Something Wickedby Lesley Anne Cowan

Melissa’s most recent troubles stem from a secret: her 28-year-old boyfriend, Michael, has just broken up with her. Melissa clings to the memories, riding a relentless wave of hope and disappointment. Meaningless sexual escapades, drunken nights, and drug-induced blackouts help her cope with heartbreak, but her pain goes much deeper than unrequited teenage love. Her insight, sense of humour, optimism, and sheer determination prove to be saving graces, as is her ability to find solace in the Greek myths she’s learned about in grade ten English class. And in the end, it is Melissa’s mother who proves to be the real victim, and Melissa who must save her. (provided by publisher)

When I was contacted by PGC about this book I had just finished Nice Recovery by Susan Juby and I was in the right head space to continue reading about teen addiction and depression. When I replied with an enthusiastic "Yes, please!" I wondered if Penguin had any happy-go-lucky books they would  be publishing since they seemed to be promoting the emotional ones. Then I thought, "what does it say about ME that I jump at the chance to read (and review) the depressing, emotional books?"Either way, I am glad I was awarded the chance to review such a poignant and emotional book. I could feel Melissa's pain as though it were my own, and although I could truly only relate to the depression side of her problems (I was way too much of a goody-two-shoes to go the sex and addiction routes) I understood completely why she acted the way she did and how she tried so hard to escape her feelings through those actions.This was a darkly passionate story of a teen who has trouble coping with her dead-beat mother and depression that has not truly been taken care of even though she's seeing a counselor on a weekly basis. The scenes with the counselor were some of my favourites by the way. It was the only time Melissa seemed to really be true to herself.I did have a couple of problems with the book however. First of all I find the summary slightly misleading. There isn't as much of an emphasis on the Greek Myths as I thought there would be and I was slightly disappointed by that. Sure Melissa mentions two characters from the mythology (Echo and Sisyphus) but it was sort of  background noise to the rest of the story. My second problem was that I found the entire story wrapped up rather neatly in the end making it seem less real life and more Hallmark Movie. I found the period of time that Melissa started acting out and then suddenly everything was starting to look up to be very short and sweet. I think a darker ending to the story might have worked a little better in my opinion.I am going to have to check out the other book by Leslie Cowan because I very much liked her writing style. I felt a connection with the main character and I felt the emotion in the words on the page. Her previous book, As She Grows,  is about teen pregnancy and although that is a topic I never like reading about I might just pick it up to see how it's dealt with and how it's written. I have a feeling it will be one emotional ride.

Something Wicked is also part of Point of View (www.penguin.ca/pov), a new program from Penguin Books for Young Readers. Point of View aims to highlight books that don’t shy away from the reality of the lives of teenagers who struggle to succeed in school and life. These books act as a tool in starting dialogues between adults and teens.

That's a quote from the email I received about this book and I checked out the Point of View website and was surprised to see so many of the books I have been wanting to read listed. I think this series of books is a fantastic idea. I wish there were more books on the subject of depression, suicide, addiction and all the tough teen age issues when I was a teen. The books cover a wide range of issues that I think will help teens figure out that they are NOT alone in what they are going through. Image, bullying, food, drugs, sex... these are all huge things that sometimes adults just aren't able to help cope with. The fact that many authors are starting to cover these topics gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, it will start discussion among teens and through those discussions they'll find help or a friend. I know I probably sound like a soap box preacher, but I honestly mean it. Having dealt with my own depression and other issues growing up I would have found solace in some of these books. I wouldn't have felt so alone and misunderstood.These are topics that our parents never talked about. Subjects that were taboo in the households. And seeing as how many of these authors are in my age group, I think my generation is finally taking a stand and putting things out there that NEED to be acknowledged to help save the younger generations and not just sweep the negativity under the rug.Then again, maybe in this thought I am alone.Sincere thanks goes out to Penguin Group Canada for the opportunity to review this book.