Friday, March 29, 2013

Book Review: Memoirs Aren't Fairytales by Marni Mann

Memoirs Aren't Fairytales (Young Adult Edition)
by Marni Mann
Purchase Link: Amazon

Book Description

WARNING: While intended for young adults, this book does contain drug use, strong language and graphic imagery. Reader discretion is advised.


"I could feel my chin falling toward my chest, my back hunching forward. My body was acting on its own, and my mind was empty, like all my memories had been erased. There was scenery behind my lids. Aqua colored water and powdery sand that extended for miles. I was never going back to coke. I wanted more heroin. And I wanted it now." 

In this Young Adult edition of her debut novel, Marni Mann tells the story of nineteen-year-old Nicole, who escapes her home of Bangor, Maine, to leave behind a haunting nightmare. Starting a new life in Boston, Nicole desperately seeks a fresh beginning to help erase her past. But there is something besides freedom waiting for her in the shadows--a drug that will take her independence away. 

Heroin. 

With one taste, the love that once flowed in Nicole's veins turns into cravings. Tracks mark the passing of time, and heroin's voice grows louder. It holds her hand through death and prostitution, but it's her addiction that keeps her in the darkness. 

When her family tries to strike a match to help light her way, Nicole must choose between a life she can hardly remember, or a love for heroin she'll never forget.

My Review


Memoirs Aren't Fairytales is a fiction story about addiction told from the perspective of nineteen year-old, Nicole. While the book contains graphic material about drug use and sexual assault, I think it was necessary to get a truthful look at an addict’s life.

Nicole’s drug use begins with marijuana and then escalates to harder drugs when she moves out of her hometown of Bangor. Nicole and her best friend Eric start a new life in Boston and wind up in a downward spiral once they get hooked up with drug dealers and heroin.

Nicole resorts to prostitution to keep up her habit and nothing in her life can shake her up enough to get help. She loses friends to this dark addiction, gets physically and sexually hurt, and betrays the ones who love her the most. All she craves is her next fix.

I was incredibly impressed with author Marni Mann’s debut novel, Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales. You truly get caught up in Nicole’s life, and it feels as though you are reading her memoir. This work of fiction is a realistic portrayal of the ugly and desperate life of someone who is being controlled by a drug addiction. I appreciate the ups and downs in this story because with addiction, there never is a quick mend or perfect ending. I am eager to read book two of The Memoir Series, Scars from a Memoir.

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