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From Horn Book

January 1, 2025
Bella deals with what feels like a million pressures: family, schoolwork, a breakup with a boyfriend who said she was "too much," and grief over the recent loss of her grandmother. Without a robust support system, Bella turns to alcohol to relieve the pressures and numb the pain; she had her first drink at eleven, and now, at fifteen, it's an addiction. She remains in denial about that addiction until it blows up in her face, landing her in a rehab program, where she must learn to confront and process her problems in a healthier way. Glasgow paints an empathetic portrait of a young woman struggling to cope with life, giving her ample depth and complexity. The first-person narrative offers a clear depiction of the character's subjective experiences of anxiety, depression, loss, and trauma as well as a nuanced exploration of the various factors that contribute to substance use disorders. Similarly, it recognizes the nonlinear nature of recovery and the contributors to relapse. Even as it acknowledges personal accountability and agency, it does not let the adults and peers who fail Bella off the hook. The story unflinchingly examines the darkness in life but ultimately brims with hope for intrapersonal change. An author's note connects the story to Glasgow's life; resources are also appended. Shenwei Chang

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Booklist

Starred review from October 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Bella has more on her mind than any 15-year-old should reasonably have to handle. Her parents' divorce, her breakup and her ex's immediate new girlfriend, the death of her beloved grandmother--and on top of it all, the responsibility of the house and caring for her younger sister. Bella has found a way to cope, though: alcohol. She had her first drink at 11, and at 15, she is coaxing people outside liquor stores to buy her alcohol, drinking at parties, even gulping NyQuil if need be. When a spectacularly awful episode at a party lands her in the hospital with acute alcohol poisoning, Bella is set on a path to rehab, where she will learn to set healthy boundaries and confront her self-denial. Glasgow pulls no punches here: Bella's engrossing journey is difficult and uncompromising, drawing the reader in. The plot is tightly written with poignant realism, shaping three-dimensional characters with difficult flaws that work to their, and Bella's, detriment throughout the story. Glasgow's gift for writing is in full force here, sharing in the author's note that she drew from her own experience as a teen alcoholic to tell Bella's story with grace and authenticity. Glasgow already has a strong following and will surely attract more with this addition to her body of work. Consider purchasing multiple copies.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From School Library Journal

Starred review from October 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Would you want a Polaroid of yourself if half your face resembled "a crushed eggplant"? Neither does 15-year-old Bella, but she doesn't have a choice. Every day at Sonoran, a residential facility in the Arizona desert for teenagers with substance abuse issues, there's another Polaroid-to document each kid's progress in a 30-day recovery program, any infraction of which results in starting over at Day 1. Bella incurred her injury after a party when she was dumped in front of her own house, passed out from alcohol poisoning. Yet at Sonoran she's nicknamed "Baby Bella" because she's young and "only" into vodka. Addicts, Glasgow emphasizes, display a will all their own, as evidenced by the lengths they'll go to procure substances. That profile fits young Bella, whose lies and deceptions affect anyone who cares about her, especially her best friend Amber. Glasgow doesn't sensationalize Bella's downward spiral, focusing instead on her slow, realistic climb towards a different life, giving the poignant novel a hopeful tone. VERDICT A highly recommended addition to collections. This compelling novel leaves it up to Bella alone to admit she needs help and is an education-and a warning-about the depths of addiction.-Georgia Christgau

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Kirkus

August 15, 2024
An unflinching portrayal of the complexities of one teenager's journey through alcoholism and recovery. Bella took her first drink when she was 11. Now she's 15, and she and her friends have perfected the art of asking strangers outside liquor stores to buy them booze. It's the best way to cope with her parents' fighting, the grief and trauma of watching her beloved grandmother die, acting as a caregiver to her younger sister, and getting dumped by her first boyfriend, who said she was "too much." A party a few weeks ago led to the drunken mess of a night known as Bella's Extremely Unfortunate Public Downfall, after which her mom ruled: "no drinking, no parties." But Bella's parents are divorced, and when she's staying with her permissive and inattentive dad, who'll stop her? After Bella blacks out at a Thanksgiving party and her friends drop her on her mom's stoop, she ends up hospitalized with alcohol poisoning and a broken face. Her mom sends her to an outdoorsy rehab center with a program focused on building self-awareness and self-reliance. Bella's experiences with the program and her fellow residents are depicted with realistic nuance; nothing comes easily, and Glasgow carefully addresses relapses, anxiety disorder, self-harm, and death. After Bella's treatment ends, she discovers that returning to her life may be the most significant challenge of all. Most characters are cued white. A visceral, weighty read. (author's note, resources)(Fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from August 5, 2024
Glasgow (The Night in Question) ruminates on substance reliance, mental illness, and recovery with the help of support
networks in this powerful novel. Fifteen-year-old Bella relies on alcohol consumption to cope with her parents' divorce, the pressures of school, the responsibility of helping raise her sisters, and the death of her beloved grandmother. For Bella, "drinking gives you a voice and a person to be. Adds color to what was just plain and ugly." After attending a party on Thanksgiving ("Why are there so many kids here on Thanksgiving? Maybe their parents don't love them, either"), she wakes up in a hospital, having nearly died from alcohol poisoning. Forced by family and friends to attend rehab, Bella must reckon with the events that drove her to this point and find a better way to move forward. Pairing searing dialogue with hard-hitting story beats rendered in unfiltered prose, Glasgow puts a microscope to adolescent self-destruction that is both engrossing and devastating. Combining The Bell Jar with Euphoria, this heart wrenching read offers a resonant and
compassionate look at teenage substance reliance. Main characters cue as white. Ages 14â€"up. Agent: Julie Stevenson, Massie & McQuilkin Literary.