|
Smashed | 
 enlarge | Author: Koren Zailckas
Publisher: Penguin
Category: EBooks
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $4.01 (29%)
Rating:  203 reviews
Sales Rank: 3047
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.861092
ASIN: B000P46RY4
Publication Date: April 3, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Tell A Friend
Add to Wishlist
Add to Wedding Registry
Add to Baby Registry
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
"Garnering a vast amount of attention from young people and parents, and from book buyers across the country, Smashed became a media sensation and a New York Times bestseller. Eye- opening and utterly gripping, Koren Zailckas's story is that of thousands of girls like her who are not alcoholics-yet-but who routinely use booze as a shortcut to courage and a stand-in for good judgment. With one stiff sip of Southern Comfort at the age of fourteen, Zailckas is initiated into the world of drinking. From then on, she will drink faithfully, fanatically. In high school, her experimentation will lead to a stomach pumping. In college, her excess will give way to a pattern of self-poisoning that will grow more destructive each year. At age twenty-two, Zailckas will wake up in an unfamiliar apartment in New York City, elbow her friend who is passed out next to her, and ask, ""Where are we?"" Smashed is a sober look at how she got there and, after years of blackouts and smashups, what it took for her to realize she had to stop drinking. Smashed is an astonishing literary debut destined to become a classic."
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 198 more reviews...
 Worst Book On Addiction Ever! January 4, 2009
Sharon K. Mattingly
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I borrowed this book and it's the most shallow and hollow and selfishly denying book on addiction that I've ever read. If I could have given it no stars I would have.
 Sadly accurate reflection of binge drinking December 13, 2008
Lisa L. Philpotts (US)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was at its best and most powerful when Zailckas straight up told about her experiences with alcohol as a teen and young adult, which in itself was a testament to the seduction and danger of binge drinking. Luckily, the majority of this book is that kind of narrative. However, where the book failed to appeal for me was in the introduction, when Zailckas tried to link her story to problems with American society as a whole. It was weakly done, and the conclusion of the book was somewhat better, but not much so. I think this is where the other reviewers came off with that "unlikable" or "whiny" narrator sentiment.
I would recommend this book to young adult readers, as it may have more of an impact on them than it did on me. I'm the same age as Zailckas, and sadly, this book doesn't review many new insights to me. Maybe that in itself speaks to the prevalence of the problem of binge drinking among young women today.
 Alcohol Tinted Identity December 9, 2008
Chidimma Ozor (Las Vegas, NV)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
smashed is a poignant, open and honest look at the feminine side of drinking. Its author paints the picture of a child that ages but doesn't mature due to the unyielding grip of the bottle. Koren sips the warm sticky liquid called Southern Comfort at the age of fourteen.
At age fourteen most young girls are trying out for school sports teams or going shopping with their mothers for the coveted, new addition to their wardrobes: the bra. While it's true Zailckas does not fail to blend in with her classmates, she does have a secret.
The irony of her alcohol abuse is that it did not prevent her from living life as a normal child yet it did change her markedly. The wisdom in her voice resonates while her subtle way of communicating is remarkable and can invoke recollections in the readers' mind; recollections whose lives were squelched years before.
What I love about this book is that Koren owns up to her decisions without coming across as a martyr. She is authentic and her story flows and is anchored in research without sounding preachy. Many young women can identify with her story especially with the unspoken collegiate culture which condones binge and underage drinking despite its negative and often long-lasting effects.
smashed cares about this issue without sounding like a public service announcement which reminds you that using drugs is the equivalent of frying your brain next to your eggs and bacon on your non-stick skillet. While PSAs often have good content, their message tends to fall on deaf ears.
This book is beneficial for parents and young adults. As I read the book, I felt as if Zailckas had attended college with me as a friend of mine. To say that it was as if her story is similar to mine and thousands of young women in this country is cliche, yet true.
Her descriptive journey paints the picture of a young girl turned woman who seeks desperately to do the right thing by making the most of her undergraduate experience. Koren was a cheerleader; she participated in Greek life and experienced out-of-state summer internships. But all of these things were no match for the living bottle that captivated and controlled her life for close to ten years.
Despite her short stints with sobriety, she is not able to control her drinking until she wakes up in a strange New York City apartment. It is at this point, as she takes in the warped scene that her mind wraps around the severity of the situation. This is the last blackout for Zailckas because she is literally scared straight. She finally has the strength to break-up with the cocktail that has been her boyfriend, crush, and lover. This hope that is called abstinence allows her to fill her life with writing and a real relationship with a man that adds value to her life. This is not a tale of love, but rather one of redemption and second chances.
NOO! November 27, 2008
L. Walton
One of the worst books I've read in a long time...not sure what this author's other books are like.
"RELAPSE!" will be the title of the sequel. November 21, 2008
Kevin Mattingly (Harrisburg, IL USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
For starters, the fact that you can get this book for a penny is a testament to how anxiously people are holding on to their copies of it. Unfortunately I paid full price when it came out.
I don't need to rehash all of the pros and cons that everyone else has already mentioned. I'll simply say that this girl got her contract through nepotism and has less reason to bitch than almost anyone I've ever known.
She grew up spoiled, supposedly had low self-esteem, couldn't relate to "boys" and portrays herself as a victim through the whole book. She never takes responsibility for her actions because this book has led me to believe that she's never had to. It was never her fault. It was demon alcohol!
She fancies herself a great writer and isn't. If this book were not repetitious it would have been about 50 pages long. It think that her editor should be fired and taken before a select group of furious bastinadoes.
This book is self-indulgent claptrap for our already slagheap of disposable culture that will soon be a mountain of books such as this blocking out the sun for the rest of us.
The gimmick of this book is that it should be read because her case is so common. It is common. That doesn't mean that it's worthwhile reading.
I'm a long term recovering alcoholic and I could have written a far superior book at the age of fifteen. Where's my agent!
This is a good read for masochists.
Kevin
|
| Buy With Confidence |
Secure Checkout by Amazon.com
Your order is secure
and backed by Amazon's
A-to-Z Guarantee
which guarantees your purchase, the condition of the item you buy, and
its timely delivery. |
|
|
|
|
ShopShizzle.com | |
