Really disappointing. I've read a few of Anne's books and they've been going downhill since the first. This book is so repetitive and tedious and really pretty trite. We get the picture within the first few pages, and then we get it over and over ad nauseum. If there was …more something provocative or interesting about the writing, the endless repetition would be forgivable, but unfortunately that isn't the case. This is a book about character in which the characters are types rather than actual human beings. They lack any specificity, as does Ms. Lamott's (or at least the narrator's) observations of the world. I just don't buy any of it. Yes, teenagers sometimes use drugs and sometimes deceive their parents about it. These are things that I knew before reading the book. Unfortunately, I don't know anything more about it after having read the book. Anne seems to be faking her way through this book. She doesn't believe it herself.
This is particularly disappointing because, judging by the few times I've heard her interviewed on the radio, she's charming and funny and has a fairly unique perspective on the world, especially regarding faith. None of that comes through in this book. Nothing feels true. (less)