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Dancing with Molly
Before, I was never the life of the party. I was the reliable one. The one no one had to worry about. The one no one had to think about. I was the one that everyone could ignore.
Until that night, when everything changed and I finally became someone.
Someone special.
Someone noticeable.
Someone Carson might actually care about, as much as I cared about him.
But the cost of being someone is more than anyone can imagine. For every moment, there’s a price to pay. For every party. For every choice made. For every kiss.
Ultimately, living a life of PURE ECSTASY might be no different from not living at all.
Until that night, when everything changed and I finally became someone.
Someone special.
Someone noticeable.
Someone Carson might actually care about, as much as I cared about him.
But the cost of being someone is more than anyone can imagine. For every moment, there’s a price to pay. For every party. For every choice made. For every kiss.
Ultimately, living a life of PURE ECSTASY might be no different from not living at all.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2015
17 people are currently reading
1133 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
May 22, 2015
3.5 liked it a lot
I wanted to read Dancing with Molly because I can relate with that all American normal feeling. I have always felt like I can just melt into a crowd, that there isn't much that distinguishes me from others, or worse, that I may be the butt of a joke. So I could relate with her on that.
Although I normally want to get to know the character before something big happens that changes their lives, Dancing with Molly was okay for me to start in the after. She is writing in a journal but it never felt forced to me, or hard to read. I honestly just felt like a normal past tense 1st person POV. Which is good, because sometimes the journals or poetry isn't for me and gets in my way of enjoying a story.
Her family is talked about a lot. She feels like she is a disappointment to her Mom who favors her sister. Her sister is going to the prom as a sophomore, and will giggle and share secrets with her mom, but she always feels like her Mom wishes a different life or personality for her. I was glad that her dad was enthusiastic about her marching band though, and that she at least seemed to have that haven.
I liked her friends, even though they are in on taking the drugs and drinking as well. They never pressured her per say, but she was definitely a follower, and on the night she first took it, she wanted to break out from the normalness.
Oh and this is not a subject I really know much about, and to prove it to you, I thought that molly was the name of the main character for an embarrassingly long percentage of the book.
I did like how by the ending, she has realized a lot about rolling and the cost of it, and I even think that it went to a bit of an extreme after the close calls she witnessed but I guess that it finally got heavy and hard enough for her to want to stop. And I think that probably makes it realistic, because if all people who have tried or are thinking about trying to stop or didn't do drugs because of close calls, then we would have a drug free nation.
Bottom Line: Allure and dangers of taking drugs from a teen easy to relate to.
I wanted to read Dancing with Molly because I can relate with that all American normal feeling. I have always felt like I can just melt into a crowd, that there isn't much that distinguishes me from others, or worse, that I may be the butt of a joke. So I could relate with her on that.
Although I normally want to get to know the character before something big happens that changes their lives, Dancing with Molly was okay for me to start in the after. She is writing in a journal but it never felt forced to me, or hard to read. I honestly just felt like a normal past tense 1st person POV. Which is good, because sometimes the journals or poetry isn't for me and gets in my way of enjoying a story.
Her family is talked about a lot. She feels like she is a disappointment to her Mom who favors her sister. Her sister is going to the prom as a sophomore, and will giggle and share secrets with her mom, but she always feels like her Mom wishes a different life or personality for her. I was glad that her dad was enthusiastic about her marching band though, and that she at least seemed to have that haven.
I liked her friends, even though they are in on taking the drugs and drinking as well. They never pressured her per say, but she was definitely a follower, and on the night she first took it, she wanted to break out from the normalness.
Oh and this is not a subject I really know much about, and to prove it to you, I thought that molly was the name of the main character for an embarrassingly long percentage of the book.
I did like how by the ending, she has realized a lot about rolling and the cost of it, and I even think that it went to a bit of an extreme after the close calls she witnessed but I guess that it finally got heavy and hard enough for her to want to stop. And I think that probably makes it realistic, because if all people who have tried or are thinking about trying to stop or didn't do drugs because of close calls, then we would have a drug free nation.
Bottom Line: Allure and dangers of taking drugs from a teen easy to relate to.
December 8, 2014
Dancing with Molly is a multidimentional book in which I felt conflicted whether or not I actually agreed with the writing. The writing style itself was in a Diary form so it was very light and engaging. The thing that bothered me most is that by reading this book, I got an urge to do molly. & that is not what anyone should be thinking when reading a book.
Story itself was very simple. You have your typical teenage girl who's not very popular and she likes to refer to herself as "band geek". Always in her sister's shadow who is hot, popular, and is confident - she just wants something to herself. So that's when she agrees to do some E (ecstasy) with her friend. The feelings that she described are so real and detailed, it really made me skip the pages because I was really into it.
Next thing you know she tries molly which everyone refers to as "pure bliss" and they're right. She feels amazing and getting attention of a hot football player is definitely a benefit as well. Although she comes off as very self-centered and insecure, it's amazing to see the progression of her spiral. Her relationships around her and mistakes that she makes are what anyone would have and the details of everything are amazing.
The only reason why I didn't rate this five stars is because of the reason I mentioned earlier. Books are supposed to inspire people to be better and to get lost in reality. I wouldn't want anyone to stop what their doing and try to get lost in drugs. Word is powerful and I just wish that noone will have the urge to try it.
Story itself was very simple. You have your typical teenage girl who's not very popular and she likes to refer to herself as "band geek". Always in her sister's shadow who is hot, popular, and is confident - she just wants something to herself. So that's when she agrees to do some E (ecstasy) with her friend. The feelings that she described are so real and detailed, it really made me skip the pages because I was really into it.
Next thing you know she tries molly which everyone refers to as "pure bliss" and they're right. She feels amazing and getting attention of a hot football player is definitely a benefit as well. Although she comes off as very self-centered and insecure, it's amazing to see the progression of her spiral. Her relationships around her and mistakes that she makes are what anyone would have and the details of everything are amazing.
The only reason why I didn't rate this five stars is because of the reason I mentioned earlier. Books are supposed to inspire people to be better and to get lost in reality. I wouldn't want anyone to stop what their doing and try to get lost in drugs. Word is powerful and I just wish that noone will have the urge to try it.
June 2, 2015
Original review can be found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
I received an advanced readers copy from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
When I began reading this book I wasn't sure what to think. It is written in the form of a journal which I am sometimes a fan of but I found it to be a little choppy. The writing was average and could be annoying at times. I think this was in an effort to make it seem like an authentic journal written by a teenage girl. The other thing that I worried about was that it was glorifying drug use. Everything was rainbows and unicorns and I couldn't help thinking about what it would look like to a young and naive reader. I really didn't need to worry so much about that because as the story unfolded things began to fall apart and the terrible, scary and unforgiving side of drug use came to the forefront.
I think that a lot of teens will be able to relate to the main character in this book. Feeling like you are average or invisible in a setting where popularity is everything or lying in the shadows of a sibling. Most teenagers want to be accepted and fight within themselves to find that place where they belong. This is where there can be an appeal to using drugs for some people as they lose their self consciousness and find courage to do things they normally wouldn't. This was the case with the main character in this book. It didn't take long though for the experiences she had on ecstasy or "molly" to go from what she considered positive to some pretty terrible experiences. From socially inappropriate behaviour to risky sexual experiences, she went through them all.
There are lessons within this story and content that is worthy of conversation as well. I found a terrible sadness for the characters and events towards the end of the book but it was a necessary sadness. The book needed to go in the direction that it did to drive home the terrible impact of drug use on everyone it surrounds. I thought it was very effective.
Although the voice of the main character was sometimes annoying to read I think the message cut through it and I think it delivered a fairly realistic story about teenage drug use.
I received an advanced readers copy from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
When I began reading this book I wasn't sure what to think. It is written in the form of a journal which I am sometimes a fan of but I found it to be a little choppy. The writing was average and could be annoying at times. I think this was in an effort to make it seem like an authentic journal written by a teenage girl. The other thing that I worried about was that it was glorifying drug use. Everything was rainbows and unicorns and I couldn't help thinking about what it would look like to a young and naive reader. I really didn't need to worry so much about that because as the story unfolded things began to fall apart and the terrible, scary and unforgiving side of drug use came to the forefront.
I think that a lot of teens will be able to relate to the main character in this book. Feeling like you are average or invisible in a setting where popularity is everything or lying in the shadows of a sibling. Most teenagers want to be accepted and fight within themselves to find that place where they belong. This is where there can be an appeal to using drugs for some people as they lose their self consciousness and find courage to do things they normally wouldn't. This was the case with the main character in this book. It didn't take long though for the experiences she had on ecstasy or "molly" to go from what she considered positive to some pretty terrible experiences. From socially inappropriate behaviour to risky sexual experiences, she went through them all.
There are lessons within this story and content that is worthy of conversation as well. I found a terrible sadness for the characters and events towards the end of the book but it was a necessary sadness. The book needed to go in the direction that it did to drive home the terrible impact of drug use on everyone it surrounds. I thought it was very effective.
Although the voice of the main character was sometimes annoying to read I think the message cut through it and I think it delivered a fairly realistic story about teenage drug use.
January 15, 2015
(I received a copy from Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.)
This wasn't a book that i enjoyed.
The main character annoyed me from the start. She whined, she babbled, and i just couldn't warm to her at all.
I'm not a huge fan of books written like a diary, but i don't usually mind them. The way they were written in this were awful though. It was just constantly like "OMG, he said this, then she said this, and then we did this" and it was really irritating.
There was only one thing that happened that i found slightly interesting, which was at the very end.
Overall, Not a book that i would reccommend.
This wasn't a book that i enjoyed.
The main character annoyed me from the start. She whined, she babbled, and i just couldn't warm to her at all.
I'm not a huge fan of books written like a diary, but i don't usually mind them. The way they were written in this were awful though. It was just constantly like "OMG, he said this, then she said this, and then we did this" and it was really irritating.
There was only one thing that happened that i found slightly interesting, which was at the very end.
Overall, Not a book that i would reccommend.
September 13, 2018
Self-professed band geek Main Character (MC) without a name, jealous of her younger, prettier, cooler sister Ashley, whom their mother favors, reluctantly tries Ecstasy and finds her social awkwardness vanishes. MC believes the drugs make her desirable to popular guy Carson. Drug use never ends well.
Giving DANCING WITH MOLLY a star rating is difficult. At first I chose 4 stars because of the gritty nature of Lena Horowitz’s storytelling, as MC’s journal. I thought the entries how MC went against her judgment to have unprotected sex, then getting Plan B from the drug store (twice at $49 a pop) showed mistakes yet good sense in the aftermath). A foursome sex romp which MC didn’t feel was consensual was a cautionary reminder of unintended consequences that wouldn’t happen under sober circumstances. While I never read about a foursome before, if I had read that as a teen it would have only driven home reasons not to use drugs.
Then I chose three stars, since the story was predictable. I *knew* someone was going to die, because someone always dies to make the MC realize she needs to get sober.
Next, I lowered the rating to two stars, because MC belonged in rehab, or in a psych hospital. Even though she was hospitalized on hold for a few days, she was still actively suicidal and her behavior was so reckless she was a danger to herself.
The ending, “I want to live” made me drop the rating to one star. Deciding to stop drugs was a great start, but substance abuse recover is a long hard process and the end might leave readers believing all MC had to do was decide to quit. Also, more attention should have been paid to recovery including more than ceasing drug use, but dealing with the underlying issues that caused her to use substances.
Finally, I upped the rating back to two stars, because DANCING WITH MOLLY was an enjoyable read and there were positive aspects of the story.
Giving DANCING WITH MOLLY a star rating is difficult. At first I chose 4 stars because of the gritty nature of Lena Horowitz’s storytelling, as MC’s journal. I thought the entries how MC went against her judgment to have unprotected sex, then getting Plan B from the drug store (twice at $49 a pop) showed mistakes yet good sense in the aftermath). A foursome sex romp which MC didn’t feel was consensual was a cautionary reminder of unintended consequences that wouldn’t happen under sober circumstances. While I never read about a foursome before, if I had read that as a teen it would have only driven home reasons not to use drugs.
Then I chose three stars, since the story was predictable. I *knew* someone was going to die, because someone always dies to make the MC realize she needs to get sober.
Next, I lowered the rating to two stars, because MC belonged in rehab, or in a psych hospital. Even though she was hospitalized on hold for a few days, she was still actively suicidal and her behavior was so reckless she was a danger to herself.
The ending, “I want to live” made me drop the rating to one star. Deciding to stop drugs was a great start, but substance abuse recover is a long hard process and the end might leave readers believing all MC had to do was decide to quit. Also, more attention should have been paid to recovery including more than ceasing drug use, but dealing with the underlying issues that caused her to use substances.
Finally, I upped the rating back to two stars, because DANCING WITH MOLLY was an enjoyable read and there were positive aspects of the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2015
Dancing With Molly was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I really enjoy introspective novels about drug use. I expected this novel to be similar to Crank by Ellen Hopkins. These types of stories have the potential to be really powerful narratives; unfortunately, Dancing With Molly missed the mark and ended up falling flat.
The novel is written in journal entries and follows the main characters introduction to Molly (MDMA), a pure form of ecstasy, and how it changes her life for better and worse. I enjoyed the journal entry format because it kept the plot moving quickly but it also only gave the reader one side of the story. The reader never learns the main characters name which bothered me more than it should have.
My biggest qualm with this novel was that sometimes it read like an after school special and other times it read like a love letter to molly. I got bored reading the same things over and over again. Each journal entry was the same: get high, listen to music, kiss random guys, hang out in the pool/hot tub. The main character must’ve only had rich friends because every house she went to had absentee parents and a pool. It didn’t feel real.
My other issue with this novel was that I only got to know the main character, and her friends, on a superficial level. Everything is glossed over and the only time the author goes in to great detail is when the characters take molly. Because of this I had a hard time caring about her friends and when something bad happened I didn’t really feel anything.
Overall, this novel had a lot of potential but it was never realized. The characters weren’t fleshed out, the plotline didn’t feel real, and I wished that there had been greater detail.
The novel is written in journal entries and follows the main characters introduction to Molly (MDMA), a pure form of ecstasy, and how it changes her life for better and worse. I enjoyed the journal entry format because it kept the plot moving quickly but it also only gave the reader one side of the story. The reader never learns the main characters name which bothered me more than it should have.
My biggest qualm with this novel was that sometimes it read like an after school special and other times it read like a love letter to molly. I got bored reading the same things over and over again. Each journal entry was the same: get high, listen to music, kiss random guys, hang out in the pool/hot tub. The main character must’ve only had rich friends because every house she went to had absentee parents and a pool. It didn’t feel real.
My other issue with this novel was that I only got to know the main character, and her friends, on a superficial level. Everything is glossed over and the only time the author goes in to great detail is when the characters take molly. Because of this I had a hard time caring about her friends and when something bad happened I didn’t really feel anything.
Overall, this novel had a lot of potential but it was never realized. The characters weren’t fleshed out, the plotline didn’t feel real, and I wished that there had been greater detail.
October 25, 2014
Dancing with Molly shows the hypnotic slide into drug addiction and the toll it takes on the life of the user and the lives of those around the user. The narrator of the story is a self professed band geek who feels ugly and plain. But when she takes her first hit of ecstasy she begins to feel like a different person. She looses her fears in inhibitions. As she begins to take MDMA (which she differentiates from ecstasy) she becomes popular and starts dating a football player. The reader learns of more barriers falling in the narrators life (both sexually and with drugs) as her world shrinks. An interesting and important tale for readers - without being preachy.
September 27, 2016
At first i thought this book would end very badly. It kept me on my toes and i liked everything this book covered. I couldnt put it down
May 21, 2019
I read this book for its cautionary Go Ask Alice fiery-roadwreck appeal -- the can't-look-away sort of account in journal form, chronicling a typical teenage girl and her quick descent into a life she can't even recognize as her own as she experiments with ecstasy/MDMA/molly and other drugs. Presumably the experiences are based off Horowitz's own, which gives every event of this book a little more weight and a little more thrust, piercing us with the knowledge that while this girl and friends may be fictional, someone out there has likely experienced these events for real.
Our unnamed narrator is a plain-Jane sort of HS girl, always outshone by her pretty, popular younger sister. A self-described band geek, she spends time with her friends, occasionally drinking and smoking pot. This all changes when a friend introduces her to molly. Initially prudent and rational enough to drop molly only occasionally and safely (by telling herself she doesn't want to use it every week and by testing its contents with a drug-testing kit before using), our narrator succumbs quickly to the siren call of this "nonaddictive" drug. Before long, she's ready to use it at any and every party, even if she'd decided beforehand that she wouldn't while lying to her parents. After the complete collapse of her once-sound judgment, she's willing to pop pills from strangers without testing what other substances might be cut in with the MDMA.
Now, if there were any drug I'd ever want to take (Hi! I don't even drink caffeine!), I guess that drug would be ecstasy...especially the pure form, MDMA. Our narrator vividly describes what she experiences while rolling: the constant moan-inducing waves of pleasure, the pervasive sensation of well-being, the ability to let all negative thoughts and neuroses fall away, the heightened sensitivity to light, music, and any kind of touch... For someone like me who revels in sensations and pursues pleasure at all cost, I would be truly euphoric while rolling. And that's why it would be a terrible decision for me to ever start dropping MDMA -- I love pleasure and respond so acutely to anything sensual that I would never want to stop doing the drug.
It's absolutely disturbing to watch our narrator's descent into the inhibition-free haze of rolling on molly. While she's still rational and responsible when she's not using, she quickly forgets how to be careful -- with her body and with the drug -- in a matter of weeks, choosing less-than-prudent moments to drop some tabs and not even realizing her own lines she's crossed when she increases her dosage, begins snorting the MDMA for a better hit, and eventually adds cocaine to the mix at one point, despite earlier defending her use of a "relatively harmless" (quotes mine) drug that isn't cocaine, at least.
Formerly a mousy girl with no prom date, it's only a few weeks later that she's . I guess trying molly would be fun just once, if I were going to die the next day. Because I really don't think I could bring myself to deal with the aftermath.
That said, I do wonder how accurate it is for our narrator to be describing the events and the effects of the drug with what seems to be pure lucidity. She sounds preachy at times, castigating herself for how far she's let herself go, and I'm not sure -- I think that's a voice that isn't coming from the narrator, but rather, an outsider or someone with hindsight bias. I think someone living in the moment might have been deep in denial.
That's another thing I wanted to mention. Because of the epistolary nature (diary entries) of this book, the events are described in past tense out of necessity. This detracts from the urgency and drama of every single event -- the reader doesn't experience everything as it's unfolding (i.e., no present tense), plus our narrator precedes each diary entry with some kind of "I can't believe what happened" or "Last night was really bad; I'm terrified" but we know that it couldn't have been THAT bad because the narrator is still alive and okay enough to write the diary entry for us. This could have been a very different book if not told in past-tense, letting the events unfold for the reader as they're unfolding for the girl. The tragedies and mistakes would pack an even stronger punch.
Our unnamed narrator is a plain-Jane sort of HS girl, always outshone by her pretty, popular younger sister. A self-described band geek, she spends time with her friends, occasionally drinking and smoking pot. This all changes when a friend introduces her to molly. Initially prudent and rational enough to drop molly only occasionally and safely (by telling herself she doesn't want to use it every week and by testing its contents with a drug-testing kit before using), our narrator succumbs quickly to the siren call of this "nonaddictive" drug. Before long, she's ready to use it at any and every party, even if she'd decided beforehand that she wouldn't while lying to her parents. After the complete collapse of her once-sound judgment, she's willing to pop pills from strangers without testing what other substances might be cut in with the MDMA.
Now, if there were any drug I'd ever want to take (Hi! I don't even drink caffeine!), I guess that drug would be ecstasy...especially the pure form, MDMA. Our narrator vividly describes what she experiences while rolling: the constant moan-inducing waves of pleasure, the pervasive sensation of well-being, the ability to let all negative thoughts and neuroses fall away, the heightened sensitivity to light, music, and any kind of touch... For someone like me who revels in sensations and pursues pleasure at all cost, I would be truly euphoric while rolling. And that's why it would be a terrible decision for me to ever start dropping MDMA -- I love pleasure and respond so acutely to anything sensual that I would never want to stop doing the drug.
It's absolutely disturbing to watch our narrator's descent into the inhibition-free haze of rolling on molly. While she's still rational and responsible when she's not using, she quickly forgets how to be careful -- with her body and with the drug -- in a matter of weeks, choosing less-than-prudent moments to drop some tabs and not even realizing her own lines she's crossed when she increases her dosage, begins snorting the MDMA for a better hit, and eventually adds cocaine to the mix at one point, despite earlier defending her use of a "relatively harmless" (quotes mine) drug that isn't cocaine, at least.
Formerly a mousy girl with no prom date, it's only a few weeks later that she's . I guess trying molly would be fun just once, if I were going to die the next day. Because I really don't think I could bring myself to deal with the aftermath.
That said, I do wonder how accurate it is for our narrator to be describing the events and the effects of the drug with what seems to be pure lucidity. She sounds preachy at times, castigating herself for how far she's let herself go, and I'm not sure -- I think that's a voice that isn't coming from the narrator, but rather, an outsider or someone with hindsight bias. I think someone living in the moment might have been deep in denial.
That's another thing I wanted to mention. Because of the epistolary nature (diary entries) of this book, the events are described in past tense out of necessity. This detracts from the urgency and drama of every single event -- the reader doesn't experience everything as it's unfolding (i.e., no present tense), plus our narrator precedes each diary entry with some kind of "I can't believe what happened" or "Last night was really bad; I'm terrified" but we know that it couldn't have been THAT bad because the narrator is still alive and okay enough to write the diary entry for us. This could have been a very different book if not told in past-tense, letting the events unfold for the reader as they're unfolding for the girl. The tragedies and mistakes would pack an even stronger punch.
December 18, 2015
A debut offering from Lena Horowitz, Dancing with Molly is a tale reminiscent of Go Ask Alice or Crank, focused on the use of popular drugs found in society and the demise of a life.
I’ve mentioned two titles above that will resonate with people of different ages. Dancing with Molly is the latest entrant that I have encountered in this storyline, and Horowitz presents a story that is geared to the 15 and older reader. Please NOTE - there is drug use and sexual situations that range from mentions to graphic - all portrayed as real and honest from the perspective of someone who is in the moment.
Told in first person past POV, written in diary form, this story follows our protagonist: band geek, outsider with several insecurities especially concerning her sister, boys and her family. From a fairly typical teen with all of the issues everyone experiences at some point in their life, she is invited to experiment with Ecstacy – and finds that experience to be pure bliss.
It’s not that she is without friends, but stand up and be your own leader, she is not (I’m using “she” because we never do learn the name). With a sister wrapped in her own life, and parents who may or may not be present and available depending on their own life, our protagonist’s life is a slow slide into addiction and loss: loss of self-respect, loss of control, loss of self.
Several twists and turns with a conclusion that brings revelation and feels natural and possible this book tells a story in a way that is easy to relate to, without dancing on the preachy tone that is easily dismissed by many teen readers. A worthwhile ‘what not to do’ tale.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
I’ve mentioned two titles above that will resonate with people of different ages. Dancing with Molly is the latest entrant that I have encountered in this storyline, and Horowitz presents a story that is geared to the 15 and older reader. Please NOTE - there is drug use and sexual situations that range from mentions to graphic - all portrayed as real and honest from the perspective of someone who is in the moment.
Told in first person past POV, written in diary form, this story follows our protagonist: band geek, outsider with several insecurities especially concerning her sister, boys and her family. From a fairly typical teen with all of the issues everyone experiences at some point in their life, she is invited to experiment with Ecstacy – and finds that experience to be pure bliss.
It’s not that she is without friends, but stand up and be your own leader, she is not (I’m using “she” because we never do learn the name). With a sister wrapped in her own life, and parents who may or may not be present and available depending on their own life, our protagonist’s life is a slow slide into addiction and loss: loss of self-respect, loss of control, loss of self.
Several twists and turns with a conclusion that brings revelation and feels natural and possible this book tells a story in a way that is easy to relate to, without dancing on the preachy tone that is easily dismissed by many teen readers. A worthwhile ‘what not to do’ tale.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
August 25, 2016
Very similar to Go Ask Alice, but a very simple version of that. I have read many, many books on drug use/abuse/addiction, and this one is so light compared to what it could be.
And the main character annoyed the heck out of me.
And the main character annoyed the heck out of me.
June 27, 2023
A band geek does ecstasy w/ her friends and they have a close night together, holding hands and moon watching. It’s unlike her anti-prom self to do something so “popular” and out there, so she starts recording the experience in a journal her dad got her (with cute curly date headers). Her family dynamics are basic and wholesome enough, even if the mom dotes more over the girly sister. This is penned w/ true experience, so detailed yet the voice suits an average teen. The only distracting thing is this is set in the Netflix era yet clothes and phrasing about other tech comes across a bit off, like the author is trying to hide they grew up more so in the 90s-00s.
There are a few too many characters and no quotation marks, so things can get fuzzy, but there’s decent diversity w/ the spunky fat friend, bi Asian, love/hate sister, and on/off crushes. I wish this was set on a college campus instead because high school books always have the same mundanity of chemistry tests and parental complaints or NotLikeTheOtherGirls hatred of pink/fashion. Yet after a makeover and trying pure MDMA for the first time (before was MDA) at a post-prom party, the MC is feeling herself. She fights w/ her holier-than-thou lil sis and starts making out w/ her newfound ab-chiseled date. Once her sister gets a dopey BF, they all roll at school and things get hilarious (but concerning for the confused adults).
This is a swift, simple read. Halfway in is where most of the drama tumbles over with arguments you can see from every side. Strangely, the MC never does anything band related so it doesn’t feel like quite the drop once she focuses only on her FWB. Her aspirations in life have always been zilch, I guess? And where does she get debit card money to pull a few hundred out for birth control and drug money? The comment about guys being more gay than straight for watching a girl have sex is silly—or else every porn watcher would be “half queer.” But that’s how some people/characters really think, so w/e. The MC is semi-careful staying hydrated and safe during high group sex, so she’s not annoying. The last quarter of the book really ramps up in a fun, destructive way! She runs away to this place like Burning Man and really has it out with a few people. Maybe the turn in her attitude is a bit much but who can blame her w/ everything that just blew up in her face? Her parents are such wishy-washy suburban weaklings, no wonder she’s drawn to this wild glow stick world. They still act like feckless teenagers in their own ways. Still, she starts turning into the brat she begrudged her sister for being and whining cliche, jarring things like “off the hook” and “these are my people.” The end is good and a lot, if a tad rushed and meta w/ the nature of it being a journal so everything being in the past and rewound.
There are a few too many characters and no quotation marks, so things can get fuzzy, but there’s decent diversity w/ the spunky fat friend, bi Asian, love/hate sister, and on/off crushes. I wish this was set on a college campus instead because high school books always have the same mundanity of chemistry tests and parental complaints or NotLikeTheOtherGirls hatred of pink/fashion. Yet after a makeover and trying pure MDMA for the first time (before was MDA) at a post-prom party, the MC is feeling herself. She fights w/ her holier-than-thou lil sis and starts making out w/ her newfound ab-chiseled date. Once her sister gets a dopey BF, they all roll at school and things get hilarious (but concerning for the confused adults).
This is a swift, simple read. Halfway in is where most of the drama tumbles over with arguments you can see from every side. Strangely, the MC never does anything band related so it doesn’t feel like quite the drop once she focuses only on her FWB. Her aspirations in life have always been zilch, I guess? And where does she get debit card money to pull a few hundred out for birth control and drug money? The comment about guys being more gay than straight for watching a girl have sex is silly—or else every porn watcher would be “half queer.” But that’s how some people/characters really think, so w/e. The MC is semi-careful staying hydrated and safe during high group sex, so she’s not annoying. The last quarter of the book really ramps up in a fun, destructive way! She runs away to this place like Burning Man and really has it out with a few people. Maybe the turn in her attitude is a bit much but who can blame her w/ everything that just blew up in her face? Her parents are such wishy-washy suburban weaklings, no wonder she’s drawn to this wild glow stick world. They still act like feckless teenagers in their own ways. Still, she starts turning into the brat she begrudged her sister for being and whining cliche, jarring things like “off the hook” and “these are my people.” The end is good and a lot, if a tad rushed and meta w/ the nature of it being a journal so everything being in the past and rewound.
January 23, 2018
Once upon a time, I read Go Ask Alice. I remember eating up that book and getting whiplash from all of the horrible stuff that happened in it. I enjoyed it, but it was a book where the more you thought about it the less convincing it becomes. I mean, how can someone who is that high remember everything with such vivid details. Now that I'm an adult, I don't like Go Ask Alice as much as I did as a naive teen, but I still have fond memories of the trashy book.
So why am I mentioning all that when this is a review for Dancing with Molly? Well, this book is basically Go Ask Alice only not as fun or trashy. The narrator in the novel, let's call her Molly since I don't think she's ever named here, is a nerd. She's frumpy, she gets made fun of by the popular kids, and she's part of the school's marching band. Despite all this, she has a good life. Her mom clearly favours her younger more popular sister, but her sister and dad seem to love her a lot. She also has friends who she hangs out with. Drinking and smoking pot every so often.
Then, someone brings Molly and Molly loves it. Molly makes her feel alive and breaks the chains of her constrained life. So Molly does MDMA and enjoys it. I mean, she really enjoys it, almost to the point that the book seemed to be a love letter to it. Molly gets a boyfriend, she becomes popular, and she stops caring about what her family thinks of her. Molly really loves Molly. The only real negative is that it tends to make her more open to kissing people and having sex with her boyfriend, but that doesn't seem to phase her. The only time it does is when
While Molly is having fun with Molly, there are mentions that someone overdosed and went to the hospital. But Molly doesn't care. Molly is free when she's with Molly.
Then the after school special comes in about how drugs are bad. It felt really heavy handed, especially considering just how awesome Molly, the drug, was before all this. And just like with Go ask Alice, I'm left wondering how a teen can remember everything that well.
Perhaps if I read this when I was younger and perhaps if I read this before I read Go ask Alice, I might have enjoyed this. But nothing worked for me. Not the characters, not the writing, not the story and not the drug use.
So why am I mentioning all that when this is a review for Dancing with Molly? Well, this book is basically Go Ask Alice only not as fun or trashy. The narrator in the novel, let's call her Molly since I don't think she's ever named here, is a nerd. She's frumpy, she gets made fun of by the popular kids, and she's part of the school's marching band. Despite all this, she has a good life. Her mom clearly favours her younger more popular sister, but her sister and dad seem to love her a lot. She also has friends who she hangs out with. Drinking and smoking pot every so often.
Then, someone brings Molly and Molly loves it. Molly makes her feel alive and breaks the chains of her constrained life. So Molly does MDMA and enjoys it. I mean, she really enjoys it, almost to the point that the book seemed to be a love letter to it. Molly gets a boyfriend, she becomes popular, and she stops caring about what her family thinks of her. Molly really loves Molly. The only real negative is that it tends to make her more open to kissing people and having sex with her boyfriend, but that doesn't seem to phase her. The only time it does is when
While Molly is having fun with Molly, there are mentions that someone overdosed and went to the hospital. But Molly doesn't care. Molly is free when she's with Molly.
Then the after school special comes in about how drugs are bad. It felt really heavy handed, especially considering just how awesome Molly, the drug, was before all this. And just like with Go ask Alice, I'm left wondering how a teen can remember everything that well.
Perhaps if I read this when I was younger and perhaps if I read this before I read Go ask Alice, I might have enjoyed this. But nothing worked for me. Not the characters, not the writing, not the story and not the drug use.
February 18, 2021
I'm generally wary of epistolary YA books; usually the author relies too heavily on the teenage lexicon, which is more often than not annoying. I also generally avoid drug/problem books (with the notable exception of Ellen Hopkins's) because the message has always, infallibly, been "positive" and anti-drugs (which is NOT a sentiment I disagree with, it's just boring to hear the same perspective over and over). However, in the case of Dancing with Molly, I was blown away.
WAIT QUICK SIDE NOTE: Writing this review, I was stricken by the fact that I had JUST FINISHED the book, yet couldn't remember the main character's name (the narrator, no less). Looking at the summary on the inside front cover (which reads "High school junior Becca is just a "band geek" until when her friends introduce her to molly, a form of ecstasy, and she finds herself with new friends - even a boyfriend - but soon learns there is a price to pay to her newfound popularity.") apparently her name is Becca. But I'm 90% sure that her name wasn't mentioned once in the entire novel - which makes sense, since she's writing in a journal about her own life, and which could also be a strategy to make you feel like you ARE her and you are living her life, but I think that latter, profound reason is pretty unlikely from this author. And now I've got a bone to pick with that summary. "until when"? "price to pay to"? Please. (It should read "until her friends" and "price to pay for", respectively.)
Now back to the actual book. Although there was some general dislike for the characters, I quickly fell onto Becca's side - especially against her little sister Ashley. They're terrible sisters. I think the major reason why I liked the main character so is that I can easily relate to her. As a teenager, I know I'm insecure and not confident. I know what it's like for your parents to not find you good enough, to be in the shadow of a sister by not being "pretty enough" or "social enough" or "popular enough". But at the same time, as soon as her life unravels, she quickly abandons her moral ground and her responsible character to do drugs. The various characters getting hurt - first an unknown partygoer, then a best friend, until finally her boyfriend - represent clear warnings, and when she doesn't listen to them, then as a reader I begin to get annoyed - until realizing that's alright, because there IS an anti-drug message here.
WAIT QUICK SIDE NOTE: Writing this review, I was stricken by the fact that I had JUST FINISHED the book, yet couldn't remember the main character's name (the narrator, no less). Looking at the summary on the inside front cover (which reads "High school junior Becca is just a "band geek" until when her friends introduce her to molly, a form of ecstasy, and she finds herself with new friends - even a boyfriend - but soon learns there is a price to pay to her newfound popularity.") apparently her name is Becca. But I'm 90% sure that her name wasn't mentioned once in the entire novel - which makes sense, since she's writing in a journal about her own life, and which could also be a strategy to make you feel like you ARE her and you are living her life, but I think that latter, profound reason is pretty unlikely from this author. And now I've got a bone to pick with that summary. "until when"? "price to pay to"? Please. (It should read "until her friends" and "price to pay for", respectively.)
Now back to the actual book. Although there was some general dislike for the characters, I quickly fell onto Becca's side - especially against her little sister Ashley. They're terrible sisters. I think the major reason why I liked the main character so is that I can easily relate to her. As a teenager, I know I'm insecure and not confident. I know what it's like for your parents to not find you good enough, to be in the shadow of a sister by not being "pretty enough" or "social enough" or "popular enough". But at the same time, as soon as her life unravels, she quickly abandons her moral ground and her responsible character to do drugs. The various characters getting hurt - first an unknown partygoer, then a best friend, until finally her boyfriend - represent clear warnings, and when she doesn't listen to them, then as a reader I begin to get annoyed - until realizing that's alright, because there IS an anti-drug message here.
March 10, 2020
Have you ever wondered what a perfect world would look like? If so, this book may be for you.
Lena Horowitz captures the difference in the reality of the world and the “reality” while on drugs for the teenage diarist. Her book shows how perfect the world is for the diarist while on the drug, “molly,” but also the effects it has on her relationships with loved ones when things don’t turn out being perfect. That being said, the reality of the diarist world that Horowitz explains isn’t close to being as perfect as the “reality” while she’s on drugs.
To begin with, I enjoyed many aspects of this book. One of the things that stood out to me was how Horowitz does a great job painting a picture in your head about the events that go on in the book. It’s almost as if you are “rolling” with the diarist. She shares a lot of detail on the trip that the diarist and her friends have while on molly. Not only does the author share details about how the lights tripped the diarist out or how amazing it felt because the room was spinning, but Horowitz narrates how the drugs influenced the mentality of a teenager to the point where you are emotionally connected to the diarist. I have been around people who struggle with drug addiction and as much as I want to put the fault on them for their choices, the world isn’t a perfect place where you can just blame the people for their actions. While the diarist is struggling with drug addiction, her parents are blaming her for all the mistakes she has made making the diarist lose hope, which is something the author could have worked on. If you choose to read this book, you may think that losing hope and turning to drugs is the answer, but this is not the case. The problem is that this is the reality of the world that you live in. Therefore, I give this book four stars.
With all this being said, I would recommend this book to people who need a reality check and want to learn about the mistakes made while on drugs.
Lena Horowitz captures the difference in the reality of the world and the “reality” while on drugs for the teenage diarist. Her book shows how perfect the world is for the diarist while on the drug, “molly,” but also the effects it has on her relationships with loved ones when things don’t turn out being perfect. That being said, the reality of the diarist world that Horowitz explains isn’t close to being as perfect as the “reality” while she’s on drugs.
To begin with, I enjoyed many aspects of this book. One of the things that stood out to me was how Horowitz does a great job painting a picture in your head about the events that go on in the book. It’s almost as if you are “rolling” with the diarist. She shares a lot of detail on the trip that the diarist and her friends have while on molly. Not only does the author share details about how the lights tripped the diarist out or how amazing it felt because the room was spinning, but Horowitz narrates how the drugs influenced the mentality of a teenager to the point where you are emotionally connected to the diarist. I have been around people who struggle with drug addiction and as much as I want to put the fault on them for their choices, the world isn’t a perfect place where you can just blame the people for their actions. While the diarist is struggling with drug addiction, her parents are blaming her for all the mistakes she has made making the diarist lose hope, which is something the author could have worked on. If you choose to read this book, you may think that losing hope and turning to drugs is the answer, but this is not the case. The problem is that this is the reality of the world that you live in. Therefore, I give this book four stars.
With all this being said, I would recommend this book to people who need a reality check and want to learn about the mistakes made while on drugs.
June 9, 2017
The main character made the book very hard for me to continue. She was such a self centered jerk and she just seemed very ungrateful. Like she complained so much about how her life sucked when she had good parents that loved and cared about her.
The book was crappy and the only thing that mattered to me was the ending. The ending was the best part of the book and it showed how doing drugs can really mess up a person and end their life. None of the teen characters were likeable and I was waiting for one of them to stop doing Molly but no ever did. The main character had terrible friends and while it was her choice to do drugs, I felt like peer pressure from her friends also played a part in this.
I didn't click with this book and honestly think Crank by Ellen Hopkins is a better book since they both deal with the same topic but Hopkins book has more interesting characters.
The book was crappy and the only thing that mattered to me was the ending. The ending was the best part of the book and it showed how doing drugs can really mess up a person and end their life. None of the teen characters were likeable and I was waiting for one of them to stop doing Molly but no ever did. The main character had terrible friends and while it was her choice to do drugs, I felt like peer pressure from her friends also played a part in this.
I didn't click with this book and honestly think Crank by Ellen Hopkins is a better book since they both deal with the same topic but Hopkins book has more interesting characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2017
This novel is presented in a diary format, and I don’t believe we even know the characters first name. It is a very character based novel, however none of them were outstanding. Realistic, yes, but likeable, no.
The plot was generic and typical, and didn’t have any twists or anything that I couldn’t call from a mile away. It obviously wasn’t written by a teenager, and instead seemed to try and hit every cliche to try and give it that idea.
The ONLY reason that I couldn’t give this novel one star, is I didn't hate it. I understand it, it was a quick read, and I never considered giving up on it. So there must be something underlying there, but I don’t hate it.
Check out my entire review on my blog!
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.bl...
The plot was generic and typical, and didn’t have any twists or anything that I couldn’t call from a mile away. It obviously wasn’t written by a teenager, and instead seemed to try and hit every cliche to try and give it that idea.
The ONLY reason that I couldn’t give this novel one star, is I didn't hate it. I understand it, it was a quick read, and I never considered giving up on it. So there must be something underlying there, but I don’t hate it.
Check out my entire review on my blog!
http://theprincessgummybearreviews.bl...
September 13, 2017
Dancing with Molly took me back to when I was in my senior year of high school. I was definitely into trying out some new things and did whatever I could get my hands on. I landed myself in some of the same spots that the main character; which remains nameless through the entirety of the book.
You follow the girl through some highs; emotional and mental, and some lows; both the same. The ending will leave anyone who has been down a similar road or currently on the same path asking the same question she did.
A walk down memory lane and I felt every feeling described in this book before and the way the author had the main character describe the feelings and experiences will make you relive them.
You follow the girl through some highs; emotional and mental, and some lows; both the same. The ending will leave anyone who has been down a similar road or currently on the same path asking the same question she did.
A walk down memory lane and I felt every feeling described in this book before and the way the author had the main character describe the feelings and experiences will make you relive them.
June 9, 2018
Where to start? Maybe by, if you didn't know, the MOLLY referred to is a drug, not a person. So the book revolves enormously on all things drugs. If we know that, then this was written beautifully. The author escalated the drugs, just like she escalated the consequences. And was able to make you interested when the main character was interested and glad you didn't when the main character regretted it. I could totally feel the anger and most of the emotions that were shared. And though it was not a book telling you ''don't do drugs'' it kind of had that impact due to all the precautions. I do think the end was tragic, and maybe a little too much to my liking, but it did have a great impact, and made me reflect twice about the whole idea of parties, alcohol and drugs...
September 29, 2019
The main character is the most childish, whiney character ever.
The writing style (diary) just was horrible, seemed like a middle grade novel,
not a YA novel. If you want actual prose DO NOT READ. There was a line that went:
"To that, I went LOL".
I wanted to scream to her "WAKE UP!!!" for most of the book, and drug use was glorified for more than half of the book. There were one too many description of how amazing drugs are
and is SUCH a bad influence.
Many people feel this book is relatable because they feel like they don't fit in, and drugs make
them feel better and all, but NOT FOR ME.
At least the ending was better, but still it was so predictable.
The writing style (diary) just was horrible, seemed like a middle grade novel,
not a YA novel. If you want actual prose DO NOT READ. There was a line that went:
"To that, I went LOL".
I wanted to scream to her "WAKE UP!!!" for most of the book, and drug use was glorified for more than half of the book. There were one too many description of how amazing drugs are
and is SUCH a bad influence.
Many people feel this book is relatable because they feel like they don't fit in, and drugs make
them feel better and all, but NOT FOR ME.
At least the ending was better, but still it was so predictable.
March 17, 2023
This book is definitely a quick read, written in the form of a diary, but I felt like it was a typical YA morality tale from start to finish. It kept my interest, but I don’t know if there was really anything that set it apart from other books in this genre. Similar to books like Go Ask Alice, this warns about drug use and what the outcome can be. I just wish there was more to this that made it different than the rest. Otherwise, it was interesting and I liked the relevancy of it being centered around Molly and the dangers of using it.
January 31, 2024
3.75/5
honest & authentic. felt like something i could've written in my own diary. there's a stark difference between authors who've actually experienced the drug they're writing on, and authors who've only done the extensive background research--Lena UNDERSTANDS.
honest & authentic. felt like something i could've written in my own diary. there's a stark difference between authors who've actually experienced the drug they're writing on, and authors who've only done the extensive background research--Lena UNDERSTANDS.
August 6, 2018
Very similar to Go Ask Alice, a young girl struggles with addiction to ecstasy.
Want to read
January 22, 2021to-read
April 29, 2016
Okay, so my review is probably going to go against what everyone else has said and probably offend people (?)
But this is coming from a young adult, or someone that was a young adult. I didn't like this at all. Nothing happened, and after every bad thing that happened, I was like, 'is that it?' (Besides the sex scene.) I thought the book would actually pick up after that, but then it went the same old route. Everything's fine now, I'm so happy, I've forgiven all my friends (even that girl that spread sh*t about me,) blah, blah.
I know the whole message is supposed to be that ALL drugs are bad, but I just don't believe in the whole addictive nature of MDMA and ecstasy. This isn't the only book that has done this, but it's the one I've read most recently. Everyone of them is filled with the same cliches. Everything feels so nice, I love everyone, I can only be myself on this. It's quite obvious the authors have had no experience with the things (not that they need to or should have,) but they should at least do some real research. And read about REAL experiences, not from some anti-drug pamphlet.
I honestly don't see anything wrong with a bit of experimentation. I've dabbled in ecstasy and MDMA (not afraid to say it,) and I'm not in a coma, so have my friends. This isn't like crack cocaine, heroin and meth, which are the drugs that SHOULD be dealt with in books like this. The MDMA should be a lead up to these harder drugs. That's probably one of the harmful things about it, how it can lead to harder drugs. Honestly on its own (despite what people say,) MDMA is just not addictive. There's no way that I'd even think of doing MDMA outside of a party atmosphere. It's pointless because it'd give hardly any effect. There's a reason that you don't see people living on the streets or in prison over MDMA (unless dealing, obviously.)
That's not to say it isn't harmful. Well, it, in itself isn't harmful. It's the stuff it's cut with. But if they'd continued to check the purity, like at the beginning, then they'd have no problems. Also, tolerance goes up really fast! So I really can't see her getting the same high every single time, yet she seemed to. She could've even started taking more and then overdosed, which would've been more realistic.
I'm not condoning the drug use. I just think there are worse things out there. I know this is a young adult book, so they can't be honest, but I just wish a harder drug had been dealt with. They could show the dangers of MDMA with what it could lead to. People that are addicts always seek out harder stuff than MDMA, so I just didn't buy her as a 'drug addict.' It reminds me of that scene in Go Ask Alice (which it is a blatant copy of,) when she was like, 'wow, I just had a joint!! I'm a total junkie now.'
The narrator was so stupid and unrealistic. But I guess the aim was to make her the most naive teenager ever? All of the characters were inconsistent, most of them were pointless. Big Dave wouldn't have dared to give out his real name or location if he was that big of a dealer, especially with selling dodgy stuff. He'd have known that the police would track him down. I don't think she hit rock bottom either. In fact, she didn't even seem to care, so how could I?
But this is coming from a young adult, or someone that was a young adult. I didn't like this at all. Nothing happened, and after every bad thing that happened, I was like, 'is that it?' (Besides the sex scene.) I thought the book would actually pick up after that, but then it went the same old route. Everything's fine now, I'm so happy, I've forgiven all my friends (even that girl that spread sh*t about me,) blah, blah.
I know the whole message is supposed to be that ALL drugs are bad, but I just don't believe in the whole addictive nature of MDMA and ecstasy. This isn't the only book that has done this, but it's the one I've read most recently. Everyone of them is filled with the same cliches. Everything feels so nice, I love everyone, I can only be myself on this. It's quite obvious the authors have had no experience with the things (not that they need to or should have,) but they should at least do some real research. And read about REAL experiences, not from some anti-drug pamphlet.
I honestly don't see anything wrong with a bit of experimentation. I've dabbled in ecstasy and MDMA (not afraid to say it,) and I'm not in a coma, so have my friends. This isn't like crack cocaine, heroin and meth, which are the drugs that SHOULD be dealt with in books like this. The MDMA should be a lead up to these harder drugs. That's probably one of the harmful things about it, how it can lead to harder drugs. Honestly on its own (despite what people say,) MDMA is just not addictive. There's no way that I'd even think of doing MDMA outside of a party atmosphere. It's pointless because it'd give hardly any effect. There's a reason that you don't see people living on the streets or in prison over MDMA (unless dealing, obviously.)
That's not to say it isn't harmful. Well, it, in itself isn't harmful. It's the stuff it's cut with. But if they'd continued to check the purity, like at the beginning, then they'd have no problems. Also, tolerance goes up really fast! So I really can't see her getting the same high every single time, yet she seemed to. She could've even started taking more and then overdosed, which would've been more realistic.
I'm not condoning the drug use. I just think there are worse things out there. I know this is a young adult book, so they can't be honest, but I just wish a harder drug had been dealt with. They could show the dangers of MDMA with what it could lead to. People that are addicts always seek out harder stuff than MDMA, so I just didn't buy her as a 'drug addict.' It reminds me of that scene in Go Ask Alice (which it is a blatant copy of,) when she was like, 'wow, I just had a joint!! I'm a total junkie now.'
The narrator was so stupid and unrealistic. But I guess the aim was to make her the most naive teenager ever? All of the characters were inconsistent, most of them were pointless. Big Dave wouldn't have dared to give out his real name or location if he was that big of a dealer, especially with selling dodgy stuff. He'd have known that the police would track him down. I don't think she hit rock bottom either. In fact, she didn't even seem to care, so how could I?
February 16, 2015
Dancing With Molly was a unique novel on drugs, addiction, and consequences.
I'll be honest and say that I'm not completely sure how I feel about this novel. The writing style was a bit awkward and the subject matter was something completely foreign to me. I was shocked, appalled, and yet completely fascinated about the whole concept.
The main character (really truly I did not notice that they never said her name), is your ordinary 17 year old girl. She's quiet, a band geek, but she has her core group of friends. Her younger sister Ashley, is more girly, out going and popular, she even gets to go to prom as a sophomore. Their mom wants her to be more like her sister but she wants her mom to accept as she is. She's usually fine with who she is but at the the same time she wants to feel special.
She's experimented with drinking and smoking weed but she's never done any harder drugs. At a house party, her friend Jess and a group of friends, decide to try Ecstasy for the first time. At first she's hesitant, but she decides to try it. The feelings she has while she's on E, make her feel her almost powerful. She felt happy and completely at ease with herself. At first she swears that she won't try the drug again, but the idea of using it again, combined with the feeling she will get from it, have her coming back for more.
As the story progresses, the main character becomes more and more excited each time she gets to do the drug. She eventually decides to try Molly, a purer version of the ecstasy. She loves it even more.
In the midst of this new lifestyle, she falls in love with Carson, a senior from her school. She's happy and excited by life. She and her friends are in love with that high and what was once an occasional experimentation, becomes an almost weekly thing. She thinks she has a handle on what she's doing but when she starts making reckless decisions and people get hurt, things start to get out of control.
The story is written like a diary. There were no real pauses or spaces and the writing style threw me off, but it did work for the character's age. The author seemed to describe the drug scenes with such vivid detail that it felt real. It made everything sound so glamorous at times, but I loved that the author also showed the consequences of the character's decisions. The end of this story gripped my attention. It was an unexpected and emotional conclusion to a unique story.
I'll be honest and say that I'm not completely sure how I feel about this novel. The writing style was a bit awkward and the subject matter was something completely foreign to me. I was shocked, appalled, and yet completely fascinated about the whole concept.
The main character (really truly I did not notice that they never said her name), is your ordinary 17 year old girl. She's quiet, a band geek, but she has her core group of friends. Her younger sister Ashley, is more girly, out going and popular, she even gets to go to prom as a sophomore. Their mom wants her to be more like her sister but she wants her mom to accept as she is. She's usually fine with who she is but at the the same time she wants to feel special.
She's experimented with drinking and smoking weed but she's never done any harder drugs. At a house party, her friend Jess and a group of friends, decide to try Ecstasy for the first time. At first she's hesitant, but she decides to try it. The feelings she has while she's on E, make her feel her almost powerful. She felt happy and completely at ease with herself. At first she swears that she won't try the drug again, but the idea of using it again, combined with the feeling she will get from it, have her coming back for more.
As the story progresses, the main character becomes more and more excited each time she gets to do the drug. She eventually decides to try Molly, a purer version of the ecstasy. She loves it even more.
In the midst of this new lifestyle, she falls in love with Carson, a senior from her school. She's happy and excited by life. She and her friends are in love with that high and what was once an occasional experimentation, becomes an almost weekly thing. She thinks she has a handle on what she's doing but when she starts making reckless decisions and people get hurt, things start to get out of control.
The story is written like a diary. There were no real pauses or spaces and the writing style threw me off, but it did work for the character's age. The author seemed to describe the drug scenes with such vivid detail that it felt real. It made everything sound so glamorous at times, but I loved that the author also showed the consequences of the character's decisions. The end of this story gripped my attention. It was an unexpected and emotional conclusion to a unique story.
September 21, 2015
Dancing with Molly, is the intimate and gritty inside account, written within the journal of a teenage girl’s personal journey with drug use. As a self-proclaimed “band geek” looking for a way to feel confident and accepted, the narrator just wants to be loved, and no longer be invisible. Looking for a way to finally fit in and let go of her inhibitions, the lure of ecstasy seems to be the perfect answer. Within minutes of taking her first pill, she is able to fully lose herself in the bliss of the moment, instantly hooking her. For the first time, she is free from her constraints at home, happily dancing without care, and finally being noticed by boys.
Her drug use elevates when she is offered MDMA, a pure form of ecstasy, elevating the experience to an all-new high. However, with the new high, she loses even more inhibitions making her sexually vulnerable. But, she doesn’t care as long as she still can keep her boyfriend, and continue to “roll” with her friends. This causes her to fall into dangerous situations and take sexual risks, all for the sake of letting go, and getting high. Ultimately, her behavior threatens her relationships with family and friends, as well as compromising her safety, leaving her ill-equipped to deal with upcoming tragic events.
This is a cautionary read, for anyone giving this book to a teen. Dancing with Molly, shows a razors edge look inside the mind of a girl willing to do anything just to be liked and accepted. Told in a first person perspective, Lena Horowitz is able to take readers to a place where emotions are raw and authentic, the drug use is glorified, and the consequences are dismissed. Admittedly, the writing style is unique and believable allowing for an open account of true feelings and experiences. Although, it doesn’t detail any of the negative side effects, instead, the drugs are highlighted to be exciting as well as fun. While books about drugs usually lend themselves to resourceful solutions, this book highlights drug use in a positive light, verses using this as a platform swaying teens to abstain.
you can find more of my reviews and giveaways in my syndicated newspaper column: For the Love of Books-Dixon's Independent Voice and with www.mpg8.com; as well as more of my reviews in: San Diego Book Review & San Francisco Book Review
Her drug use elevates when she is offered MDMA, a pure form of ecstasy, elevating the experience to an all-new high. However, with the new high, she loses even more inhibitions making her sexually vulnerable. But, she doesn’t care as long as she still can keep her boyfriend, and continue to “roll” with her friends. This causes her to fall into dangerous situations and take sexual risks, all for the sake of letting go, and getting high. Ultimately, her behavior threatens her relationships with family and friends, as well as compromising her safety, leaving her ill-equipped to deal with upcoming tragic events.
This is a cautionary read, for anyone giving this book to a teen. Dancing with Molly, shows a razors edge look inside the mind of a girl willing to do anything just to be liked and accepted. Told in a first person perspective, Lena Horowitz is able to take readers to a place where emotions are raw and authentic, the drug use is glorified, and the consequences are dismissed. Admittedly, the writing style is unique and believable allowing for an open account of true feelings and experiences. Although, it doesn’t detail any of the negative side effects, instead, the drugs are highlighted to be exciting as well as fun. While books about drugs usually lend themselves to resourceful solutions, this book highlights drug use in a positive light, verses using this as a platform swaying teens to abstain.
you can find more of my reviews and giveaways in my syndicated newspaper column: For the Love of Books-Dixon's Independent Voice and with www.mpg8.com; as well as more of my reviews in: San Diego Book Review & San Francisco Book Review
December 19, 2014
Huge thank you to Simon Pulse and Edelweiss for this ARC!
I tried to like this book. I really did, but the whole story rubbed me completely the wrong way. I'm always interested in books when drugs are a subject matter because I like to see how the subject matter is handled, particularly in young adult fiction. Sad to say but this book was boring and the writing style was, I get mimicking how a teen would write in a journal, but it was awful to read and so awkward at times.
In that sense, the novel is actually successful. It's writing style mimics the age the protagonist well, even if it's awkward to read. I just have a hard time excusing lots of all caps and exclamation points, but it gets overused in this book a fair bit. Plus (and I'm sure again it was intentional) it was impossible to feel connected or empathic to any of the characters in this book. I had a hard time with the protagonist in particular because she turned to drugs to in a way "become someone." But this book follows a very repetitive formula of drugs, drama, make outs, and more drugs. Thankfully, the book is short, because I don't think I could have handled more than 200 pages of this monotonous story. I feel like stories that have drugs as a theme should be a lot more impact, but this one fell completely flat for me.
I can see why people would enjoy Dancing With Molly, but for me this should have been a story with a great message behind it, and I just felt the message and its connection was lost a lot of the time. Admittedly, the best part of the novel was the ending and how her habit had consequences, and I think that aspect was handled well. I just struggled to find any enjoyment from this story, I think there are much better young adult novels out there that deal with drugs in a much better way. This novel isn't horrible and I think it will find fans when it releases, I just could handle the lack of substance and the writing style to save my life.
I tried to like this book. I really did, but the whole story rubbed me completely the wrong way. I'm always interested in books when drugs are a subject matter because I like to see how the subject matter is handled, particularly in young adult fiction. Sad to say but this book was boring and the writing style was, I get mimicking how a teen would write in a journal, but it was awful to read and so awkward at times.
In that sense, the novel is actually successful. It's writing style mimics the age the protagonist well, even if it's awkward to read. I just have a hard time excusing lots of all caps and exclamation points, but it gets overused in this book a fair bit. Plus (and I'm sure again it was intentional) it was impossible to feel connected or empathic to any of the characters in this book. I had a hard time with the protagonist in particular because she turned to drugs to in a way "become someone." But this book follows a very repetitive formula of drugs, drama, make outs, and more drugs. Thankfully, the book is short, because I don't think I could have handled more than 200 pages of this monotonous story. I feel like stories that have drugs as a theme should be a lot more impact, but this one fell completely flat for me.
I can see why people would enjoy Dancing With Molly, but for me this should have been a story with a great message behind it, and I just felt the message and its connection was lost a lot of the time. Admittedly, the best part of the novel was the ending and how her habit had consequences, and I think that aspect was handled well. I just struggled to find any enjoyment from this story, I think there are much better young adult novels out there that deal with drugs in a much better way. This novel isn't horrible and I think it will find fans when it releases, I just could handle the lack of substance and the writing style to save my life.
July 14, 2016
Definitely liked this one.
Especially I liked how it addressed a lot of the excuses people come up with for why ecstasy/MDMA isn't that bad, because let me tell you, I've heard them before.
The best one, I think, was Brandon and (Peter, iirc?) said something to the effect of "Well it USED to be legal until the 1960s", like "well if it USED to be legal then it clearly can't be THAT BAD", which I found hilarious because... I mean shit, guys, my parents/grandparents' generations used to save bacon fat and cook things in it. How many stupid, dangerous things did people do previously that we don't anymore because we know how damn dangerous it is now? tl;dr I got a good giggle out of that one.
I will say, though, Jess kinda bugged me a bit. She struck me as one of those "YA Best Friends Who Acts Like an Asshole, But We'll Forgive Them Because They Are the Designated Best Friend"; like, she apologized at the end
But yeah other than that, great read. Very interesting- basically, if you cringe at the sight of any of Beatrice Sparks' books and are looking for something that reads like a real teenager would write itand not have it be passed off as an actual diary, this is a good read for you.
Especially I liked how it addressed a lot of the excuses people come up with for why ecstasy/MDMA isn't that bad, because let me tell you, I've heard them before.
The best one, I think, was Brandon and (Peter, iirc?) said something to the effect of "Well it USED to be legal until the 1960s", like "well if it USED to be legal then it clearly can't be THAT BAD", which I found hilarious because... I mean shit, guys, my parents/grandparents' generations used to save bacon fat and cook things in it. How many stupid, dangerous things did people do previously that we don't anymore because we know how damn dangerous it is now? tl;dr I got a good giggle out of that one.
I will say, though, Jess kinda bugged me a bit. She struck me as one of those "YA Best Friends Who Acts Like an Asshole, But We'll Forgive Them Because They Are the Designated Best Friend"; like, she apologized at the end
But yeah other than that, great read. Very interesting- basically, if you cringe at the sight of any of Beatrice Sparks' books and are looking for something that reads like a real teenager would write it
June 6, 2015
I got this e-book from the publisher's website for free until June 11, 2015. I'm not paid for this review, and I'm 100% honest. This review is originally posted on PulseIt's website.
Okay so I read this book in about 6 hours off and on. I really liked this novel early on, and it really sucked me in. But then I got super annoyed with the style of writing. It was almost like she couldn't decide to write it (Diary form or just regular). That really annoyed me. No 17 year old girl would go into so much detail over a journal that people might read. It felt like she chose diary form so she didn't have to use quotation marks! That also really freaking annoyed me to no end. It was difficult to keep track of her conversations. Moving on. I also felt like there wasn't enough of the whole pointing out that drugs are bad and this could happen to you parts. Sure there were two forewarning then the big disaster, but by the end of the book I felt more inclined than ever to take ecstacy than warned about the dangers. Lastly another thing I had with the book was the out there blatant sexually activity. This is a teen book, is it not? Tone it down, Mrs. Horowitz. Like seriously. Other than those things it was a decent book. Definitely a quick read. Also, one last thing I want to point out. I never once knew the main characters name. If it was said in the book once I probably forgot it, honestly. I only knew it was Becca from the summary on the copyright page at the end of the book.
Actual rating: 2.9 ⭐
- See more at: http://www.pulseit.com/dancing-with-m...
Okay so I read this book in about 6 hours off and on. I really liked this novel early on, and it really sucked me in. But then I got super annoyed with the style of writing. It was almost like she couldn't decide to write it (Diary form or just regular). That really annoyed me. No 17 year old girl would go into so much detail over a journal that people might read. It felt like she chose diary form so she didn't have to use quotation marks! That also really freaking annoyed me to no end. It was difficult to keep track of her conversations. Moving on. I also felt like there wasn't enough of the whole pointing out that drugs are bad and this could happen to you parts. Sure there were two forewarning then the big disaster, but by the end of the book I felt more inclined than ever to take ecstacy than warned about the dangers. Lastly another thing I had with the book was the out there blatant sexually activity. This is a teen book, is it not? Tone it down, Mrs. Horowitz. Like seriously. Other than those things it was a decent book. Definitely a quick read. Also, one last thing I want to point out. I never once knew the main characters name. If it was said in the book once I probably forgot it, honestly. I only knew it was Becca from the summary on the copyright page at the end of the book.
Actual rating: 2.9 ⭐
- See more at: http://www.pulseit.com/dancing-with-m...
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