Nelson’s purpose in writing his book, Recovery Road, is to give the audience hope throughout the obstacles that most teenagers face. Recovery Road offers support to those who have past experiences with alcohol and drugs and also shares a tragic love story. It teaches the reader that although the worst can happen in a matter of seconds, it can be fixed through rehabilitation and commitment. It impacts the reader in an emotional way by grabbing the reader’s attention with a real life example of what can happen in a teenager’s everyday lifestyle. It leaves the reader with a value that anyone can overcome any situation that they go through with the right mentality and the right support. For example, at the end of the book, the main character, Maddie, states,” You can change things. You can repair mistakes. You can restart your whole life if you have to” (Nelson 310). In the book, there are many situations and obstacles that all the characters go through; yet they overcome them with the help of others and themselves. These examples cause the reader to remember that if a person can overcome one of the most difficult situations, they can have a happy ending as well. Recovery Road was semi-well written. The sentence structure was very simple. The book was not that challenging to read. There was a variety of adjectives to describe situations and characters. The vocabulary was not that advanced and the text gave no descriptive language when necessary; such as for introducing a character. Most of the setting was given in a simple word or phrase, such as, “Then during the actual lunch period, I go to the library” (Nelson 76). There isn’t much of a description for the library; nor is there much description for most of the setting or people that are introduced. There was not much of a variety when it came to vocabulary either. The book Recovery Road was very captivating and captures the reader’s attention. The situations that happened in the book were very fascinating and made the reader feel emotionally attached to some characters. The book incorporated a tragic romance into the life of a drug addict, where there could never be a happy ending. The book was very dramatic and full of obstacles that the characters faced. The book has many plot twists and unexpected endings to different situations. The story allows the reader to connect to the characters that were placed into real life situations. Recovery Road has just the right amount of drama, tragedy, and commitment into one story to create a great plot for the story. The greatest strength of the book was the different plot twists and the plot. The concept of a drug addict in love attempting to go to a high ranked college does not happen in every story. The book incorporated situations that turned out to have a different ending than expected; creating suspense for the reader to find out how things turn out. Lessons are always learned by the main character at the end of every situation they face, creating a moral for the reader. For example, at the end of the book, the main character realizes and thinks to herself, “That’s the thing: You can change things. You can repair mistakes” (Nelson 310).The morals that were given to the reader at the end of the situations helps the reader better connect to the main character and her situations that she faces throughout the book. The greatest weakness of the book has to be the ending. The ending of the book seemed as if the author just wanted to get the book over with; creating a short ending that left the reader with many unanswered questions. The characters disappear towards the end of the book, and only focus on the main character’s thoughts. There was no complete ending to the book, only a set of thoughts and lessons for the reader. Recovery Road had no resolution after the climax of the book. In general, I would recommend this book to most readers. I would recommend this book to people who don’t want much of a challenge. Since the book isn’t that challenging, not much is gained from the book except the morals that are given at the end of the book; for example new vocabulary is not gained from reading the novel. Recovery Road has a good, interesting plot, and this book would be good for people who like romantic novels. The book‘s topic keeps the reader attached to the dramatic situations and problems. I think that this book keeps the reader hooked to keep on reading to find out the ending of the novel. Overall, Recovery Road was an intriguing, provocative book with a great character structure and set up of the novel caught my attention and kept me hooked for weeks. A young teenage girl in highshcool named Madeline, has a dinking problem. As her parents find out about her acholo use, they send her to a rehab called Spring Medows. At the rehab Madeline becomes friends with a teenageer named Trish, and every Friday night the rehab has a movie night where they would go to a movie theater and watch a movie. When Trish leaves from the rehab Madeline meets a guy at the Spring Medows movie night named Stewart. The two, Madeline and Stewart, build a strong relationship. After Madeline's time was up at the rehab and she was able to go back home, her and Stewart lost connection for a while. Soon Madeline is forced to go back to school where she meets friends that wouldn't judge her about her old life. After a year of no acholo Madeline picks her life up and turns it around where her grades get better. If you would like to know if Madeline finds contact with Stewart, or find out if she can stay clean of acholo, you need to read the book. I would recomind this book to everyone especially if you like to read about young adults facing the life's challenges!
What do You think about Recovery Road (2011)?
5 stars because I found myself rooting more for a YA character than I have in a while.
—slypork
Such a good story. Heartbreaking, but realistic.
—bri
