In ecstasy by Kate McCaffrey

When your best friend is sinking into addiction, how do you help? Or, can you?

Two best friends in Year 10, going to a party. A couple of pills, just to boost confidence. First time for Mia, she’s cautious, but she follows Sophie’s lead. And then she gets a goodnight kiss from Lewis, the hottest guy in the school. The fragile glass beneath Mia gives way as she gets pulled further into the world Ecstasy gives her; a world where she is confident, risk-taking, everything she isn’t.

Things take a turn for the worse, and the girls’ relationship is strained. Sophie gets sexually assaulted by Lewis’s dealer, and Mia starts to Ecstasy more recklessly. Their friendship is strained, and Sophie can no longer recognize Mia, who has become a shell of her former self. But their bond brings Mia back from the edge she was unknowingly walking off.

Kate McCaffrey uses her powerful writing to build the worlds of Sophie and Mia, shown from the alternating perspectives of each girl. Her raw words carefully show a user’s decline as the story progresses through months, engaging readers. Her words are uncomplicated yet engaging, and you can relate to the simplicity of her writing. With shifting points of views, her book is about both friendship and drugs, in equal part.

The book isn’t action-driven but compelling. The story stretches across the course of several months, but the events are steady in pace and gripping in nature. Through words, it shows Mia’s first time taking Ecstasy, Sophie’s withdrawal, the girls’ splitting up and the slow recovery. While the ending isn’t absolute, it speaks of hope and renewal, with both teenagers looking forward. Sophie and Mia are both built with purpose. Their character and personality are uniquely different and creatively portrayed. McCaffrey’s writing makes them real, with their faults and flaws but the remaining, underlying good in both of them.

While it isn’t a thriller, In Ecstasy is gripping. I’d recommend this contemporary novel to anyone searching for a raw, original story that starts important discussions.

Themes: Friendship, Self-esteem, Drug addiction, Depression, Anxiety

Jahnavi B. (Student)