By Grace Gerety—Duxbury, Massachusetts
The Gripped book series by Stacy A. Padula helps readers dive into the world of middle school and high school aged kids using drugs and alcohol. This book contains many different characters all experiencing different things. Through the different characters you are able to find at least one character to relate to and explore more about. These characters help you to feel more comfortable when reading and see the truths behind the horror of young drug use.
Gripped Part 1: The Truth We Never Told begins in the present day and then rewinds to multiple years prior in order for the reader to understand the backstory and the characters. I really enjoyed this part of the book and found that it helped to make the book more clear and truly understand what each of the characters are experiencing and feeling.
I would recommend Gripped to any high school age student who is struggling. They could be struggling with addiction, friends, family issues or relationship issues and still find a minimum of one character to relate to in Gripped. For example for family issues they could relate to Chris whose parents are almost never in town. Or they could relate to Cathy and Chantal who are twin sisters who for any of the scenes where they are older do not interact with each other.
About Grace Gerety
Grace is a junior at Duxbury High School, where she is a member of the Varsity Rowing Team. In school, she is a part of the yearbook club and the Humanitarian Project. Her favorite subjects are science and history, and she plans to major in nursing in college. Grace also enjoys volunteering. Last summer she traveled to West Virginia and worked with the ASP organization, helping with home construction for less fortunate families. Grace works at a local retail shop year-round and has a summer job at a local beach restaurant.
Books by Stacy A. Padula 
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