Gripped: a 5-star Read for Teens

| Written by Laurie O’Sullivan, Dover, Massachusetts |

Laurie O’Sullivan is a 17 year old senior at Dover Sherborn High School where she likes to be involved with sports and extracurriculars. She is part of the National Honor Society and tutors high schoolers who want extra help in biology. She runs on the track team, leads a service club, is part of a women’s group, and is involved with an environmental club. In her free time, she likes to read, listen to music, and play the piano. Her love for spending time with kids is shown through her summer job as a camp counselor and her regular babysitting hours. She hopes to study communications in college and travel a lot in the future!

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5 Stars

Gripped Part 1: The Truth We Never Told, by Stacy A. Padula, is a perfect quick-read for teenagers and young adults. This book follows the story of students at Montgomery Lake High School as they navigate the drug deals that begin to run rampant throughout their community. Each character has their own response and role in the situation. Relationships form and break as tensions rise in Montgomery, and this book captures it all perfectly.

As a teenager myself, this book sheds light on things that are more common in high schools all across the country, and world, than you may think. No matter who you are, you are guaranteed to find a character that you relate to, and you will become deeply invested in each of their lives. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a perfect blend of intensity and drama, and is open to reading about the harsh reality of our world today through the perspective of those going through it. 

Synopsis

Now being adapted for TV by Emmy-winning producer Mark Blutman!

In high school, Taylor Dunkin broke more records than any other athlete to step foot in Montgomery, Massachusetts. As a sophomore in college, he was ranked by ESPN as one of the NFL’s top 100 prospects. However, his aspirations came to a jarring halt when a season-ending injury sent him spiraling into a dark world of pain, depression, and addiction.

One year later, Taylor is a person of interest in a highly confidential investigation headed by the Boston Police Department. He has entangled himself in a crime ring notorious for pushing drugs on local college campuses. Montgomery’s hometown hero has fallen hard, and he’s taking a lot of people down with him.

Luke Davids has become the middleman between Taylor and teens in Montgomery who want to buy drugs. Freshmen Cathy Kagelli, Chris Dunkin, and Jason Davids are just a few of the students at Montgomery Lake High who have fallen victim to the benzos and opiates supplied by Taylor and Luke.  

When Taylor’s youngest brother Marc discovers that Taylor is behind the copious amount of pills circulating around his high school, he sets off to not only reverse the damage Taylor has caused, but also save his lifelong role model from becoming a casualty of America’s deadly opioid epidemic.