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Trashed
Celena's kept her dark mind a secret, but wrong her, and she'll paint you in black and red...
Celena, a girl haunted by her destructive past, moves to the Hollywood Hills with her family. Her parents claim the relocation is for the sunshine. The truth which they don't talk about? Their daughter's reckless abuse of others. She doesn't regret her actions but knows she'll end up in real trouble if she continues her dark manipulations. She vows to keep herself in check, but struggles to keep the promise. Celena thinks she might be a sociopath and searches online for the truth about herself. She knows something isn't right, and the coldness inside terrifies her.
Serge, a boy at her school, falls hard for her and she returns his love. A new world opens up to her, but will she be able to handle a relationship? She plots revenge as her mind twists inside of her, wrecking her more than she could ever hurt Serge and his friends. And she hurts his friends very badly.
Trashed is a dark coming of age standalone novel.
Themes: Mental Illness, Bipolar Disorder, Sociopathy, Loyalty, Friendship, True Love, Sexual Situations, Some Coarse Language.
Celena, a girl haunted by her destructive past, moves to the Hollywood Hills with her family. Her parents claim the relocation is for the sunshine. The truth which they don't talk about? Their daughter's reckless abuse of others. She doesn't regret her actions but knows she'll end up in real trouble if she continues her dark manipulations. She vows to keep herself in check, but struggles to keep the promise. Celena thinks she might be a sociopath and searches online for the truth about herself. She knows something isn't right, and the coldness inside terrifies her.
Serge, a boy at her school, falls hard for her and she returns his love. A new world opens up to her, but will she be able to handle a relationship? She plots revenge as her mind twists inside of her, wrecking her more than she could ever hurt Serge and his friends. And she hurts his friends very badly.
Trashed is a dark coming of age standalone novel.
Themes: Mental Illness, Bipolar Disorder, Sociopathy, Loyalty, Friendship, True Love, Sexual Situations, Some Coarse Language.
- GenresYoung Adult
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 6, 2015
3 people are currently reading
607 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 25, 2015
Some of my favorite movies are about sociopathic teenage girls (Pretty Persuasion, Cruel Intentions, etc.), so this book was right up my alley! The book begins with our protagonist Celena starting up school in Los Angeles after her family's uprooting from their life in Seattle due to some malicious act on Celena's part. Celena believes herself to be a sociopath, but is technically more along the lines of bipolar. The story gets going when she enters a relationship with an intelligent but equally troubled (in his own way) peer of hers, and reaches its climax in the way she finds herself entangled with his friends. This is as much a story of her finding a path to mental health as it is a saucy teen romance. The way her illness is treated in the text is, I believe, sensitive, and the research that went into her treatments (both holistic and psychiatric) is evident and smoothly integrated without being pedantic. Written in the first person, the book immediately allows one to inhabit the mind of this very smart, devious young woman. Celena will charm you into understanding her perspective, even through times when she is hardly in control of herself. The end (which I will not spoil here) is positive but not schmaltzy.
What remains most memorable to me about this book is the relationship between mother and daughter. This is a family that would uproot to protect its progeny, but even with this commitment to helping Celena, it is not so simple as wanting for Celena's mother to succeed in helping. Unable to believe that chemical intervention should be necessary to balance Celena's swerving moods, her mother tries herbal salves and the vegan diet and other types of structure before seeking serious help. When, some seventeen years into Celena's life, a treatment that shows promise emerges, it is impossible for her mother to avoid feelings of guilt. They resolve their mutual regrets beautifully. Young love is brightly passionate, but in the end is it really the teenagers who save each other?
Read this! Buy the e-book! Get yourself a hard copy!
What remains most memorable to me about this book is the relationship between mother and daughter. This is a family that would uproot to protect its progeny, but even with this commitment to helping Celena, it is not so simple as wanting for Celena's mother to succeed in helping. Unable to believe that chemical intervention should be necessary to balance Celena's swerving moods, her mother tries herbal salves and the vegan diet and other types of structure before seeking serious help. When, some seventeen years into Celena's life, a treatment that shows promise emerges, it is impossible for her mother to avoid feelings of guilt. They resolve their mutual regrets beautifully. Young love is brightly passionate, but in the end is it really the teenagers who save each other?
Read this! Buy the e-book! Get yourself a hard copy!
April 3, 2015
Trashed provides a unique insight into the mind of a deeply troubled young woman and the ways in which she affects the world around her. It is a deeply introspective read from the point of view of Celena, who is reflecting on her youth. Celena seems to enjoy manipulating and even hurting others and often muses over whether she is a sociopath or not, although it soon becomes clear that she appears to be suffering from a mental disorder.
What I found most fascinating about this read is that it is from the point of view of a mentally ill person, which is not something you see portrayed so realistically in fiction. The author manages to capture the disturbed thought processes and actions really well and in doing so provides a raw, honest picture of how mental illness affects the lives of those it touches, both directly and indirectly. You would be hard pressed to find such an in-depth and realistic portrayal of these struggles anywhere else. It is truly a journey as you watch the results of Celena’s self destructive and erratic behaviour unfold and her attempts to comprehend and control it, and the turns it takes will keep you hooked.
In terms of writing, the focus is on a handful of very well developed characters and this only adds to the depth and intensity of the novel. Celena’s internal voice is truly a unique one and the shifting tone of her inner dialogue only adds to the readers understanding of her turmoil.
In summary, this is the story of how someone troubled and different from birth can learn to understand and accept themselves, and in doing so, give themselves a shot at a happy ending. If you want an insightful and thought provoking read within a fascinating and compelling story, then this is definitely the book for you.
What I found most fascinating about this read is that it is from the point of view of a mentally ill person, which is not something you see portrayed so realistically in fiction. The author manages to capture the disturbed thought processes and actions really well and in doing so provides a raw, honest picture of how mental illness affects the lives of those it touches, both directly and indirectly. You would be hard pressed to find such an in-depth and realistic portrayal of these struggles anywhere else. It is truly a journey as you watch the results of Celena’s self destructive and erratic behaviour unfold and her attempts to comprehend and control it, and the turns it takes will keep you hooked.
In terms of writing, the focus is on a handful of very well developed characters and this only adds to the depth and intensity of the novel. Celena’s internal voice is truly a unique one and the shifting tone of her inner dialogue only adds to the readers understanding of her turmoil.
In summary, this is the story of how someone troubled and different from birth can learn to understand and accept themselves, and in doing so, give themselves a shot at a happy ending. If you want an insightful and thought provoking read within a fascinating and compelling story, then this is definitely the book for you.
July 15, 2015
Although this book lived up to what I was expecting (and hoping!) it to be, there was so much unexpectedness -- and I mean that in the best way possible! Celena is a high school girl struggling to cope with the sociopathic nature she has come to identify herself with. She sees her peers as little more than manipulations until Serge comes into her life and sends her spiraling down a path she questions constantly. As a psychology major, I was pretty much enthralled with her thoughts and couldn't be happier that the story was told in her point of view to see the innermost workings of her troubled mind. I really enjoyed the characterization in Trashed, and I found Brendan to be a fascinating addition to the swirling mix of emotions that Celena had to deal with. I would definitely read more from Paloma Meir after reading this novel.
August 10, 2015
I am a recent number of Goodreads. However I had read this book and reviewed it on Amazon. When I found it on good reads I felt compelled to write another review. Paloma is an excellent writer. Her characters voice's ring so true and honest and real.
There are plenty of story plot summaries, so I'm going to jump to the 'feel' of the story. From the beginning of the story it is clear that something bad has happened to Celina. She lets you know that you are going to find out. In fact this is one of the more interesting devices used as part of the storytelling; as Celina's actions start to cause her downfall you are not sure at what point or even if Celina can recover.
Ms. Meir captures that old feeling of long summers before you are ready to leave home and too old to spend time with your parents. That heat and restlessness that makes teenagers make mistakes. You remember that feeling and you want to call after characters. But the story is so artfully told you know it's too late right from the beginning.
The other book I have read by Ms. Meir is Vee and Addi. I loved it more than this one, but that may be an unfair comparison since it's a completely different genre!
There are plenty of story plot summaries, so I'm going to jump to the 'feel' of the story. From the beginning of the story it is clear that something bad has happened to Celina. She lets you know that you are going to find out. In fact this is one of the more interesting devices used as part of the storytelling; as Celina's actions start to cause her downfall you are not sure at what point or even if Celina can recover.
Ms. Meir captures that old feeling of long summers before you are ready to leave home and too old to spend time with your parents. That heat and restlessness that makes teenagers make mistakes. You remember that feeling and you want to call after characters. But the story is so artfully told you know it's too late right from the beginning.
The other book I have read by Ms. Meir is Vee and Addi. I loved it more than this one, but that may be an unfair comparison since it's a completely different genre!
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October 21, 2015This book is told from celena's point of view, where she is the new girl in school and thinks she is a sociopath. This book was entertaining and interesting but certainly reading the thoughts of an individual with a mental illness was pretty strange. In the beginning, her mother tries to deal with the illness through vitamins and diet and later after hospitalization, Celena is medicated. How she lives through the medicated haze and numbness is really sad.
November 30, 2015
Another repeat. Just the same story from a different point of view.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews