"A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey

January 2006, Hosted by: Debbie Martin

"Frey's high school and college years are a blur of alcohol and drugs, culminating in a full-fledged crack addiction at age 23. As the book begins, his fed-up friends have convinced an airline to let him on the plane and shipped him off to his parents, who promptly put him in Hazelden, the rehabilitation clinic with the greatest success rate, 20 percent. Frey doesn't shy away from the gory details of addiction and recovery; all of the bodily fluids make major appearances here. What really separates this title from other rehab memoirs, apart from the author's young age, is his literary prowess. He doesn't rely on traditional indentation, punctuation, or capitalization, which adds to the nearly poetic, impressionistic detail of parts of the story. Readers cannot help but feel his sickness, pain, and anger, which is evident through his language. Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Viking, 1962) seems an apt comparison for this work-Frey maintains his principles and does not respect authority at all if it doesn't follow his beliefs. And fellow addicts are as much, if not more, help to him than the clinicians who are trying to preach the 12 steps, which he does not intend to follow in his path to sobriety." (School Library Journal)

Hostess Notes: 

• Reason chosen: "Received good reviews; recommended by someone at the book store."
• People enjoyed the book, but were surprised (and a little grossed out) by went he went through physically.
• We were amazed he was able to go through the program and stay sober without using the steps. He had a strong will power to quit.
• People weren't too impressed with his style of writing. It was difficult at time to understand conversations.