Review: White Lines by Jennifer Banash

Title: White Lines

Author: Jennifer Banash
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile 

Publication date: April 4th, 2013

Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)

Source: Publisher

Format: ARC

Pages: 304

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A gritty, atmospheric coming of age tale set in 1980s New York City.

Seventeen-year-old Cat is living every teenager’s dream: she has her own apartment on the Lower East Side and at night she’s club kid royalty, guarding the velvet rope at some of the hottest clubs in the city. The night with its crazy, frenetic, high-inducing energy—the pulsing beat of the music, the radiant, joyful people and those seductive white lines that can ease all pain—is when Cat truly lives. But her daytime, when real life occurs, is more nightmare than dream. Having spent years suffering her mother’s emotional and physical abuse, and abandoned by her father, Cat is terrified and alone—unable to connect to anyone or anything. But when someone comes along who makes her want to truly live, she’ll need to summon the courage to confront her demons and take control of a life already spinning dangerously out of control. 

The simplicity of this cover immediately made me want to read it. I'm a fan of coming-of-age novels, so I was excited to see what would happen here. Let me start by saying that I was tremendously disappointed. I have learnt my mistake, and I will never have high expectations for a book ever, because that feeling of disappointment kills me. White Lines takes place in the 1980's, in New York City. The main protagonist, Cat, lives in her own apartment on the Lower East Side. At night, she's a club kid, who's job is to guard the ropes at clubs, and sometimes even plans parties. Cat's dad is some super rich dude, who lives with his young secretary that he married. Cat's mother is this psycho who used to abuse Cat when she was younger. 

The beginning sounded promisiong. I though, okay, Cat is messed up and she'll try to get herself better somehow. No, the book kind of disgusted me. Instead of Cat seeking help from a psychiatrist or anyone, she just went clubbing instead. It's not only the clubbing, but the DRUGS! It was weird that she easily took a "line" of cocaine like she was eating her lunch. Her best friend would tell her to stop, but they still didn't treat it like it was a big deal. I personally found myself disgusted in many parts during the book. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but those were just my personal feelings. I remember I was eating my cereal while reading White Lines, and at some part I literally felt like vomiting what I ate. It just felt weird, and sometimes I felt uncomfortable. 

I kind of hoped that the book would be concentrated more on her problems with her mom, and NOT the clubbing. We would get some "flashbacks" of what her mother would do to her, but other than that, not much is said. I can say that the only part I liked would probably be the ending. I felt like there was still some hope for Cat to change her ways of living. Overall, White Lines was NOT what I was expecting. I'm not sure if I would recommend this to anyone, but if those scenes don't bother you, then give it a try!