Tweak

February 25, 2008
A memoir written in the present tense, Sheff's first book graphically if self-indulgently recounts his addictions to various drugs, including meth and heroin, and his attempts at recovery as he reaches his early 20s. His narrative begins as he relapses, not for the first time, after 18 months of sobriety, taking readers down an exhausting spiral that includes a naïve attempt at dealing drugs; burglarizing his father's house; hooking up with a vulnerable ex-girlfriend and calling 911 after she overdoses; sleeping and shooting up in his car; and going back into detox. The cycle then repeats, in all its minute details. Flashbacks recall a privileged San Francisco childhood riven by divorce, youthful promise and subsequent degradation (prostitution, stealing from his young half-siblings). Nic's absorption in himself, often expressed as self-contempt, makes much of his account read like a therapeutic exercise, especially given its repetitious nature. While it's tempting to ask if Nic's journalist father's version of the same events, in Beautiful Boy
(Nonfiction Reviews, Apr. 30, 2007), supplies the insights missing here, this book's unmediated, down-and-headed-for-disaster sensibility may, for some teen readers, produce the same transfixing quality as a highway accident. Ages 15-up.

May 26, 2008
Sheff relates his personal struggle with drugs and alcohol in this poignant and often disturbing memoir. Paul Michael Garcia is the perfect choice for narrator; his stern and entirely believable voice captures the desolation in Sheff's tale. His reading is wonderfully underplayed, and necessarily so. Garcia becomes Sheff, offering a gritty and raw performance that demonstrates just how dire the circumstances surrounding Sheff's existence really were. A Ginee Seo Books hardcover.

November 15, 2007
I try to tell her Ive tried all that before . . . Im so sick of this recovery twelve-step psychobabble. Searingly honest, this memoir by a 22-year-old recovering drug addictfrom Los Angeles recalls years of addiction, recovery, relapse, and recovery again.In the present tense, Sheff writes about his lies, desperation, and the horrors of detox, as well as his shame (he steals from family and friends, works as a prostitute), remorse, and addiction to sick sexual relationships. Always theres his longingto stick a needle in his vein. Although his family gives up on him, he finds a mentor, a recovered addict, who showshim thatreal lifecan be wonderful.Unfortunately, recovery doesnt last long.Sheffs ruminations are too repetitive (even obsessive), yet readers who know ofhis world will grab this; thengive them Ellen Hopkins novel Crank (2004)and its recent sequel, Glass (2007)for more on the power of addiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2007
Gr 9 Up-This graphic and detailed memoir painfully depicts the author's addiction to methamphetamines and his tortuous, tentative journey to health. It is a companion to his father's seering and guilt-ridden memoir of witnessing Nic's gradual slide into drugs, "Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction" (Houghton, 2008). As a child and teenager, Sheff lived with his father, stepmother, and siblings in a California home with much love and understanding, and it's not clear why he began his descent into drugs. He started drinking at 11, smoked pot at 12, and became addicted to methamphetamines (and other hard drugs) when he was 17. He blames his addiction on genes and maybe the trauma of a broken family. But it's clear from his anguished narrative that he simply was not at peace with himself and his environment. Sheff narrates his story with many flashbacks that document in excruciating detail the drug underworld and how he dragged others whom he loved and himself down into a seemingly bottomless pit of despair. The author, in recovery (though not for the first time), nonetheless ends his memoir on a note of hope."Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2008
Brutally raw and honest, Sheff paints a heartbreaking and graphic portrait of his life as a drug addict. Convinced he could quit using at any time, Sheff details how drugs rapidly took over every aspect of his life, alienating his family and friends in the process. Readers will be inspired by the author's harrowing struggle to overcome his addiction.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)