Smashed- Koren Zailckas

My nieces asked me to read this book, and since they are my precious, I decided to give it a go.  It’s a true story about Zailckas’ days growing up in high school, college and beyond with alcohol.  The craziest thing about this story is how unremarkable it is.  The story is tragic and sordid, but not unfamiliar or unique to many girls or women.  Just reading Zailckas’ drunken college exploits, I could identify myself and/or my friends in nearly every story.  When going through the experience they seem like the normal college experience, but when reading about them in this context it puts them in their proper light.  The book is sprinkled with stats and figures about alcohol abuse that seem to distract from the story a bit, but they reveal how common these tales are.  Zailckas is also no literary slouch as she references her experience with poetry, characters and novels.  These references might go over the heads of some young readers, but it could also introduce them to a few things to read.