Representing Mississippi on the YA book tour is Jaqueline Woodson's Beneath a Meth Moon. To be honest, not sure why this was picked to represent Mississippi, since the minority of chapters take place there. Also, so you are warned, this book contains some very heavy subject matters, and might hit too close to home for anyone who has had someone close to them deal with a substance abuse problem.
Laurel, along with her father and younger brother, are starting a new life in a new town after the loss of her mother and grandmother in Hurricane Katrina. She makes new friends, and starts cheerleading. It is here that she catches the eye of the basketball team co-captain T-boom. T-boom gives her a kiss and introduces her to meth, which she calls moon.
Laurel live begins to fall apart the deeper she gets into addiction. It when she meets Moses, the gay boy who paints those who have died from meth, that she even thinks about getting out. It is Moses that saves her both figuratively and literately from her addiction.
Here is my biggest problem with the book, it does not go in chronological order. The first chapter is the end, which could have been fine if she was just introducing her story. The next chapter skips to somewhere in the middle of story of her addiction, and then it skips back to when she stilled lived in Mississippi before the hurricane, before meth. It was really annoying that with each chapter I had to establish where it happened within the timeline.
When T-boom gives her the moon to start with, I just wanted to yell at her. Really who thinks it is a good idea to take an unknown substance from a guy you only recently met. And with a name like T-boom, how trust worthy can he be.
While I have never had to deal with a close loved one with a substance abuse problem, I get that this book can hit very close to home for those who have, so proceed reading with caution.
Currently Reading:
The Splendor Falls
by Rosemary Clement-Moore
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