Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
ISBN: 1594480001
Plot Summary: Amir led a privileged life in Afghanistan prior to the Communist revolution: he and his father lived in a spacious villa with servants, and his father was a well-respected man in his community. Amir had an unequal yet genuine friendship with Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Yet when Hassan is brutally attacked by a group of boys, Amir stands by and does nothing, and later falsely accuses his friend of stealing, causing both him and his father to leave the estate, so that he will not have to feel guilty anymore. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Amir and his father have to leave the country, eventually moving to Fremont, California, where Amir meets and falls in love with a young woman from the local Afghan community. After his father's death, Amir gets a telephone call from an old family friend, asking him to come back to Afghanistan to rescue Hassan's son. In the process, Amir comes face to face with parts of his past that he would rather forget, and slowly tries to help his best friend's son begin the healing process.
Showing posts with label drug use. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drug use. Show all posts
Clueless
Title: Clueless
Author/Director: Amy Heckerling
Cast: Alicia Silverstone (Cher), Stacey Dash (Dionne), Paul Rudd (Josh), Donald Faison (Murray), Elisa Donovan (Amber), Breckin Myer (Travis), Jeremy Sisto (Elton), Dan Hedaya (Mr. Horowitz), Wallace Shawn (Mr. Hall), Twink Caplan (Miss Geist), Brittany Murphy (Tai).
ASIN: B00001MXXE (DVD)
Plot Summary: Cher Horowitz, a rich, spoiled Beverly Hills teen, enjoys shopping, hanging out with her friend Dionne, and playing matchmaker to all the people in her life. However, she's not as good at it as she thinks. Although Cher successfully matches two of her teachers together, when she tries to get Tai, the new girl in town, together with Elton, an obnoxious rich kid with a famous father, she finds out too late that Elton is interested in her instead, and Tai only has eyes for Travis, a good-hearted if slightly dim slacker. When Cher tries to pick out a love interest for herself, Christian, the object of her affections, turns out not to be as interested in her - or in her gender - as she had hoped. Throughout Cher's matchmaking misadventures, Josh, her ex-stepbrother who is living with Cher and her lawyer father, provides sardonic commentary, often provoking Cher into arguments in the process. However, it is not until Tai sets her sights on Josh that Cher realizes two things: first, that she has less of a clue than she thought about matchmaking, and second, that she may not hate Josh so much after all.
Author/Director: Amy Heckerling
Cast: Alicia Silverstone (Cher), Stacey Dash (Dionne), Paul Rudd (Josh), Donald Faison (Murray), Elisa Donovan (Amber), Breckin Myer (Travis), Jeremy Sisto (Elton), Dan Hedaya (Mr. Horowitz), Wallace Shawn (Mr. Hall), Twink Caplan (Miss Geist), Brittany Murphy (Tai).
ASIN: B00001MXXE (DVD)
Plot Summary: Cher Horowitz, a rich, spoiled Beverly Hills teen, enjoys shopping, hanging out with her friend Dionne, and playing matchmaker to all the people in her life. However, she's not as good at it as she thinks. Although Cher successfully matches two of her teachers together, when she tries to get Tai, the new girl in town, together with Elton, an obnoxious rich kid with a famous father, she finds out too late that Elton is interested in her instead, and Tai only has eyes for Travis, a good-hearted if slightly dim slacker. When Cher tries to pick out a love interest for herself, Christian, the object of her affections, turns out not to be as interested in her - or in her gender - as she had hoped. Throughout Cher's matchmaking misadventures, Josh, her ex-stepbrother who is living with Cher and her lawyer father, provides sardonic commentary, often provoking Cher into arguments in the process. However, it is not until Tai sets her sights on Josh that Cher realizes two things: first, that she has less of a clue than she thought about matchmaking, and second, that she may not hate Josh so much after all.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Title: It's Kind of a Funny Story
Author: Ned Vizzini
ISBN: 078685197X
Plot Summary: Craig Gilner, a middle-class teenager from Brooklyn, feels lucky when he is accepted into a prestigious New York public high school. However, once he gets in, he is soon overwhelmed by academic pressure, and starts self-medicating with drugs and purging to handle the stress until his parents agree to send him to a therapist. The therapist prescribes anti-depressants, but Craig decides to stop taking them, and soon becomes suicidally depressed. At a loss, he checks himself into a mental hospital with his parents' blessing, hoping this will help him deal with his issues. While there, he meets a variety of different people, each with their own issues, and comes to gain new insight on himself in the process.
Author: Ned Vizzini
ISBN: 078685197X
Plot Summary: Craig Gilner, a middle-class teenager from Brooklyn, feels lucky when he is accepted into a prestigious New York public high school. However, once he gets in, he is soon overwhelmed by academic pressure, and starts self-medicating with drugs and purging to handle the stress until his parents agree to send him to a therapist. The therapist prescribes anti-depressants, but Craig decides to stop taking them, and soon becomes suicidally depressed. At a loss, he checks himself into a mental hospital with his parents' blessing, hoping this will help him deal with his issues. While there, he meets a variety of different people, each with their own issues, and comes to gain new insight on himself in the process.
Go Ask Alice
Title: Go Ask Alice
Author: Beatrice Sparks (writing as "Anonymous")
ISBN: 1416914633
Plot Summary: The anonymous narrator, a teenage girl, comes from a good home, but feels out of place at home and in school. At first, she deals with typical teenage concerns: dieting and weight loss, boys, meeting new friends when her father moves. Then, she is introduced to drugs at a party, where she is unwittingly slipped a dose of LSD in her soda as part of a drinking/drug game. In short order, her life spirals downwards into a morass of meaningless sex, shady companions, and ever more dangerous drugs. Her diary entries disintegrate along with her life, degenerating into angry, almost meaningless stream of consciousness written on whatever she can find. She eventually gets cleaned up and moves back in with her parents, but finds the "good" kids will no longer associate with her, and her drug-using acquaintances threaten her for being a snitch. After being slipped yet another dose of LSD against her will, she winds up in a mental hospital. Eventually her condition improves, and she again returns home, determined to rebuild her life - but it is too late.
Author: Beatrice Sparks (writing as "Anonymous")
ISBN: 1416914633
Plot Summary: The anonymous narrator, a teenage girl, comes from a good home, but feels out of place at home and in school. At first, she deals with typical teenage concerns: dieting and weight loss, boys, meeting new friends when her father moves. Then, she is introduced to drugs at a party, where she is unwittingly slipped a dose of LSD in her soda as part of a drinking/drug game. In short order, her life spirals downwards into a morass of meaningless sex, shady companions, and ever more dangerous drugs. Her diary entries disintegrate along with her life, degenerating into angry, almost meaningless stream of consciousness written on whatever she can find. She eventually gets cleaned up and moves back in with her parents, but finds the "good" kids will no longer associate with her, and her drug-using acquaintances threaten her for being a snitch. After being slipped yet another dose of LSD against her will, she winds up in a mental hospital. Eventually her condition improves, and she again returns home, determined to rebuild her life - but it is too late.
Be More Chill
Title: Be More Chill
Author: Ned Vizzini
ISBN: 0060747811 (Audio Book)
Reader: Jesse Eisenberg
Plot Summary: Jeremy Heere is just an average teenage boy, pining after a girl who doesn't know he exists - until he hears about a tiny internal supercomputer that can help you learn how to be cool, and win over any girl you want. This computer, known as a "squip," does everything it promises on the label at first, but Jeremy soon finds out that being the "cool" guy the squip wants him to become isn't everything he initially thought it would be.
Author: Ned Vizzini
ISBN: 0060747811 (Audio Book)
Reader: Jesse Eisenberg
Plot Summary: Jeremy Heere is just an average teenage boy, pining after a girl who doesn't know he exists - until he hears about a tiny internal supercomputer that can help you learn how to be cool, and win over any girl you want. This computer, known as a "squip," does everything it promises on the label at first, but Jeremy soon finds out that being the "cool" guy the squip wants him to become isn't everything he initially thought it would be.
Crank
Title: Crank
Author: Ellen Hopkins
ISBN: 0689865198
Other Book in Series: Glass
Plot Summary: Kristina is a bright, talented high school student dealing with the breakup of her parents' marriage. When she goes to visit her father, she falls in love twice over: with the boy she meets there, and with the drug, crystal meth, he introduces her to. While meth brings out her fearless side at first, Kristina soon finds the drug taking over, and ultimately threatening, her life.
Author: Ellen Hopkins
ISBN: 0689865198
Other Book in Series: Glass
Plot Summary: Kristina is a bright, talented high school student dealing with the breakup of her parents' marriage. When she goes to visit her father, she falls in love twice over: with the boy she meets there, and with the drug, crystal meth, he introduces her to. While meth brings out her fearless side at first, Kristina soon finds the drug taking over, and ultimately threatening, her life.
Luna
Title: Luna
Author: Julie Anne Peters
ISBN: 0316733695
Plot Summary: Regan, a high school student, lives in a troubled household: her father, himself the victim of physical abuse as a child, bullies Regan's brother Liam into accepting traditional gender roles; her mother, a prescription drug addict, uses denial as a coping mechanism; and Liam himself is transgender, attempting to make the slow, painful transformation from his male body to the female person he believes he truly is. Regan attempts to help Liam/Luna as much as she can, but this often comes at the expense of her own time, effort, sanity, and even social life. In the process, both she and the reader learn not only what being transgender truly means, but also the effect it has on the family unit, how society reacts, and what effect this has on the transgender individual.
Author: Julie Anne Peters
ISBN: 0316733695
Plot Summary: Regan, a high school student, lives in a troubled household: her father, himself the victim of physical abuse as a child, bullies Regan's brother Liam into accepting traditional gender roles; her mother, a prescription drug addict, uses denial as a coping mechanism; and Liam himself is transgender, attempting to make the slow, painful transformation from his male body to the female person he believes he truly is. Regan attempts to help Liam/Luna as much as she can, but this often comes at the expense of her own time, effort, sanity, and even social life. In the process, both she and the reader learn not only what being transgender truly means, but also the effect it has on the family unit, how society reacts, and what effect this has on the transgender individual.
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