Rating: 
Summary: Scary because it's real
Review: This is such a sad story. Set in the last quarter of the 20th century in the United Kingdom, Tar runs away from home because his father is physically abusive and his mother is emotionally abusive. His girlfriend, Gemma, follows him, mainly because she is bored at home.
The kids, as they say, get caught up in the wrong crowd. As the title suggests, the wrong crowd includes heroin.
"Smack" is well-written. There is no ONE protagonist; just about everyone involved in the story tells a chapter or two. It carries the book to the end.
Reading the book, I was torn between an intrigue for smack; and a total horror, wondering which character would die.
This book should be strongly recommended to young adults -- not necessarily for its message, but because it is incredibly well-written without explicit sex, drugs, or language, and it will STILL appeal to the audience.
Rating:
Summary: The 'how low can you go' of teenage drug addiction.
Review: This book is a simply written, somewhat shocking read of teenage drug addiction and the seemingly ingradual process of innocence to innocence lost through unbearably addictive heroin. It is a grossly easy, fast and hugely enthralling read, and like previous reviewers, I was throughout the work reminded of the superb 2000 film 'Reqiuem for a Dream'. Similarly, 'Smack' documents the fallout of innocent somewhat naive characters into a frighting drug underworld of prostitution and crime. Put simply, the piece is really about the brief passage of time between control and addiction, and suggests that even the most seemingly in control can never understand when and why the boundaries between enjoyment and sickness have crossed over. The demise of the characters is both disturbing and frightening, especially Tar, who eventually comes to represent the cold brutality he so despises in his father. This again suggests that no one can ever truly be in control, that we are all one step, one injection away from chaos, that we are all non practicing addicts. It is a scary thought, certainly, and the composer illustrates how heroin addiction can take place in a mere matter of weeks. The book, while beyond tame in comparison to the utterly disturbing and life changing 'Reqiuem for a Dream', still contains images that will forever play in your head. A teenage addict calming her addicted child by putting grains of heroin in
her gums, for example. However, I found the book slightly simplistic in the approach to drugs in general. It suggests that all drugs like marijauna will certainly lead to heavier things and dependencies, and whilst many do, a great proportion do not. Thus this forms the basis of my four star rating. Despite this tiny flaw, this is a completely valuable and worthwhile read and a superb portrayal of the horrors of drugs. It illustrates how fine that line is between in and out of control is.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: A friend of mine recommended Smack by Melvin Burgess. The first thing I noticed was the unique chapter structure. The Author made it so the story was a continuation chapter to chapter but each chapter was told by another character. In Smack, Heroin is being used by runaway teens. These teens say that they can quit at anytime they want. The only problem is the highs have them flying and when they land feeling low and sick they can't help but binge on Smack. When people start getting really addicted and their body physically needs heroin these teens start doing anything they can to get it. It's a good book over all, but takes too long to get interesting and there's a lot of boring intervals between action.
Rating: 
Summary: Smack
Review: The book "Smack" was a very good book in my opinion. It had pretty much everything in the book. It tells the truth and really shows what some teens have to go through because their parents were no good. This book was about two young teenagers that have troubles at home and run away. They get into all kinds of drugs and get into a bunch of trouble. They meet some older friends that support them. They by them food and lots of other things like drugs and alcahol. Their whole life is pretty much just having fun. Although they do not like their parent they still call and check in with them every once and a while. They never really did any hard drugs untill someone brought heroin into the house. They desided to try it even though they did not want to become adicted to it. They keep doing it over and over again untill they can not live without it. They go through many conflicts that they usually surmount. This was actually a quallity book that will keep you interested and you will want to read more and more. I usually do not enjoy reading books very much because they never hold my interest. This book did a great job in keeping me interested. Once I started reading the book I did not want to put it down. Although this book has a lot of bad things in it, it also explains what it can do to you and like the cause and affects. I would not recomend this book to anyone under sixteen because it has a lot of unapropriate situation that would not be suitable for younger children.
Rating:
Summary: Smack
Review: Smack, by Melvin Burgess:
"Smack" was an excellent book for those who enjoy suspense and drama at the same time. Melvin does a great job of putting first person into many characters. Every chapter is from another characters first point of view.
Genna is the main character and she falls in love with a runaway named Tar. Together they both run away to a broken down home and live. Together they try "Smack" and both become addicted. They both cant go a day without doing smack. They live and stride for it.
The only bad thing about "Smack" was that Genna and Tar end up falling apart and drift from each other. For a guy reader there was way to much drama involved. The whole detail of what they felt for each other was a little more than a reader needs to know. For those little children, this is not a book for you because there is adult language involved
The ending is both shocking yet predictable in its own weird way. All together the book is great, especially for young teens. It gives you the other side of life. The bad side. It shows how falling in love at a young age is not always the right thing to do. This is a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: "Kids, just say NO to 'Smack'"
Review: Wow... what a fresh, original concept... two babes-in-the-woods runaways shack up with two caring people named Vonny and Richard, but the babes are lulled by two pathetic junkies named Lily and Rob, so begins a predictable descent into criminal activity, stealing, prostitution, etc. for "just one fix." until one of the kids has a revelation and goes straight. If you haven't heard this story (a million times before), then "Smack" is the book for you. As far as I'm concerned, the only entertainment I could get out of this MTV-generation book was watching the snotty characters' own self-inflicted downward spiral.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: A brilliant book, full of wonderful and painful surprises. This honest and difficult account of two lost teens is not simply about the descent into heroin addiction, it is about the loss of innocence and the endless suffering of immature love. The narrative is a wonder, unfolding with such ease and clarity yet exposing the many layers of character and emotion. That we see, feel, and hear the protagonists and the many secondary characters from their own points-of-view adds a depth that both propels and illuminates the story's disturbing truth. This is not just a book for teens; it is for anyone who has felt the uncontrollable emotions of youthful love. And a must for parents, if only to remind us of the overwhelming difficulties of adolescence.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ!!!!!!!!!
Review: This book is freaking awesome you really get in to it. I love how you get to be friends with the people in the book. After the book I will never even think twice on taking any type of drugs. In the book you find how it can ruin your life while killing your friends, and even killing YOU! I would recommend this book to any one over 12.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, a little drawn out
Review: "I'm really looking forward to being clean again. It's this weird thing with smack. First off it makes you feel so good. But after a bit, after your body gets used to it, it stops working like that. You start needing more just to stay normal..." In this book by Melvin Burgess you follow the lives of 2 teenagers who were once "perfect little angels" to when they become heavily addicted heroin users.
Most of the book takes place on the streets of an English city (Bristol). Tar (recognized by adults as David) and Gemma, the two runaways spend most of their time squatting in shut down buildings. They meet many strange characters while in the city that take them in and support them. Until they meet Lily and Rob, Tar and Gemma become close friends with them and are introduced to heroin by them.
In the begining all 4 never suspect that they are addicted at all. They believe the can quit any time they please. They find they are sorely mistaken when Lily gets pregnant and they decide to become clean for the good of the baby. The first one to use it again is sadly, Lily. They have many ups and downs with the drug, going in and out of rehab.
This is a very modern and youth appealing book. It uses a lot of slang (there is even a little slang glossary in the back) to make you feel like you are right there in the book. The one flaw in this book is that the ending was very drawn out and somewhat off the subject. But one fascinating aspect of the book was the way the author wrote it, he wrote every chapter through the eyes of different characters not just simply Gemma and Tar.
Rating:
Summary: ...A great read!
Review: ...This book was so well done, i loved the way it was written... Having had each chapter being told by a different character... It kept the story moving. And let me tell you, you wont get bored! it was very realistic when it came to the raw emotions and situations a teenager encounters struggling to grow up by themselves..... beautiful story...
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