In Ecstasy (Kate McCaffrey, Fremantle Press, $17.95 pb, ISBN 9781921361166, April) *****

What a confronting, brutally frank, poignant novel, written by Kate McCaffrey, author of the successful novel, Destroying Avalon. In Ecstasy illustrates how easily, teens can turn to the insidious world of drug addiction, date rape and alcoholism, and why, for many, drugs are the solution, not the problem. Mia and Sophie are childhood friends. Their story unravels in the first person, both characters revealing their feelings and insecurities about themselves, each other, their families, drugs, boys, and their sexual
experiences. The story is extremely well written. It’s frank and very detailed about the consequences of what can happen to teens caught up with their own perception of what’s required of them to be accepted by their peers. It paints a gruesome, terrifying picture of drugs and alcohol use, but is written in a manner that doesn’t preach—it just tells it like it is. In Ecstasy is a story I’d recommend all parents and teenagers read and then discuss. If the goal of the author was to write a book that will make  teenagers think twice about the consequences of their actions and choices, she’s succeeded.

Sharon Athanasos is a freelance reviewer and former bookseller

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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