LitPick Review
"Sugar Rush" by Julie Birchill is not a book I'd let my kids read, if I had kids. In fact, it's a book I wish I hadn't let myself read. It follows Kim's move from her old school to a new all-girls acadamy, to a new world full of new temptations, and to a new friend Maria Sugar, who eventually becomes her girlfriend.
Opinion:
This controversial novel, which fails to keep itself free from offensive language and liberal sexual situations, does succeed in its obvious purpose of pure shock value. To make matters worse, Birchill's writing style is so brash and wild, so caustic and frenetic it's hard to shake the sort of drugged- up feeling you get once you finish a chapter - which is eerily appropriate, considering Kim and Maria have no qualms about drugs, booze, or sex in their time together. In my opinion, Birchill could have made her point about homosexuality in a different medium than a novel intended for young teenage girls that promotes underage drinking and use of illegal substances, regardless of whatever "true to life" application there may be. Bottom line? There are much better ways of spending your time than reading "Sugar Rush."
