St. Sebastian’s Senior Calls Stacy Padula’s Gripped Part 2: Blindsided a “Must Read”

Written by Timmy Weiss, Weston, MA

Timmy Weiss is a senior at St. Sebastian’s high school.  He is a varsity tennis and varsity soccer player, as well as a part of MPA (men with positive attitudes), the newspaper named The Walrus, and the peer mentoring club. He enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, volunteering, and going to sports games. Soon he hopes to study communications in college. 

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The book, Gripped Part 2: Blindsided, by Stacy Padula is a must read for all middle schoolers, teens and adults.  In this book of the series we see the start of many characters’ drug addictions.  Some turn from alcohol to drugs and some from nothing to drugs, causing serious problems for many of the characters. Relationships are ruined, people change, and friend circles continuously differ.  Cathy and Jason lean on each other for help, but the deeper they get into drugs, the harder it gets.  Chris Dunkin wakes up one morning after a party, forgetting everything that happened and Taylor sustains a serious football injury, changing his habits severely.

The constant talk of drug use among the characters is sure to teach kids how to say no when offered substances.  They will learn how kids can easily pressure them into trying things, but through strong, mature characters, like Marc and Courtney, they will see the stupidity of it.  This book is perfect for readers who enjoy lots of drama as each page offers a new dilemma.  Overall, this book is a fantastic read and I rate it a 5/5.  I loved this book so much because I related to the characters and was shocked how people so similar to me could make such bad decisions.

Synopsis

Now being adapted for TV!

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.