Duxbury High School Senior Recommends “Gripped” to Teen Readers

An Interview with Abbey Redmond of Duxbury, Massachusetts

Abbey is a senior at Duxbury High School where she competes on the girls varsity crew team as a coxswain. She is also a part of the International Awareness Club at her school, where they focus on a new country and culture each month and participate in common traditions those cultures follow! In school Abbey prefers humanity classes, her favorite class she’s taken by far was AP World History her sophomore year. In college, she plans to major in communications on a pre law track and continue her athletic career as a coxswain. Finally, she is currently working at Snug Harbor Fish Market along the bay in Duxbury, where she works with her friends cooking, cutting fish, and taking orders!

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1. Who would you recommend Gripped Part 1 to and why?

I would recommend Gripped Part 1 to a young adult audience, specifically those going through middle school and entering high school and may be experiencing their first exposure to drugs and alcohol.

2. How do you as a young adult relate to the story?

As a female reader with a sister, I most identify with Cathy, who seems like she is trying to keep it all together as well as look out for her sister, Chantal.

3. What did you like best about the story?

I really enjoyed the fact that, although the story deals with a difficult subject, the author tried to maintain a theme of the characters having core values. They all had a clear picture of right and wrong, even if they slipped up from time to time. 

4. What message does this book send to readers?

I really liked the message of this book, which is that you need to stand by your family and help them even when things are difficult. 

5. Gripped Part 1 sets up the rest of the series but leaves a lot of things “hanging.” What are you most curious to uncover by reading Gripped Part 2?

I really want to hear more about Taylor’s recovery and whether Detective Roth is able to free him from his drug handler. 

7. About the characters…
   1. Who do you feel bad for and why?

I feel bad for Taylor, a young athlete who had everything going for him until he became addicted to pain medication whilst recovering from knee surgery. Like Taylor, I have also had 2 major knee surgeries and know better than anyone how hard that is, so I truly feel sorry for his character. 

2. Who frustrates you and why? 

Jon. He compromised everything he believed in for alcohol and drugs.

3. Who do you most relate to and why?

Cathy. She tries to do the right thing but ends up in bad situations. She gets pressured a lot to do things she knows she shouldn’t do, and I think that’s similar to me because I am such a people pleaser. 

4. Who do you like and why? 

Cathy. She is a relatable and strong willed character, who despite sometimes less than ideal circumstances, perseveres. 

5. Who do you dislike and why?

Lisa. She put Cathy in a bad situation because she wanted to spend the night with Chris, that really frustrated me.

Abbey’s Book Review

“Gripped Part 1: The Truth We Never Told” by Stacy Padula is a must-read for young teens who are facing peer pressure and potentially life changing decisions, such as whether or not to experiment with drugs and alcohol, for the first time. The book follows a group of young Massachusetts teens struggling with these very decisions while trying to navigate middle school, high school and beyond. The main character, Taylor Dunkin, is a talented young athlete who, despite amazing college prospects, falls prey to a lifestyle of drugs following an injury that ended his season. The author does an excellent job of intertwining the stories of Taylor and his friends while sending the clear message that poor choices can severely alter your life’s trajectory. The characters often face tough choices and have to decide whether they will compromise their morals to seem “cool” or to fit in; something that all teens face at some point.

While “Gripped” handles heavy subjects, the author manages to keep the story interesting and does a good job of developing the characters. I am excited to read the next installment!