Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore | Book ReviewThicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore
Also by this author: Just Like the Movies
Published by HarperCollins on January 5th 2016
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Social Themes, Family
Pages: 320
Format: ARC, eARC
Source: Publisher
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three-half-stars

Perfect for fans of Ellen Hopkins—a heartbreaking tale of family tragedy and drug addiction where sometimes the best intentions lead to the worst possible outcomes.
Cecelia Price killed her brother. At least, that's what the police and the district attorney are saying. Although CeCe is now locked up and forced into treatment, she knows the story is much more complicated. Cyrus wasn't always a drug-addled monster. He used to be a successful athlete, but when an injury forced Cyrus off the soccer field and onto pain medication, his life became a blur of anger, addiction, and violence.
All CeCe could do was stand by and watch, until she realized an effective way to take away her brother's drugs while earning the money she needed for college: selling the pills. Only she never expected what happened next.

Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore is a book that I basically picked to read because it was one of the shortest books on the shelf in my bedroom. I was going through a stage where I wanted to read books quickly and then unhaul them. Furthermore, this book is a serious contemporary and from time to time I like them. Read the summary up top, it sounds super interesting.

This book covers a topic that is pretty timely, especially if you live in a rural area. It’s about addiction to prescription pain killers, which were I am from, is a pretty common thing. Kelly Fiore’s novel follows main character Cecelia as she is on trial for the murder of her brother. The story is told in a way that narrates present day with the trial and Cecelia’s interactions with her lawyer and her therapist. Interspersed with that is the storyline of the events that lead her to where she is now, all up to the moment her brother dies.

So, Cecelia is kind of a martyr of a character. Let’s be honest, her brother took the drugs himself, she didn’t force them on him. However, she really blames herself for it. There’s a reason and it makes sense. Despite this, you still feel for her. Girl is just trying to save for college and the only way she feels she can attain the money is by hustling oxy. As you get to know Cece, you’ll see the trauma that she’s experienced that leads her to this point.

I felt like Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore provided an interesting look at addiction and the different facets of it. Cyrus, her brother, was an athlete who had an injury and then ended up getting hooked on the medication. I feel it must not be hard to get to that point. Eventually we see how much his family enables him, also something that happens in real life. He becomes a drain, financially. His ending is ultimately sad – dying which is not a spoiler because it’s in the official summary.

There were parts of this book that did feel a little bit after school special. However, I think that there are plenty of young adults out there who will unfortunately see themselves or someone they know in this book. So, I recommend it for sure.

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three-half-stars
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April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.
About April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.