with more questions that the other three combined.  There are other books that come in between each of the main novels, and I'm very torn between reading them and just leaving my unanswered questions unanswered.  But after the run in with Roux on her Tumblr I will not be reading any more of her books.  When people want answers you should give some or refer them to a book that WILL answer the questions.  Her inability to really answer the question leads me to believe that there are some MAJOR plot holes in this entire storyline.  I was going to give this book 4 stars, but I'm bumping it down to 3.

Exit, Pursued By A Bear by E.K. Johnston

From Goodreads:
"Veronica Mars meets William Shakespeare in E.K. Johnston’s latest brave and unforgettable heroine. 

Hermione Winters is captain of her cheerleading team, and in tiny Palermo Heights, this doesn’t mean what you think it means. At PHHS, the cheerleaders don't cheer for the sports teams; they are the sports team—the pride and joy of a tiny town. The team's summer training camp is Hermione's last and marks the beginning of the end of…she’s not sure what. She does know this season could make her a legend. But during a camp party, someone slips something in her drink. And it all goes black.

In every class, there's a star cheerleader and a pariah pregnant girl. They're never supposed to be the same person. Hermione struggles to regain the control she's always had and faces a wrenching decision about how to move on. The assault wasn't the beginning of Hermione Winter's story and she's not going to let it be the end. She won’t be anyone’s cautionary tale."

Goodreads - Exit, Pursued By A Bear

I was never a cheerleader in high school.  I always thought it would be fun to be tiny and fly through the air while doing stunts and tumbling passes.  I've been around cheerleading for more than a few years since my niece was a competitive cheerleader for nine years and my sister used to own a elite cheer gym.  I think that is why I initially picked up this book.  The cheerleader on the front caught my eye and I figured it had a strong cheerleading storyline.  While cheerleading was an important factor in this book, there was a bigger storyline at work.

This book starts off with a flash forward.  We meet our main character Hermione and she goes to speak with a reverend.  We then immediately jump back to where the story starts.  A team of cheerleaders are on their way to cheer camp for two weeks.  It is Hermione's senior year which means that this will be her last year at camp and she plans to make it the best alongside her best friend Polly.  Camp is almost over when everyone attends a mixer in the cafeteria at camp.  Hermione remembers taking a cup from someone, drinking it, becoming very tired, and she starts looking for a trash can...then she blacks out.  She wakes up in the hospital and Polly is with her.  She becomes a victim of rape.  Hermione then has to deal with doing what is necessary to catch the guy that raped her.  She finds that her friendship with Polly is stronger than ever and that her relationship with Leo was never a good relationship.  Hermione learns how to get over what has happened and how to not feel like the victim she is.

This book was phenomenal.  It took a few chapters for me to get into it, but once I committed to the book I sat down and immediately finished reading it.  The book is broken into four parts or seasons as I'm going to call them.  They also mimic Hermione's attitude throughout the book to an extent.  In the fall she was warm and happy, winter she was cold from what had happened, in spring she was starting to warm back up and find a normal in her life, and summer finally allows her to find some happiness and accept everything.  The chapters in this book were the perfect length, not too long and not too short.  The book has a few words that are not typically found in common usage, but I googled the few I didn't know and went on reading.

I honestly thought the main focus of this book would be cheerleading and everything that goes with it, but I was very wrong.  This book is about rape and I expect it could be a trigger for someone who has been sexually assaulted.  The entire book doesn't focus necessarily on the rape and the media following it.  It focuses on Hermione and her learning how to cope and deal with the fact that she is a victim of rape.  There is a brief mention of the story being covered in the media, but that isn't the focus.  The book also doesn't really focus on the kids at school talking and spreading rumors about what happened.  There are a few encounters where we read about the kids at school discussing what happened.  The biggest focus though is that Hermione constantly feels like she isn't a victim even though she is.  She often finds herself forgetting that it happened unless someone mentions it.  She managed to handle the entire situation really well unless she was triggered by the pine smell or by the song that was playing.  We typically see the vulnerable side of the victim because of the fact that they were raped, but Hermione showed her vulnerable side when she discussed the fact that she would have to testify against her attacker.  She knew that her memory was spotty and she was scared to testify.  After Hermione and Polly spoke with the reporter Hermione got angry that people thought that it was her fault that she was raped.  She knew it was no one's fault except the guy who raped her, but she was still angry and upset that people could and would say that.

This book really encompasses what today's society is like with the rape culture.  People always blame the victim.  It is always the victims fault that they were raped.  Most victims are intoxicated or drugged to the point of unconsciousness and they can't give consent, which was the case with Hermione.  Some victims are perfectly capable of giving consent and saying yes, but they say no and they still get raped.  Rape isn't something that should be taken lightly and we shouldn't be giving them month long sentences so that it doesn't ruin their life (Yes, I'm talking about the Stanford rape).  Victims are victims and they shouldn't be belittled, mocked, or told that it was their fault.  Their lives have been forever changed too.  They will have intimacy issues and will struggle to trust people, as well as having triggers in their life that make them recall the time they became a victim.  Some victims not only become victims, but become mothers because they were raped.  And some of those victims who become mothers have to make the decision to terminate a pregnancy because they don't want a child or a reminder that someone took advantage of them.

This book was a great read that gave a different perspective than is typically given in books about rape.  This was well written and E.K. Johnston successfully executed an attack on rape culture in today's society.  I give this book 5 stars.  I would enjoy reading a follow up book that chronicles what Hermione is facing as charges are filed against her attacker.  I want to see Hermione go to college and find someone who does really love her and someone she can love.  I just feel there is so much room for a second book, even if it has a main storyline of the trial against her attacker.

Catacomb by Madeleine Roux

From Goodreads:

"Sometimes the past is better off buried.

Senior year is finally over. After all they’ve been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they’re just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan’s uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that they are apparently being followed.. And Dan starts receiving phone messages from someone he didn’t expect to hear from again—someone who died last Halloween.

As the strange occurrences escalate, Dan is forced to accept that everything that has happened to him in the past year may not be a coincidence, but fate—a fate that ties Dan to a group called the Bone Artists, who have a sinister connection with a notorious killer from the past. Now, Dan’s only hope is that he will make it out of his senior trip alive.

In this finale to the New York Times bestselling Asylum series, found photographs help tell the story of three teens who exist on the line between past and present, genius and insanity."

Goodreads - Catacomb

I fell in love with the Asylum series a little over a month ago.  I devoured Asylum and then did the same with Sanctum.  I absolutely loved Asylum, but Sanctum wasn't quite as magical in my opinion.  Of course I had some very high expectations for Catacomb considering that it was the final book in the series.  But before we start talking about my thoughts, I need to go ahead and give you a brief summary in my own words.

The book takes place the summer after Asylum and Sanctum take place, which is also after Dan, Abby, and Jordan's senior year of high school.  The three are on their way to help Jordan move to Louisiana to live with his uncle who is going to pay for college.  As usual Dan starts experiencing weird things, such as when Micah starts messaging him.  Before they all know it Dan is knee deep in researching his parents to find out who they were and how they died, and why Micah keeps messaging him.  Of course it can't be simple research because Dan gets tangled up with a group called the Bone Artists.  He starts sneaking off to keep Abby and Jordan from being too involved.  As usual we find out some important and crucial information, people get hurt, at least one person dies, and then they all live happily ever after trying to adjust and get over what has happened to them.

This book was very predictable.  As soon as Dan and the gang met Oliver, I knew that he was still involved with the Bone Artists.  He said that he had gotten out, but it couldn't be that simple to get uninvolved with them.  I don't think that it ever mentioned Sabrina being involved, but it was clear when a seance was going on that Oliver was still involved in some pretty dark stuff.  Another person that I knew was involved was Finnoway.  He was a big political figure that had the charming appeal that no one would ever suspect that he was currently the leader of the Bone Artists.  It was so predictable.  The predictability of this plot and the characters really made me sad.  I wanted something that was unusual and strange because that is how the other two books were.

While the book was predictable there were a few things that I really enjoyed.  One of them being the use of more updated photos.  There were historical photos as usual, but there were also more updated photos with people in modern clothes and masks.  I just liked the modern day spin instead of the tons of historical photos that were in the first two books.  I also liked that Dan became a victim in this book.  It seemed like he was always escaping danger while everyone else got injured or killed from the digging that Dan had done.  It was good that his digging and inability to let things go finally caught up to him.  It was one of those things that was bound to happen, but it was a matter of when, what would happen, or who would do it.

Madeleine Roux has already said that there will not be any more books in this series.  I'm secretly hoping that she is going to wait a few years and will publish another book in this series.  I would love for there to be a follow up book where Dan has graduated college.  It would be good to see Dan and Abby get married, settle down, and have a little family.  Of course there would have to be some crazy twist that pulled him back to Brookline because that's where it all started.  It would be an awesome follow-up conclusion book.

This book was a little bit of a let down because of the predictability of it.  I give the book 4 stars out of 5.  I've already started Escape From Asylum which is the prequel to Asylum.  Escape From Asylum takes place when Brookline was a functioning asylum and not serving as dorms.  I'm very excited to read this book and I'm hoping that my unanswered questions will finally be answered.