White Lines

Gr 9 Up—From the outside looking in, 17-year-old Cat has it made. She has her own tiny apartment in New York City and is a "club kid," which means that she works the velvet ropes and is treated like royalty at some of the hottest clubs in town. But her life is spiraling out of control. She lives for the night-the throbbing music, the pulsating lights, the crazy clothes, but most of all, the drugs. Things like school, food, and friendships become secondary to her. Emotionally and physically scarred by her abusive and disturbed mother and abandoned by her father, who refused to see the abuse, Cat shrinks from real emotional relationships. But there is something about Julian, the new guy at Manhattan Preparatory Academy, that makes her want to reach out and connect with him. Will the drugs keep pulling her back? The portrayal of the drug culture and club scene of 1980s New York City is detailed. The first third of the book is incredibly unhappy reading, but such dark plotting is necessary to show the hopelessness of Cat's situation. The language is extremely strong throughout, used casually and (mostly) without emotion. After a climactic and pivotal scene, the ending seems a little pat. If your teens like gritty, urban fiction, White Lines might be something they'd pick up.—Lisa Crandall, formerly at the Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI