Fix by Force by Jason Warne

Fix by Force is a story of a young man, Spencer Shane, who has a decidedly rough life. His mom is a drug addict, his dad died drunk in a car accident that took the life of a friend's mother, and that childhood friend blames Spencer for it. Everyone at school picks on him, the teachers don't care, and he doesn't have any friends anymore. His only other relative, his uncle, became distant when Spencer's dad, his brother, died. All Spencer wants to do is graduate High School and leave that small town forever, and the only way he can do that is to find a way to lay low his Senior year and not be noticed. That plan doesn't work however, and he finds himself in a 'school for the expelled,' where he turns to steroids as a way to 'fix' himself. But he comes to learn that drugs don't fix problems; they only create more problems. Through a series of events and new friendships, he finally comes to a realization that no one's life is perfect and his doesn't really need 'fixing.'

Jason Warne does a great job of building up sympathy for the main character, Spencer Shane, and it truly does seem that the world is against him. The book could have easily been one of Spencer's journals, as it is written in the first person narrative. Seeing the world through Spencer's eyes really opened mine to the pain and hurt I know is going on in the town where I live. One of the things that Spencer learned toward the end of the book is that pain distorts how we perceive reality. That lesson, among others, will stick with me for a long time. Just because we think we know something about our circumstances doesn't mean that it's entirely true.

All in all, I'd recommend this book. It's a gritty story, but in my opinion, that only adds to the validity of what is being represented.

I received a copy of this book from the publishing company and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are my own.