The Glass Girl

15-year-old Bella is overwhelmed by far too many things-her parents’ divorce, the care of her vulnerable little sister, the painful break-up with her ex-boyfriend, the death of her beloved grandmother, the need to maintain the high standard of her school work. Little wonder, then, that she feels the need for comfort and relief-but when that comes in the guise of alcohol, her problems increase.  Glasgow marks Bella’s decline in slow, steady steps: she drinks with her friends, then takes the path of secret drinking, deluding herself that she is in control when in reality her need to escape from the pressures of her life sweeps her down the road to full-blown alcoholism.

The reader’s sympathies lie with Bella – the mark of a skilled narrator. She expends so much effort on looking after those who should be supporting her that she has nothing but criticism left for herself. The crisis comes with a catastrophic fall after a drunken and humiliating party and she is hospitalised, seriously injured, after being abandoned by her friends on her own doorstep, with no immediate memory of what has happened to her.

Glasgow is always sure-footed in creating entirely credible characters and thus clearly signals that there is no help to be had for Bella at home, where her parents are unable to rise above their own antagonisms to see what is happening to their daughter. Her friends have largely deserted her and her only source of help comes in the shape of Sonoran Sunrise, a rehab facility out in the desert. Bella’s life here is minutely chronicled, as are those of her fellow addicts and this total narrative immersion gives a clear and shocking picture of lost young hearts and minds-but also of unlikely alliances and support from unexpected quarters.

As Bella moves towards recovery it is impossible not to champion her-and to mourn her relapses. Glasgow never takes the easy way out of situations-there is a rich and absorbing storyline which steers firmly away from cliché and predictability and avoids narrative threads neatly tied at the expense of credibility. It is clear that alcoholism is for life and must be managed clear-headedly by those who seek to love and support the addict. This is a remarkable book on every level: a clarion call to parents, a warning to those who seek dangerous distraction from the pressures of teenage years and a source of hope to those who are lost in the maelstrom of modern life.