GUEST WRITER HAYLIE GRAPHAM RECOMMENDS THE GLASS GIRL BY KATHLEEN GLASGLOW
“Sometimes it feels like I live in a pinball machine and I’m the scratched-up pinball, being knocked from one nook to the next, lights blaring, bells ringing. I can never stop the game because I am the game.”
Bella is a 15-year-old girl going through a tough time dealing with her parents’ divorce, the loss of her grandmother, and a painful heartbreak hitting her all at once. As a way for her to cope with her emotions, she takes a sip here and there to get through the day – which is okay, – right? Many people do it, so it’s fine. She has a rough night and takes a couple swigs of her drink, forgetting she’s supposed to hand in a group project to the teacher. When she stumbles upon the group the next day, she realizes she didn’t hand in the project when she thought she did. The group realizes Bella had been drinking that night and blacked out before she could hand it in. As time goes on, and many of Bella’s friends distance themselves from her, she gets herself into sticky situations. A tragic event occurs and Bella ends up in a hospital, unable to remember anything that happened. She gets sent off to a rehab center to find herself and cope with everything with the absence of alcohol. When Bella eventually gets out of her rehab center, she finds herself struggling to rebuild relationships that she once had. The book follows her journey as she starts to slowly rebuild what she used to have.
The main theme of The Glass Girl is around addiction, and the journey of a troubled girl surviving through high school. It shows the heartache, embarrassment, intrusive thoughts and shame that goes with addiction.
This novel is a great read for teenagers, and specifically ones who feel as if they are struggling alone. It can be comforting to find a book that is relatable to the realities and struggles of growing up. I recommend this novel to ages 14+ as most people in that group can understand and relate to Bella’s feelings of emptiness and despair.
Haylie Graham is a grade 11 student from Leo Hayes High School. One of her main hobbies which assists with her writing would be her passion for art. One of her dreams is to write and illustrate a couple of children’s books.