We All Fall Down

February 21, 2011
The author's second memoir begins with Sheff in an Arizona rehabilitation center after relapsing into drug use in 2005, while he was writing Tweak. After he is expelled for having a relationship with another patient, Sue Ellen, he moves in with her and attempts to stay sober, but his addictive behavior continues (he develops a brief, intense alcohol problem, snorts cocaine, steals his mother's medication, and relies on marijuana). While on tour for Tweak, Sheff feels like "a phony—a goddamn liar," since he still has to smoke marijuana to face life. The present-tense storytelling and Sheff's authentic voice will keep readers engaged, even when it's unclear where his story is going. He presents visceral images of both the gritty details of an addict's life and the desperation of a life of sobriety (" 'Cause really, what life is there to live? Working this dead-end job? Eating takeout with Sue Ellen?"). Saying a traditional 12-step approach "doesn't work for me," Sheff doesn't provide simple answers—or any answers, really—but readers will respect his ability to move forward "at my own pace." Ages 15–up.

March 15, 2011
In a raw, honest and expletive-ridden narrative, 23-year-old Sheff effectively chronicles the ups and downs of trying to overcome his methamphetamine addiction and pull his life together. Fortunately, the author is not as whiny or narcissistic in this memoir as he was in his first, Tweak (2008), though he still manages to be quite unlikable and astonishingly unsympathetic. Sheff bounces in and out of two detox centers and impulsively into an ill-considered live-in relationship with a girl in Charleston, S.C. (A disclaimer at the beginning indicates that "[c]ertain names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed.") His good intentions are frequently thwarted by bad decisions. Frustration with a dead-end job in a coffee shop leads him to chronic alcohol consumption and pot smoking, once more testing the patience of loved ones. His frequent bouts of self-pity and rationalization, along with the constant use of "fucking" and "goddamn," quickly become tiresome. The author is forthright about the hypocrisy he feels when he speaks at schools about the dangers of drug abuse while still smoking pot daily. When he declares, "I am an asshole," it's impossible to disagree. He manages to end on a somewhat hopeful note: "I've got to hold on, is all," he says. It's painfully honest—but also painful to read, likely guaranteeing avid teen interest. (Memoir. 15 & up)

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April 1, 2011

Gr 11 Up-In this follow-up to his debut novel Tweak (S & S, 2007), Sheff, a recovering meth addict, recounts his time in various drug rehabilitation facilities. The memoir also recounts his budding relationship with Sue Ellen and subsequent relapse back into drug use and alcoholism. Sheff is an unreliable narrator. He is constantly contradicting himself, vilifying the vaunted 12-step program and then later admitting that some elements of it work for him. He seems highly critical of rehabs and their staffs yet recognizes that they are working to try and make him better. His skewed worldview makes him difficult to relate to, but his honest and uncompromising ability to relate his emotional state makes him a tragic and eventually redeemable figure.-Ryan Donovan, New York Public Library

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2011
Grades 10-1 *Starred Review* Havent we read this before? In fact, yes. Sheffs first memoir of addiction, Tweak (2008), figures in this follow-upif only he could finish writing it, the publisher would give him the cash he needs to jump-start a better life, pay back IOUs, and, you know, score some booze and weed. Yes, the drugs are less scary this time (no needles), but the ride is just as terrifying, as the 23-year-old Sheff bounces from two detox centers into a dangerously abrupt relationship living with a girl in Charleston. Good intentions and bad decisions follow: Sheffs frustrations at a dead-end job lead him to virtually nonstop drinking and smoking, once more testing the patience of everyone he loves. Sheff intelligently portrays himself as the most delusional of unreliable narrators. Prone to rambling, wheedling, and sobbing, he resets his goals with each page and rationalizes the hell out of every impulsive action. Flaws abound herelike, theres not much of a plotbut Sheff is blessed with off-the-charts readability, and his sex- and profanity-laced first-person narration makes him lovable and hateable in equal measure. The book ends in wobbly stasis, with Sheff celebrating whatever he can: I have a pretty awesome dog. Lets hope, for his sake, theres not a volume 3.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)