Friday, November 22, 2019

Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhauser

Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhauser was published in 2016. I really enjoyed this book because it shows just what addiction looks like when it has reached its end stages.

Blurb from Barnes and Noble: "As a blizzard bears down, Percy James sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta. For years, Percy has had to take care of herself and Mama—a woman who’s been unraveling for as long as her daughter can remember. Fearing Carletta is strung out on meth and that she won’t survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter’s cabin, deep in the woods of Northern Michigan. A two-bit criminal, as incompetent as he his violent, Shelton has been smoking his own cook and grieving the death of his beloved Labrador, Old Bo.

"But when Percy arrives, there is no sign of Carletta. Searching the house, she finds Shelton and his girlfriend drugged into oblivion—and a crying baby girl left alone in a freezing room upstairs. From the moment the baby wraps a tiny hand around her finger, Percy knows she must save her—a split-second decision that is the beginning of a dangerous odyssey in which she must battle the elements and evade Shelton and a small band of desperate criminals, hell-bent on getting that baby back.

"Knowing she and the child cannot make it alone, Percy seeks help from Carletta’s ex, Portis Dale, who is the closest thing she’s ever had to a father. As the storm breaks and violence erupts, Percy will be forced to confront the haunting nature of her mother’s affliction and finds her own fate tied more and more inextricably to the baby she is determined to save."

I liked Percy James. She was a realistic character who is in a horrible situation, yet she does her best to do the right thing. This would make a good Hi/Low book because of the fast pace and high interest content. The font size is larger and there is plenty of white space on the page.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I loved how vivid he paints a picture of what he writes. I felt like I was watching a movie while I read. The setting, the characters, the smells, everything came alive for me. I love an author that has the ability to do that. I'll be looking to read more of his work.




Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.

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