Wastoid

by Gitte Tamar

Zoe, a 17-year-old recovering addict, drives carefree through the desolate landscape. Homeless and alone, it relieves her to see Britt, a recognizable face hitchhiking in the desert. She welcomes Britt into her car, but the drive quickly takes an ominous turn as Zoe faces her reality of addiction and the desperate actions required for survival.

284 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2022

About the author

Brigitte, "Gitte," Tamar was born in a small rural Oregon town. Growing up, she was enthralled by scary tales featuring poetic tones and consistently gravitated towards writing darkened narratives. In the different storylines, Brigitte explores the harsh realities of social issues faced by today's generations. This includes the dark outcomes brought on by peer pressure, addiction, homelessness, mental illness, childhood trauma, and abuse. She feels it is essential to share narratives that refrain from sugarcoating the topics society tends to shy away from.

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm not too sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, it was super quick and easy to read; it piqued my interest from the very beginning. This was very dark and a lot of triggering things happened throughout (please be mindful of the content warnings listed in the front of the book 🤍). I really felt for our main character and how just when it seemed their might be a silver lining in her life it was snatched away.

I think I understand what the "twist" was supposed to be at the end, but it came so put of left field for me and there were some plot holes for that twist to be possible.

Still a pretty interesting book this book will definitely be on my mind for a while.

*I received this in exchange for an honest review from Booksirens. All thoughts and opinions are my own*

[Ayezu Tamarapreye Okoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK:-WASTOID BY GITTE TAMAR
BOOK REVIEWER:OKOKO AYEZU TAMARAPREYE.

SYNOPSIS:
A teenage story on puberty and juvenile deliquescence with a seventeen year old Zoe as its major character. This fictional story speaks of a variety of subjects spanning juvenile life,arrest,confinement and rehabilitation to getting back into society and the sometimes unavoidable incident of getting back into the habit and depression ranging from peer pressure;sex;naivety;false love and inability to discern true love; conditional love;intoxication;sexual trafficking;body language communication;Road safety;menstrual flow and doctors prescription for cramps;flirting;cheating;sports;college ,youthful exuberance gone wild;betrayal;drug abuse;warrant of arrest;body incisions and tatoos;serial offender and courts perception;plea options for possession of cocaine;rehabilitation and confinement;post traumatic stress disorder and sliding back into depression amongst others.

LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE STORY READ:-
🧚🏾‍♀️Teen age attachment to social media to share precious moments with friends is seen.

🧚🏾‍♀️Advancement of technology daily to cover selfies is seen.

🧚🏾‍♀️Old habits die hard an peer pressure is a teenage weakness as we see Zoe accept from Britt the tequila bottle to ease depression even after coming out of rehab.

🧚🏾‍♀️The Good and the bad can be learnt from rehab and confinement as we see in the discovery of new skills by Zoe and Stacy learning how to squash her outburst before it gets out of hand.

🧚🏾‍♀️Importance of street lights to be functional to provide adequate lighting

🧚🏾‍♀️The need to renew expired car vanity plate as part of road safety.

🧚🏾‍♀️To take 'doctors prescription' for cramps and not self medication.

🧚🏾‍♀️The place of a therapist and psychiatric doctor in helping the rehab occupants through rehabilitation.

APPLICATION OF LESSONS LEARNT:-

Just as we learn from the book one can pick up good habits from rehab.
Secondly, the job of the psychotherapist in getting people off depression occasioned by mental traumas such as rape as committed by the rapist;drug abuse whether self inflicted or by a third party as seen in the story;emotional trauma from sexual abuse,etc can not be overemphasized. One question that comes to my mind after reading however is "how can one get someone naive and unaware of sexual abuse rehabilitated since they are not even aware they are being abused?"

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Kelly Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Zoe and Britt seem to have a decent friendship in the beginning. Britt peer pressures Zoe into trying new things such as drugs, drinking, partying, and risky sexual behavior, to get drugs and alcohol. Along with Zoe’s past traumas she falls victim to Britt. This was slow paced for me and geared toward a younger reader.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐ - it was meh

Writing was ok, but the story I couldn't care less.... It sounded interesting, and it was a short book... But still at 50% in I was so bored 😬 It didn't pick up at all, and felt very flat.... So maybe a little better storytelling would have helped....

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.