Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the 2010 William C. Morris Award!
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, and the all-too-human limitations of both. Its a sobering, compelling, and satisfying read for teens and a promising debut for a new young-adult author."--
Booklist, starred review "An exceptional novel,
Flash Burnout is thought-provoking on many levels.
"--School Library Journal, starred review Review
"Watching Stevie, a loving person at heart, struggle with her freshman year, family, friendships, and her future during her time at her aunts in Seattle is ultimately encouraging, and the fact that she wonders how she is supposed to worry about college when she doesnt "even know where [shell] be living next week" is both authentic and relatively—and refreshingly—tame compared to the extreme dilemmas faced by so many troubled teens in similar titles."—Booklist" Flyaway is so good I read it in one sitting. I had intended to set it aside for later, but I read the first sentence, and then the next, and by then it was too late; I was hooked!"—Han Nolan, National Book Award winner "Fans of Ellen Hopkins and Jay Asher: Prepare to fall in love with debut novelist Helen Landalf. Filled with bighearted love and gritty realism, Flyaway rings with bittersweet truth."—Justina Chen, author of North of Beautiful "For teens who want a realistic story but not the heft and extreme grittiness of Ellen Hopkins."—Kirkus
Synopsis
A frank story about the daughter of a meth addict who finds a stable home with her loving aunt and begins to figure out her own healthy path in life. This novel is beautiful, moving, and full of hope.
Synopsis
“So good I read it in one sitting.” -Han Nolan, National Book Award finalist
Girl loves Mom. Mom loves meth. Stevie Calhoun is fifteen, and she can take care of herself. Her mom has disappeared before, but this time Aunt Mindy is making Stevie stay with her. Whatever. Stevie will pack up her camouflage pants and red high heels and go live with Aunt Mindy . . . for now. But shell also make sure her mom comes back and promises never to see Drake and his white powder again. A powerful mix of humor and heartbreak!
About the Author
L. K. Madigan lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, son, two big black dogs, hundreds of books, and a couple of vintage cars.Visit her at her website: www.lkmadigan.com.