I chose this for my 2018 Reading Challenge as ‘A book by an author of a different ethnicity to you’ because it popped up on Amazon as a book I might like – and I liked Shappi Khorsandi on I’m A Celebrity last year.  As good a reason as ever to read a book?!

Here’s the blurb:

“Nina does not have a drinking problem. She likes a drink, sure. But what 17-year-old doesn’t? 
Nina’s mum isn’t so sure. But she’s busy with her new husband and five year old Katie. And Nina’s almost an adult after all. 
And if Nina sometimes wakes up with little memory of what happened the night before, then her friends are all too happy to fill in the blanks. Nina’s drunken exploits are the stuff of college legend. 
But then one dark Sunday morning, even her friends can’t help piece together Saturday night. All Nina feels is a deep sense of shame, that something very bad has happened to her…”

I think I am slightly over target age for this – but it’s really good.  Whilst I didn’t drink quite as much as Nina as a teenager – I do remember the hungover shame the next morning in my mid 20s.

I like Nina a lot – and her friends.  I feel for her Mum – and wonder how I would cope if that was my daughter.  I also secretly really like Alan her step Dad – when the chips are down he is ace.

The book is brilliantly written with a really dry sense of humour – and just so true.  Little things like Nina kicking her dresser really hard (but not so hard that her jewellery fell off and got all tangled up).  Just very cleverly written.

The descriptions of rehab are also really interesting – and AA meetings / sponsor set up.  I can see the massive benefits – and detriments – of sharing with people going through the same or similar addictions.

It also highlights the issues that social media and smart phones bring to teenagers lives.  Yet again it made me incredibly grateful that my teenage years were in the 90s before the advent of such things.

A number of the reviewers on Amazon have said that every 15-25 year old should read this.  I squirmed a bit at this, as my eldest is 15 and there is quite a lot of sex in the book – but hey, at her age I could probably find you the rude bits in Judy Blume’s ‘Forever’ in a matter of seconds – and she watched bloody Love Island – and this is way more thought provoking than that drivel.  However, I’m sure if I recommend it she won’t read it anyway!

I would recommend this to the age range mentioned above – but also to those of us with kids that age – it is really though provoking.  I will definitely look for other books by Shappi Khorsandi as I really like her writing style.