Bottled up

I'm on a bit of a tight schedule, so I'll make this really quick, but I need to get it out before I get distracted by a new book. I just finished Bottled Up by Jaye Murray and it was just what I needed after reading a few light-hearted, girly romance novels. Bottled Up is about a teenager named Pip (stands for Phillip), who's dealing with a set of deadbeat parents. Pip is no angel himself. He's in trouble from the start. His favorite past-times: smoking pot and skipping class. He finds himself in a predicament when he lands himself in the principal's office and Principal Giraldi is in the process of calling's Pip's father, when Pip reaches over the desk and hangs up Giraldi's phone on his dad- to Giraldi's astonishment. Giraldi gets it. The one thing/person Pip is afraid of and will do anything to avoid is his alcoholic, abusive father. Giraldi makes a deal with Pip that if Pip begins counseling then Giraldi won't call Pip's father & rat him out about having an addiction problem ( Pip's parents actually don't realize Pip has a marijuana problem because they're both too busy with alcohol and pills).

Aside from Pip, a large portion of the book is actually about Mikey, Pip's 6-year-old brother. As a reader, it's easy to see how Mikey is beginning to follow in his brother's footsteps and ultimately their father's footsteps. However, it's hard for Pip to realize the problem is that he's taking after his father... until the therapist finally lets Pip demonstrate it to himself. This book is perfect for anyone who's ever dealt with substance abuse themselves or within their family. It's also a good book for teens in that it really shows how there are always choices, even when it doesn't seem like there are.