THE GLASS GIRL

An unflinching portrayal of the complexities of one teenager’s journey through alcoholism and recovery.

Bella took her first drink when she was 11. Now she’s 15, and she and her friends have perfected the art of asking strangers outside liquor stores to buy them booze. It’s the best way to cope with her parents’ fighting, the grief and trauma of watching her beloved grandmother die, acting as a caregiver to her younger sister, and getting dumped by her first boyfriend, who said she was “too much.” A party a few weeks ago led to the drunken mess of a night known as Bella’s Extremely Unfortunate Public Downfall, after which her mom ruled: “no drinking, no parties.” But Bella’s parents are divorced, and when she’s staying with her permissive and inattentive dad, who’ll stop her? After Bella blacks out at a Thanksgiving party and her friends drop her on her mom’s stoop, she ends up hospitalized with alcohol poisoning and a broken face. Her mom sends her to an outdoorsy rehab center with a program focused on building self-awareness and self-reliance. Bella’s experiences with the program and her fellow residents are depicted with realistic nuance; nothing comes easily, and Glasgow carefully addresses relapses, anxiety disorder, self-harm, and death. After Bella’s treatment ends, she discovers that returning to her life may be the most significant challenge of all. Most characters are cued white.

A visceral, weighty read.