Dancing with Molly
-
-
4.8 • 4 Ratings
-
-
- $8.99
-
- $8.99
Publisher Description
An edgy and intimate glimpse at what one girl will do just to be the life of the party.
Before, I was never the life of the party. I was the reliable one. The one no one had to worry about. The one no one had to think about. I was the one that everyone could ignore.
Until that night, when everything changed and I finally became someone. Someone special. Someone memorable. Someone Carson might actually care about...
But the cost of being someone is more than anyone can imagine. For every moment, there’s a price to pay. For every party. For every choice made. For every kiss.
Living a life of pure ecstasy might be no different from not living at all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This diary-style novel offers a straightforward cautionary tale about the drug Ecstasy. The unnamed 17-year-old narrator, an average-looking band geek with mousy, frizzy hair the color of dishwater, feels invisible and awkward both at school and at home. She s thrilled when the band is invited to participate in the Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, but her mother is more impressed that the narrator s younger sister, a sophomore, has been invited to prom by the school quarterback. Sick of being stuck in the shadows, the narrator is seduced by the prospect of pure bliss by taking Ecstasy offered by her friends. She only plans on trying the drug once, but she falls in love with the feeling of losing her inhibitions and being lifted out of her normal life. Soon she s engaging in other high-risk behavior and can t enjoy anything, even her new boyfriend, while sober. While the plot is predictable, it s a realistic look at how easily one can be lured into drug use, and most readers will be pulled through the story by the candidness of the narration. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
tells a story in a way that is easy to relate to, without preachy tone
A debut offering from Lena Horowitz, Dancing with Molly is a tale reminiscent of Go Ask Alice or Crank, focused on the use of popular drugs found in society and the demise of a life.
I’ve mentioned two titles above that will resonate with people of different ages. Dancing with Molly is the latest entrant that I have encountered in this storyline, and Horowitz presents a story that is geared to the 15 and older reader. Please NOTE - there is drug use and sexual situations that range from mentions to graphic - all portrayed as real and honest from the perspective of someone who is in the moment.
Told in first person past POV, written in diary form, this story follows our protagonist: band geek, outsider with several insecurities especially concerning her sister, boys and her family. From a fairly typical teen with all of the issues everyone experiences at some point in their life, she is invited to experiment with Ecstacy – and finds that experience to be pure bliss.
It’s not that she is without friends, but stand up and be your own leader, she is not (I’m using “she” because we never do learn the name). With a sister wrapped in her own life, and parents who may or may not be present and available depending on their own life, our protagonist’s life is a slow slide into addiction and loss: loss of self-respect, loss of control, loss of self.
Several twists and turns with a conclusion that brings revelation and feels natural and possible this book tells a story in a way that is easy to relate to, without dancing on the preachy tone that is easily dismissed by many teen readers. A worthwhile ‘what not to do’ tale.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.