Thirsty

Thirsty [pic] http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/tracey-bateman/thirsty.htm By: Tracey Bateman 376 pages Bateman, Tracey. Thirsty . Colorado Springs, Colo.: Waterbrook Press, 2009. Print. Thirsty by Tracey Bateman is a book of many genres. It easily falls into the genres of mystery, romance, and fantasy. Tracey Bateman’s purpose of writing this novel was most likely to show how alcoholism can tear apart a family and ones life. It will leave everyone alone and filled with regret. This novel is written in a narrative and at the beginning of every chapter, it is told from the main characters, Nina, point of view in brief memory of hers. It takes a while for the book to develop into its true genre. At the beginning its more of a personal story, but as it continues the mystery, fantasy, and romance become more prominent. Although alcoholism is a problem that more adults struggle with, this book is intended for young adults. When the love and mystery start to occur in this novel, it is easy to relate to it as a teen. Bateman’s style is easy to understand and flows swiftly from chapter to chapter. Her book is in chronological order, except for at the beginning of chapters where Nina tells memories of her past to help understand he present condition. II. This novel starts off with a prologue telling the story of a man named Marcus. He comes across a girl named Nina, who is the main character. She is almost passed out drunk and he helps her out of the woods. Once she leaves, he remembers he sent. The first chapters are telling of Nina’s alcohol problem. She is always drunk. Her ex husband, Hunt, is disappointed to find her on his front door step, wasted. She reminds him that he invited her for Christmas and he tells her “Looks like you made a party somewhere else, though.” (14). Her alcoholism continues, and Nina misses her daughter Meg, who lives with her ex husband. Nina and Hunt are still in love, but her alcoholism came between them. As the story progresses, Nina gets help and decides to move back home with her parents to stay sober. She asks Meg to come along so that they ca rebuilt their relationship. While there, Nina meets Marcus. (Yes, the same Marcus as in the prologue). Meg starts to do yoga with an instructor named Eden. There is something incredibly mysterious about Marcus and Eden. Nina is warned to not let Meg hang around her, but she never fully understands why. Meg is hypnotized by Eden and never listens to her mom. As revealing events pass, you mind out with Marcus and Eden are when Eden tries to set the house with Meg inside, on fire. Marcus risks his life to save Meg for Nina because he loves her. In the end, the family ends up happy and Hunt and Nina soon begin to forget the past and start over. Theme: The impact of alcoholism and the value of love Thesis: The destruction of alcoholism on ones life and how love makes one risk all.= Bateman’s character description is simple. She uses other people to help describe characters. For example, “The light from the kitchen window behind the deck illuminated the scowl on Izzy’s perfect Halle Berry reminiscent face” (33). Her setting descriptions leave most of the creating up to the reader. “He shoved out a full breath and angled to his feet. In the obscurity of his cramped quarters he stooped, unable to stand to his full height withut scuffing his head against the top of the cave” (9). She describes things simply, but not in cast detail like most authors. The narration of this novel is interesting. Tracey Bateman starts the book with a prologue and then after that every chapter starts with a memory of Nina’s then the rest is told from an anonymous narrator. Everything in the story happens in chronological order except for the memories. Bateman’s argument is clear when she talks of the destruction that Nina’s alcoholism had on her family’s life. “Nina hadn’t wanted Meg around for most of her life, so why did she have to pick this week of all weeks to try out motherhood' Meg knew it wasn’t going to last, so why bother'” (35). The awkwardness between Meg and Nina lasts almost until the end of the book, showing that it was very hard for Meg to accept that Nina had changed. III. This book affected me by showing the harsh reality of substance abuse. I always had an idea that it could tear families apart, but this book gave my an actual insight on it. The author obviously achieved her goal because I was affected by the argument she was trying to portray. The way she wrote the book made the hard to understand topic very simple. Nina in the story shows the hardships that some people have to go through. Meg is your typical teenage girl that doesn’t want anything to do with her mother. Hunt is a caring father that always loved Nina, he just wanted her better. Marcus is the hero, he risks everything for Nina and Meg. The narrator is appropriate, I just wish you could know who they were or it should have been narrated by a character. Every character was fully developed. They all had things that set them apart from each other. Whether it was personal struggles, or just physical characteristics. The language was perfect for this novel. The author was trying to send a message that for some can be difficult to understand, so the simplicity of her language made it easier to comprehend. I think Tracey Bateman achieved her goal in writing this book and it shows that everyone can recover from the hardest things. I have never read a book on personal struggles so I am not sure how it could compare to others of his kind. A personal experience I can use to relate to this book would be when my brother struggled with certain substance abuses. It can tear apart people and their families. Over all I think Tracey Bateman’s novel Thirsty was a great book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys books with very interesting twists.