Wrecked

'It's a sad irony in my view that while those who supply our youngsters with other drugs go to prison, those who feed them alcohol are knighted.' Here is another hard-hitting examination of an important social problem from an award-winning author. Many aspects of our alcohol culture are scrutinised and the adults do not come out of it well; the winos, who buy the drink for under-aged teenagers for a liquid commission, the greedy pub owners, the woman who plies European cannies under the front of her ice-cream van and the parents who can come up with such justifications as, 'The lotion: to be taken before, with or instead of food. Cures picturing, promotes forgetting. Cheers. Skilled storytelling and a fast, hard-hitting pace makes this an important book to get into the hands of teenagers. It avoids being preachy and I defy any youngster not to be left with plenty to think about.