Smashed

Jamie's family is in the midst of upheaval. His mum wants to divorce his dad, his dad has moved out, Jamie is battling conflicting emotions and in between the mix is Jamie's younger sister Bex.
Jamie's way of dealing with his issues is at the bottom of a bottle - he begins by drinking at home with his mum - then later by truanting from school and stealing alcohol from the local shop.

Smashed is a wonderfully written book, Andy Robb has encapsulated a rollercoaster of emotions that his main character feels so well, so much so that you become very absorbed in Jamie's trials and tribulations from the offset.

Smashed - An emotional account of a young adolescent, Jamie, who is trying to come to terms with the fact that the one person he should look up to and idolise has let him and his family down. Now his life is spiralling out of control and he can’t cope, he needs ”something that’ll lighten the feeling of 98,000 Newtons sitting squarely on his shoulders.”

I can’t help but feel bad for Jamie and his little sister, Bex. Growing up in a war isn’t easy for any kid no matter how mature they are.

My favourite quote from the book has to be -
”I shrug and smile, as if being a twat is something I can’t help, which I can’t.” that made me laugh to myself, a bit of humour added into all the real emotion when all he wants to do is feel like he belongs.

Andy Robb has written a powerful play on emotions with this book. Brilliant read, grabbed me from the start.

Smashed is an emotionally deep read which portrays the emotions of the main character so vividly you feel as if you are feeling them too, Absolutely fantastic read.