Review of on Amazon.com from Amazon Customer

As part of my job as a news reporter, I cover the local court system. Currently an influx of methamphetamine abusers have been filing into the Carbon County District Court. My interest in learning about addicts peaked from following those court cases. From there I started watching Breaking Bad and read Beautiful Boy by David Sheff and Tweak by Nic Sheff (the beautiful boy).

Teenage Degenerate is of the same subject matter, and if you liked any of the above mentioned give this book a read.

Sterling opens the book in Denver, Colorado during the summer of 1996 with Scott who is 19 years old and already cutting lines of methamphetamine with his friends.

What I enjoyed most about this book was Sterling’s ability to create energy with the images he paints with his words, his quick snippets of writing, and his choice to only use parts of his memories that move the story along.

Sterling fully transports you into the world of a teenager struggling with addiction and takes you through that world’s vocabulary. I found this aspect the most interesting because I’m lightly familiar with the world of methamphetamine, but there was so much more to learn. Sterling also draws you into the emotions he is feeling. Each time Scott almost got busted, I found myself holding my breath. Each time he thought about quitting for his family, I could sense his sincerity. Sterling provides the reader with details that make the reader care for Scott and want to see him overcome his addiction.

While the end wraps the story up, it was the only part that left me a little disappointed. We leap a little more than a year into the future after a big moment in Scott’s life. Coming down so quickly from such a large climax took me by surprise. Understanding this is a real life account, I do feel like readers could be given a bit more of a conclusion at the end.

Click here to read the review of Teenage Degenerate on Amazon.com.