Abandoned by her father, Nikki and her mother struggled to make ends meet, but fell further and further into poverty and degradation. When the opportunity came to fly to Miami and make good money at the same time, Nikki jumped at the chance, not knowing what she was in for. Soon she was living the life of a drug courier—with no way out. Nikki needed a Friend she could trust, but would she find Him in time to save her life?
Content: completed suicide, suicidal ideation, murder, gun violence, physical violence, drug trafficking
This book is like Lefty in that it is nonstop action from start to finish. The book is exciting, and I read it quickly. This is an excellent book.
You've read about teenagers with too little love and too much time and money. Now read about Connie—a desperate seventeen-year-old. Connie is the story of what happens when families stop connecting—when parents are too overwhelmed by their own troubles to notice what's happening to their children.
Whether you are a parent or a teenager yourself, you will cry with Connie. But in the end you'll thrill to the unseen Presence whose power of infinite love and healing gives Connie's story a happy ending.
Content: multiple suicide attempts (alcohol and pills, jumping in front of cars, jumping in the river), alcohol abuse, marijuana, heroin, gang rape, false rape accusation, domestic violence
Connie tells outrageous lies, sometimes just to hurt. She tells her father that his best salesman raped her, just so that her father would feel bad.
Early in the story, Connie is eager to get her friend out of detention, so she tells one of her lies.
"Now, Mrs. Sweigart," I soothed, "let me tell you something. I was in the bathroom with Myra just before this class. You see, she had a terrible problem I'm sure she didn't want to tell you about."
[snip]
"Now, Mrs. Sweigart, don't you dare tell one person. If you do, it could mean big problems. But the reason Myra was late for class was that she just had a miscarriage. That's why I was in the bathroom, to help her."
"A what?" Mrs. Sweigart yelled in shock.
"Myra just had a miscarriage," I whispered, loud enough for Myra to hear.
Mouth wide open, Mrs. Sweigart looked over at Myra, then back at me. "You're lying!" she shouted.
Connie then convinces Mrs. Sweigart that she is telling the truth. Mrs. Sweigart becomes very solicitous and wants to take Myra to the hospital. Connie can't have that happen, so she says that the father's identity must remain a secret.
"Oh?" Mrs. Sweigart asked, trying to mask her eagerness. Then she whispered, "Whom did she have this immoral relationship with?"
I put my hand to my mouth. "I've already said more than I should have, " I told her. "I promised Myra I would never tell."
"Oh, come on, girls, you can trust me," Mrs. Sweigart pressed. "I told you I can keep a secret. Just tell me who was the father of the baby."
"Now, Mrs. Sweigart, it really didn't look like a baby. I mean, she was hardly pregnant."
"I don't care what it looked like," Mrs. Sweigart responded. "I just want to know who the man was. I mean, we've got to do something about men like that!"
[snip]
I decided this was the time to drop the bombshell—and also to get Myra out of there.
[snip]
"The father of Myra's baby was Mr. Reintjes, the principal," I lied.
[snip]
"Mr. Reintjes?" she repeated. "I'd never... Well, now that you mention it, I have felt uncomfortable around that man a couple of times. I knew he was a big flirt, and I caught him looking me up and down once. But I didn't think... Hmmmm. That man must have nothing but sex on his mind..."
This entire passage is gold. I quoted the most important parts. It's amusing in an off-color fashion that they mention that the baby didn't look like a baby. Um, okay. And to implicate the principal with the teacher coming up with her own explanation that it was true... This is how easy it is to ruin someone's reputation.
As with all of these books, I really enjoyed this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment