Alcoholism Is Not A New Topic - 2070 Words

Alcoholism is not a new topic. Dependence and abuse of alcohol has been the source of constant study and research for years now. Even less unknown is alcoholism among teenagers today. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism report that â€Å"more adolescents use alcohol than cigarettes or marijuana,† and that a national survey in 2014 reveals how â€Å"8.7 million young people ages 12-20 reported that they drank alcohol beyond ‘just a few sips’ in the past month.† Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that while adults drink more often than youth, â€Å"underage drinkers consume more drinks per drinking occasion than adult drinkers.† They also discovered that â€Å"excessive drinking is responsible for more than 4,300 deaths among†¦show more content†¦Becoming pretty and the operation itself represents alcohol, and the lesions, alcoholism. Scott further explores this link through the two most prominent characters, Tally Youngblood and her friend Shay. Tally Youngblood cannot wait to turn sixteen and get the operation that will turn her from an ugly into a pretty, where she can move into Pretty Town and worry only about having fun. However, her friend Shay decides she would rather stay ugly and runs away before she gets the operation herself. The authorities – known as Specials and led by Dr. Cable – tell Tally that she can either find Shay and bring her back or stay ugly forever. Initially choosing to bring Shay in, Tally realizes that she was sent not just to find Shay, but an entire settlement of people who decided to stay ugly, dubbed the Smoke. It is there that she also learns about the lesions, and armed with this knowledge decides to turn her back on her old dreams of turning pretty. It is unfortunately too little too late though, and the Specials come and destroy the settlement. The Smoke itself lives to fight another day, but Tally and Shay are taken back to their city and made pretty. In the second book, Tally is living it up in Pretty Town. She hangs out with her friend Shay and a new gang called the Crims in a constant world of partying. Tally is not sure she is Crim material though; she constantly feels echoes of discomfort with her life as is. The story then takes a sudden turn as Tally remembers the