Lifeline

From the first chapter, I was hooked. Nash's ability to tell a story is obvious and made this book a quick read. I wanted, no, needed to read this book and know what happened. I was rooting for Eli's success.

I work with people who have substance abuse issues. I found the attitudes and thought process to be familiar. I found the little romance between Eli and Libby unnecessary but I understand that romances such as this do occur during recovery.

Something bothered me about Eli's journey. Something felt a little rushed. I'm not sure when it began feeling rushed but it did and by the end, while I was mostly satisfied, part of me was left wanting a little more time or a little more to occur in the last week of the book.

"I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review"

Popular high school senior Eli Ross has the perfect life. He’s captain of the lacrosse team at LionsHeart Academy, and he’s dating Savannah, the hottest, most popular girl at school. But that life comes crashing down when he overdoses at a party and is sent to LakeShore Recovery Center, an inpatient substance abuse treatment program where he’ll spend the next twenty-eight days.

This book was so much better than I was expecting, I was gripped pretty early on in the book and loved the format that each chapter was a day in the inpatient program and watching him admit his issues and why they came into play.
When I was reading this book it reminded me of the movie 28 days with Sandra Bullock except it was a teenage boy. I was a big fan of that movie when I saw it so I should not be surprised that I liked this book also. I can't say for sure if this is the way inpatient treatment centers work or people with addictions would react but I think it a believable representation on it by what I know (I have a mother with addiction issues). I have never suffered from a drug addiction but as a daughter of a mother who has one I have always been afraid I would follow the same path which I am lucky I have not so that aspect of the story I found very powerful.
The only issue I found is it didn't really cover the withdrawal process and how hard that can be, I think is an important part of the story. I also would of loved to see 6 months later how he was doing with his family and if he managed to stay clean. Even with those issues this was a great book to read and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I would love for there to be books about some of the other characters such as Will, Red and Libby. Their stories seem so unfinished and would love to read more about them. So please Abbey bring more books out about them.

4.5 stars! I thought this was a very accurate portrayal of recovery in a story! Even though majority of it takes place around a rehab facility for young adults who are dealing with different types of drug problems and NA meetings the underlining message is that recovery is a process. One of the characters has been at the facility a few times and in the process of recovery a couple times separate to being at the location it takes place. Also our main character has a lot that he goes through and there is a lot of growth as the book continues. My favorite part is that the author Abbey Lee Nash doesn't sugar coat anything to make it more reader friendly. It is a very raw story with raw emotions though I would put a slight trigger warning on the topics of: drug addiction, mention of an overdose and self harming. This book isn't for everyone but it is a really well written story and there is even resources for people to reach out to in the back of the book if they or someone they know is currently struggling with an addiction.