In the United States, around 4,700 teenagers die from alcohol abuse a year, and millions of others lose bits of themselves to this addiction. That statistic is an unusual way to begin an article, but it correlates closely with the book “The Glass Girl” by Kathleen Glasgow. It’s a devastating slice of life following a 15-year-old named Bella and her path with substance abuse.
The topic of alcoholism is a difficult one to cover, especially with teenagers, as the party life is so often promoted in media to an adolescent audience. Getting drunk at parties and loosening up in a social setting has been glamourize and streamed to most of the high school crowd in the United States, mostly by social media, but the effects of alcohol (and other substances) have yet to have a light shone on them, what it can do to your brain, body, and life. But, thankfully there are books like this one that open up that negative view on teenage drinking while providing the reader with a captivating story.
In the story, Bella’s life is average as a child of divorce taking care of her younger sister Rikki while both her parents work. She is a student struggling to keep up with the curve, and a friend with a bit of a past streak for public embarrassment (happens to the best of us), but with the pressures of life, Bella dulls it out and makes it more ‘bearable’ by having a drink here and there. Sprite and Vodka, her grandmother’s liquor, Dad’s beer, even NyQuil — anything she can sip, or in some cases chug, to take the edge off. Except it becomes more than a drink here and there. It’s every night and morning, and even before she has to work. On the bus, in bathrooms, in random cars, anywhere, just when things get tough. And with any good addiction, reality runs its course at some point, and for Bella reality equals rehab.
Glasgow has always been a master at depicting emotions in her writing, including her other novels like “Girl in Pieces” and “How To Make Friends With The Dark.” She writes in such a way you feel like you’re living through the characters and feeling what they feel, and that is what I find so special about “The Glass Girl.” It makes you feel for Bella and see teenage substance use in a completely different light. It’s not as glamorous and idealized as it has become for kids even as young as 12.
If you’re looking for an emotional ride, filled with twists and a good message, “The Glass Girl” is a book for you. It contains an amazing story along with beneficial lessons that everyone should get at some point. Whether you have a Bella of your own in mind or not, almost everyone will be able to relate to her story one way or another, so I recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary slice-of-life books like these.
