Thursday, May 29, 2014

Outside In, by Doug Cooper

When a student dies in his classroom, Brad is ready to leave teaching forever.  At the very least, he is leaving St. Louis.  He travels to Put-in-Bay, Ohio, to spend the summer partying with friends.  Brad thinks he is running away from his problems, but perhaps he is just running toward his future.  But suddenly, the party spins out of control, and the future is forever changed.

I was completely sucked into this book, and I cannot fully explain why.  I mean, when a book opens with death, you know you are in for one heck of a ride.  I cannot help but feel sorry for Brad, he seems so lost.  And he seems a little to old for the party scene.  They all do really.  It seems like a bit of a modern tragedy really, and I pitied them.  I was also completely fascinated by them.

I was never into the party scene, mostly because I lived at home until I was in my 20s.  I worked my way through college and focused on my studies, even after I had moved out for graduate school.  So, you might say I was able to live vicariously through these characters.  But even living the party lifestyle vicariously was too much for me.  This book made me eternally thankful I never got involved in the party scene, but it also helped me understand how young people get sucked into drug and alcohol addictions.  Like Brad, we all find ourselves running.

I think this would make a good summer read, since it is set in the summer , and has sort of a resort-like feel to it.  But be forewarned, it is also pretty dark.  All in all, a very engaging book.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the review here.

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