Lush by Natasha Friend

This book has the rare distinction of being one of those books about 'all the troubles facing the youth of today' that isn't annoying, isn't preachy, and is quite nice and entertaining to older youths of today who aren't currently experiencing all of those troubles.  

I think part of the trick is that the heroine is only 13, so her problems aren't "Oh gosh all of the boys like me it is SO HARD" and she doesn't make the basic romantic-comedy mistakes of freaking out at surprises and rejecting the friends she should be keeping close, etc.  Well, okay, I guess she does sort of do those things, but in a more sincere, believable, willing-to-change-her-mind-and-not-waste-time-being-an-idiot way.  Frankly, this book reminded me quite a bit of Sarah Dessen's novels, but without taking itself quite so seriously, because hey, how seriously can you take a 13 year old, no matter what kind of crazy junk is going down?

To the story:  13-year-old Samantha has an alcoholic father.  He holds down a regular job and all, but every night comes home and gets sloshed and is mildly abusive (mostly just verbal--nothing gross).  She has several close friends, but she doesn't want to talk to them about it, because then they'll think she's weird and it will be awkward, and her mom is just an enabler, and her little brother is great but he's 4, so, you know. No help.  So, she writes a letter explaining all her problems and hides it in the library, hoping that an older girl will find it and help.  The book follows her anonymous-library-note correspondence and the random events of her life, as she juggles through school and boys and puberty and all that stuff that makes you glad you're not 13 anymore.  Some pretty crazy teenage-type stuff goes down, but in the end it all comes down to friendship and forgiveness and giving people second chances while still being strong and not being a victim.  

I feel like this would have been a useful book when I was in high school, because it shows pretty realistically how kids/teens react to problems at home and elsewhere.  I appreciated its honesty.