White Lines
by Jennifer Banash
Summary: A gritty, atmospheric coming of age tale set in 1980s New York City.
Seventeen-year-old Cat is living every teenager’s dream: she has her own apartment on the Lower East Side and at night she’s club kid royalty, guarding the velvet rope at some of the hottest clubs in the city. The night with its crazy, frenetic, high-inducing energy—the pulsing beat of the music, the radiant, joyful people and those seductive white lines that can ease all pain—is when Cat truly lives. But her daytime, when real life occurs, is more nightmare than dream. Having spent years suffering her mother’s emotional and physical abuse, and abandoned by her father, Cat is terrified and alone—unable to connect to anyone or anything. But when someone comes along who makes her want to truly live, she’ll need to summon the courage to confront her demons and take control of a life already spinning dangerously out of control.
Both poignant and raw, White Lines is a gripping tale and the reader won’t want to look away.
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Source: I won an ARC.
Review:
I loved White Lines.
The story was raw, gripping, and it captured the essence of the 80’s clubbing scene. It also captured the ache inside of an abused teen who loses herself in the club scene in order to escape her own self.
I liked how Cat was living the dream, except it didn’t matter. Being set up in an apartment by yourself with all of the freedom in the world and having no one to answer to is what every teenager thinks he or she wants. And Cat is the example of how much it sucks to be free and uncared for.
I just loved the themes. I loved Cats night and day change, her complete transformation. Her history intrigued me. Her relationships with other people baffled me. I was drawn to her story.
White Lines is a cautionary tale, but it’s told in a way that I think is perfect. It captures the club scene without glamourizing it. It shows drug use and the terrible effects of it. But it also doesn’t preach or try to hard to be a lesson. It kind of honest, really, and I appreciated that. The reader is able to understand Cat’s lifestyle and even watch her enjoy it, while also being shown that it isn’t all that great in the end.
I highly recommend White Lines. It was gritty, raw, but overall, it was simple. I think that's what I liked the most about it. It could have been really in depth and could have taken all of the themes and been more complex. Some of the less positive reviews seem to have wanted more from the book. However, I enjoyed the simplicity of the story. I liked it just the way it was.
Labels: Review, YA
