Young Adult
Pages: 192
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Release Date: February 2, 2012
Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she’s still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel’s new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T-Boom, co-captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past.
When T-Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she’s able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction.
Okay, so obviously this is a book about meth addiction. And that part was great. Woodson portrayed addiction and its effects in an excessively accurate manner. Not that I know first hand, but from knowing people who've been through it, you can tell. Her writing was gripping and entrancing and very real.
What I loved the most though, is that this is also about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Every time a reverberating disaster happens, it becomes part of history. As such, it becomes a matter to write about. Now the fact that Laurel has a heart-breaking past that is no one's fault, makes this that much more powerful. The story was vividly atmospheric and you can feel yourself standing where Laurel is standing.
Deeply sad and wonderfully moving, Beneath the Meth Moon is as memorable as Katrina itself. I was a little bothered by how timelines blurred while reading, but then again, this made you feel even more in the character's feet, feeling her confusion and disorientation as your own. This book has been widely overlooked by many. What the author has accomplished in this extremely short read is admirable. If you like harsh, dark contemporary fiction based off recent history, this is a wonderful choice.
