“Gripped Part 4: Smoke & Mirrors” by Stacy Padula is a powerful continuation of the series that brings together the storylines and emotional weight of the previous books while raising the stakes even higher. The novel dives deeply into addiction, mental health, and strained relationships, showing how easily destructive behaviors can take hold and how difficult—yet necessary—it is to confront them. Padula presents recovery as a complicated, uneven process and emphasizes the role of support systems without oversimplifying the realities teens face today.
