Out on the Drink

Gr 7 Up—Sean Bugler is a teen working through a tough life at school and an alcoholic mother by becoming an alcoholic himself. He is on the constant hunt for his next drink and finds his way to a party to refill his inventory, but is discovered by fellow partygoers trying to steal their booze. A classmate, Charles, strikes a bargain with Sean to try and make him leave peacefully by offering all the drinks he wants if he brings back something from an old abandoned ship named The Lyubov Orlova. Sean accepts the challenge and runs to the vessel to fulfill his end of the agreement, but gets stuck on the ship after it begins to drift to sea. Sean now has to find his way back home, survive long enough to be rescued, and deal with horrible withdrawal. The first half of the novel is slow-going, but even then not much happens. Readers will feel like they are stuck on the ship along with Sean.