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Flash Burnout

by L. K. Madigan

Flash Burnout Cover

ISBN13: 9780547194899
ISBN10: 0547194897
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who's a girl. One of them loves him; the other one needs him.

When he snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework, Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa's long-lost meth addicted mom. Blake's participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa. He spends the next few months trying to reconcile the conflicting roles of Boyfriend and Friend. His experiences range from the comic (surviving his dad's birth control talk) to the tragic (a harrowing after-hours visit to the morgue).

In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of himself.

Review:

"With just enough humor to diffuse the tension and the art and science of photography as a backdrop, this rich romance explores the complexities of friendship and love." Booklist

Review:

"[T]he details are just intriguingly bizarre enough to hook teens of both sexes and keep them engrossed by the naïvely unsteady love triangle.

Review:

"...[A]ppropriate but sensitive dialogue; beautifully developed, diverse characters; an unblinking pace; and intelligent humor. An exceptional novel. School Library Journal

Synopsis:

Stevie Calhoun is fifteen and knows how to take care of herself. Her mom has disappeared for days at a time before. So why is Aunt Mindy making such a big deal of it now?Whatever.Stevie will pack up her gypsy skirts, midriffs, camouflage pants, and red high heels. Shell go with Aunt Mindy. But it doesnt mean shes going to stay. Mom will return and promise to never see Drake and his white powder again. Stevie will make sure of that. If Moms awake, shell be with her. If shes working at the club, Stevie will hang at home and count the hours. Who cares about school? Who cares about Alan and helping those stupid birds?Crap.Does she?

With a powerful mix of humor and heartbreak, Flyawayis a contemporary novel that takes a frank, hopeful look at the victims of addiction and their right to a safe and heartening future.

Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Stevie Calhoun is taken from her home by her overprotective aunt, who's convinced Stevie's mom is on drugs. Under her aunt's watchful eye, Stevie gives up skipping school, eating fast food, and dressing provocatively. Sneaking away to party doesn't prove all that hard, but it brings her face to face with ugly situations, like the pressure to do drugs herself. Perhaps what saves Stevie is the injured robin she finds. Discovering this helpless creature leads her to volunteer at a bird rehabilitation center, where she meets troubled but charming Alan. As her interests take a new turn, Stevie finds the courage to see the truth about her mom and finally recognize that living with her aunt is safe and heartening--and just where she wants to be after all.

    Filled with genuine characters, an authentic and fresh voice, and wonderful symbolism, Broken Wings is a contemporary novel that takes an honest look at the victims of addiction and their right to a second chance.

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About the Author

L.K. Madigan lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and her son.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com, March 3, 2010 (view all comments by Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club com)
Blake has a pretty good life for a high school sophomore. He’s got a girlfriend who loves him and makes him happy, he’s got good friends, and for the most part he likes his classes in school. And he lives in a loving home with two parents and his older brother Garrett. He doesn’t give his situation much thought until he’s showing a photo assignment to his friend Marissa in class one day. When he uncovers a photo of a homeless woman passed out on the sidewalk, Marissa gasps and says, “That’s my mom.” Suddenly he’s compelled into Marissa’s life in unexpected ways and finding out that not everyone leads mundane, uneventful lives away from school.

As he’s drawn to help Marissa more and more, Blake’s relationship with his girlfriend, Shannon, becomes strained. Can he be the friend Marissa needs and the boyfriend Shannon expects at the same time?

Flash Burnout by L. K. Madigan juxtaposes suburban middle-class life against the lives of the homeless and addicted. It shows the toll addiction and neglect can take not only on family members, but also on friends and others in the community around them. The book covers issues of sexual abstinence, safe sex, underage drinking, using alcohol to escape, honesty in relationships and more. It also introduces complex supporting characters that add interest to the story: Blake’s mother is a hospital chaplain, and his father is a coroner. Garrett interns at the morgue with his dad. (Their work discussions make Blake queasy and may do the same for some readers.) Marissa’s brother Gus is a thrill-seeking bike messenger who takes responsibility for his family.

Madigan lives in Portland, and I really enjoyed picking up on some of the local references in Flash Burnout. I would have liked to know more about Blake’s conflicted thoughts between his feelings for his girlfriend and his friend, particularly after a particular event near the end, and I would have preferred less description of Blake’s ordinary life. Even so, I really liked following his story, and I liked that Flash Burnout doesn’t tidy up all the answers into a nice package at the end; instead it asks the reader to consider what will happen next. I believe the issues and the characters should provide great discussions for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up. Flash Burnout is Madigan’s debut novel, and I eagerly anticipate her next book.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780547194899
Author:
Madigan, L. K.
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Author:
Landalf, Helen
Subject:
Situations / Adolescence
Subject:
Social Issues - Adolescence
Subject:
Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse
Subject:
Social Issues - Dating & Sex
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General
Subject:
Family problems
Subject:
Friendship
Subject:
Family - Parents
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction-Adolescence
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction
Edition Description:
Trade Cloth
Publication Date:
20091019
Binding:
Hardback
Grade Level:
from 9
Language:
English
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
8.25 x 5.5 in 1 lb
Age Level:
from 14
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Related Aisles

Flash Burnout New Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$16.00 In Stock
Product details 336 pages Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) - English 9780547194899 Reviews:
"Review" by , "With just enough humor to diffuse the tension and the art and science of photography as a backdrop, this rich romance explores the complexities of friendship and love."
"Review" by , "[T]he details are just intriguingly bizarre enough to hook teens of both sexes and keep them engrossed by the naïvely unsteady love triangle.
"Review" by , "...[A]ppropriate but sensitive dialogue; beautifully developed, diverse characters; an unblinking pace; and intelligent humor. An exceptional novel.
"Synopsis" by ,
Stevie Calhoun is fifteen and knows how to take care of herself. Her mom has disappeared for days at a time before. So why is Aunt Mindy making such a big deal of it now?Whatever.Stevie will pack up her gypsy skirts, midriffs, camouflage pants, and red high heels. Shell go with Aunt Mindy. But it doesnt mean shes going to stay. Mom will return and promise to never see Drake and his white powder again. Stevie will make sure of that. If Moms awake, shell be with her. If shes working at the club, Stevie will hang at home and count the hours. Who cares about school? Who cares about Alan and helping those stupid birds?Crap.Does she?

With a powerful mix of humor and heartbreak, Flyawayis a contemporary novel that takes a frank, hopeful look at the victims of addiction and their right to a safe and heartening future.
"Synopsis" by ,
Fifteen-year-old Stevie Calhoun is taken from her home by her overprotective aunt, who's convinced Stevie's mom is on drugs. Under her aunt's watchful eye, Stevie gives up skipping school, eating fast food, and dressing provocatively. Sneaking away to party doesn't prove all that hard, but it brings her face to face with ugly situations, like the pressure to do drugs herself. Perhaps what saves Stevie is the injured robin she finds. Discovering this helpless creature leads her to volunteer at a bird rehabilitation center, where she meets troubled but charming Alan. As her interests take a new turn, Stevie finds the courage to see the truth about her mom and finally recognize that living with her aunt is safe and heartening--and just where she wants to be after all.

    Filled with genuine characters, an authentic and fresh voice, and wonderful symbolism, Broken Wings is a contemporary novel that takes an honest look at the victims of addiction and their right to a second chance.
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