Written by Katherine Nally, Scituate, Massachusetts
For a teenager, especially, there is a lot to learn from Gripped Part 2: Blindsided by Stacy A. Padula. The first thing that I learned from this book is how fast addiction can happen. It can start with what you think is harmless fun, but soon it becomes something that is a part of your everyday life, and you can’t shake off. Even surrounding yourself with people who use drugs can put you on a slippery slope and greatly increase your chances of entering that lifestyle. I think it’s also important to note how there is hope to recover and get on a better path after being addicted. Both Taylor Dunkin and his younger cousin Chris hit rock bottom but are in the process of trying to turn their lives around.
At the beginning of the series, I pitied Taylor. He had everything going for him, the most important being his future to play football for Notre Dame. He was able to play on Northeastern’s team, but after a knee injury, he got hooked on prescription pills and lost hope that he would ever play in the NFL. Then, when he started supplying pills to his little brother’s best friend, I became angry with him. He was responsible for the drugs circulating in his hometown, and those effects would be harder to undo. Now, however, I have a lot of respect for Taylor, and see how strong he is. Despite the danger that he will be put in trying to get out of the dealing business, he wants to stop and help the police stop the drug circulation.
So far, my two favorite characters in the series are Jason Davids and Chris Dunkin. Jason has so many sides and is always looking out for his friends, making sure that everyone feels comfortable. He never pressures his girlfriend Cathy to do anything that she does not want to do, and he is the only person looking out for her anxiety. Chris is another favorite of mine, and I have loved seeing his growth throughout the series. However, Chris was definitely not a favorite character of mine in book 1 or even in the first half of book 2. While I did feel bad for him because he was exposed to partying at such a young age by his older cousins, he was the one who got his friends into drinking and using drugs. After Chris almost overdosed, my opinion changed about him. I saw that he was serious about wanting to turn his life around, because he knew that he had almost died. He realized that he was a bad influence on his friends, and he wanted to start hanging out with people who had nothing to do with partying. Despite the hardships in Chris’s life, he was always concerned for other people, especially his girlfriend Lisa Ankerman, his best friend Jason Davids, and Taylor.
Synopsis
Fourteen-year-old Chris Dunkin is known for being the life of the party and everyone’s favorite friend. Despite his amicable nature, he carries around deep-seated pain from his childhood that he frequently numbs with alcohol and drugs.
After hosting a party, Chris awakes with a strange vibe running through his body and no recollection of the previous night. When he learns the horrifying truth of what his night entailed, the trajectory of his life is changed forever.
Books by Stacy A. Padula 
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