Did I like it? Yeah.
You'll love it if you liked: Ellen Hopkins novels.
Aura: Haunting, Chilling, Gripping.
Read If: You're looking for a quick but intense read.
Narration: First person alternating
Main Characters: Sophie and Mia, teen females
Themes: Drug Addiction, Friendship, Peer Pressure, Adolescence
Plot: 8/10
Narration: 9/10
Characterization: 8.5/10. Very charming.
Overall: 8.75/10
Did I get bored anywhere? Nah.
Did any part confuse me? Not at all. Simple.
Line/ Page Skippability: 1/5. Not much.
Writing Style: Short sentences, Informal, Becomes choppier as the addiction develops
Uniqueness: 8/10
Predictability: 3/10.
Cover: 8.75/10. I like how it’s simple but beautiful.
Ending: Realistic, hopeful, good closure.
Reading priority: Should read.
Reading duration: Fast readers-Approx. 4 hours, Slow readers- Approx. a week.
Synopsis:
“I pictured the roughly made tablets with their tiny butterflies. An amazing experience inside a tiny pill. That morning I figured life couldn’t get any better. How could something that made you feel like that be bad for you?”
Mia and Sophie have been best friends forever- but that’s all about to change. Experimenting with alcohol, flirting with boys and dabbling in drugs, things quickly spiral out of control. And they finally realise how bad things really can get.
WordVore Prod’s Review:
Ahoy fellow readers, today I bring to thee…
Australian YA fiction.
It’s good. It’s fun. It’s underappreciated.
I was quite excited to start In Ecstasy, since that was my first dip into Australian YA lit. And I wasn’t disappointed. To my delight it read differently than American YA, and to my delight the change was also a pleasant one.
In Ecstasy tells the story of two teenagers named Mia and Sophie and their downward spiraling into the sinister world of drug addiction. This is such a topic where you can weave a thousand different sorts of stories on the same subject, and it won’t sound repetitive. The best part of the book was that the character and plot development was very rational--from the initial temptation to the final shots at recovery-- and I didn’t have trouble believing in the two characters or their actions and reactions. The unexpected turn of events leaves readers with a satisfying sense of unpredictability. Mia’s narrative is so effective that it made my feet run cold in seconds. The horror and helplessness that she feels is almost tactile. Sophie was no stupid supportive character either—she was the friend that tries her best to drag Mia out of the dark and wails in frustration at each failure. One thing this book can do is definitely let you into the dark abyss of an addict’s mind, and let me tell you—it’s captivating.
A tad bit of issue with the book was that at times it comes off sounding a little preachy…more so like a drug addict manual. But the upside is also that the issue is not severe, thankfully. However, this also acts as an advantage since I feel that this is a novel parents can read to gain better insight into drug addiction and teens and how these two get tangled up in a mess together.
I liked all the other supporting characters in the book, and wouldn’t mind more insight into their personalities. Themes like clique discrepancy and peer pressure are also covered in the book. The book was a short, quick read and a rewarding one at that. So curl up on your couch with this book and enjoy. After all, Australian YA ain’t bad at all!

For this book, please do check out the official page: http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/books/youngadult/861
It's cool:)

Labels: Drug Addiction, Friendship, In Ecstasy, Kate McCaffrey, Peer Pressure, WorDissection