Gripped Part 2 - (The Gripped) 3rd Edition by Stacy A Padula (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Chris Dunkin is known for being the life of the party and everyone's favorite friend. Despite his amicable nature, he carries around deep-seated pain from his childhood that he frequently numbs with alcohol and drugs.

After hosting a party, Chris awakes with a strange vibe running through his body and no recollection of the previous night. When he learns the horrifying truth of what his night entailed, the trajectory of his life is changed forever.

Review Quotes

"Invigorating, engaging and a must read. The characters in The Gripped Series diligently tackle the essence of forces that can limit greatness within." - LaTonya Pinkard of Netflix's Emmy-winning series Last Chance U

"Gripped Part 2: Blindsided guides the reader through a thrilling narrative, expertly utilizing flashbacks to demonstrate a complete picture of just how devastating and far-reaching substance abuse can impact not just an individual, but entire families and communities. It is an essential book for kids and parents alike as it transports the reader into the mind of middle school age students and young adults, through the characters as they deal with extremely relevant topics and situations that all students will have to navigate through at some point during their teenage years." - Elizabeth Harvey, Emerson College

"Gripped Part 2: Blindsided is an engaging and easy read that is ideal for middle school and high school students, while also being very applicable to adults wanting to know more about teenage drug abuse. It shows the efforts that are needed to even attempt to overcome an addiction, which is shown to be extremely hard to complete. This would hopefully influence Padula's target audience to avoid using drugs in order to prevent going through this tough and painful process. In all, I rate this book a 5/5." - Kyle Banker, University of Miami

"One of the main benefits of reading Gripped Part 2: Blindsided, as well as the entire Gripped series, is that it not only shows the horrors of substance abuse, but also reveals the buildup to it. Blindsided depicts not just the worst days, but the first days. Through the story, teens are able to learn about decisions and behaviors that can lead to drug abuse. Throughout the story, the social lives of the different characters intertwine with each other, creating drama, conflict, and new friendships, which makes Blindsided a fascinating read." - Michael Farinacci, University of Notre Dame