When we meet Maddie, she’s just in the beginning of her time at the transitional halfway house located at the treatment facility she’s been sent to. Maddie is was a party girl, into drinking and drugs and hard. She made it through the detox portion of her stay and now, she’s got the opportunity to try navigating life in “the real world.” Of course, her activities are highly monitored and she’s got a set of rules she needs to follow strictly, but this is her chance to begin rebuilding her life. She’s also seeing her counselor, who tells her she needs to work hard at starting something new. This is perhaps her only opportunity to begin completely fresh.

It’s here in this transitional home she meets Trish. Trish is the first girl Maddie feels any sort of connection with. The two of them go together to the weekly movie in town, and they form a good bond. But Trish has been in the half way house longer, which means she’s sent home before Maddie — weeks before her, even — which means that Maddie is once again on her own.

Enter Stewart.

Immediately, Stew and Maddie hit it off. Even though opposite sex relations are forbidden here in Spring Meadows, the two of them elect to pursue a relationship anyway. They have a chemistry and a real connection. It’s cut short, though, when Maddie is able to leave the facility and Stewart still has time to spend. But when Maddie leaves, he gives her his grandmother’s ring as a promise to her that they will be together again, and that they can make it through this recovery together.

Recovery Road really begins here: now that Maddie has left Spring Meadows, she’s able to reconnect again with Trish. She’s also thrust back into school and with school comes the people she hung out with in her pre-rehab life. Maddie has to work hard to avoid these people seek out new friends. She’s lucky, though — she stumbles upon a friend in the library who ends up being key to her figuring herself out. I won’t linger on this much because it’s a smaller piece in the bigger puzzle of the story. Needless to say, her transition back to school isn’t as painful as she suspected, and in fact, she’s found a fondness for academics. She actually wants to do well in class and raises her grade point average quite well. Maddie may even have college dreams, something she’d never have imagined for herself just months earlier when her biggest concern was her next hit.

When Stew leaves the facility, it’s not too long before he and Maddie can reconnect, and it is here that the story really blossoms. Their relationship is painfully real and it’s not always easy. I loved how Nelson built the relationship in this story, as it’s one that begins almost out of convenience and desperation — he and she are around the same age, both struggling with similar issues and they find solace in one another. But when Stew slips Maddie the ring, the relationship changes completely: it’s now one about making a promise to one another to get stronger. Here is the kicker, though. The promise ends up really being one Maddie gives to herself as the people she’s come to rely on as friends, Stew and Trish, will not have quite the journey she has post-rehab.

Throughout the story, Maddie has a lot of unique opportunities — she’s a role model for people, whether she believes herself to be one or not. And this is a chapter in her life that will come to a head, as well, and it will make her realize what a strong, resilient character she is. She also has the chance to change the lives of those closest to her. It’s hard not to spoil this, but I won’t. What I can say is that the way Nelson weaves in Maddie’s growth as a person is directly on the backs of Trish and Stew. And that’s not meant in a bad way; rather, her path is an entirely different one than either of theirs, and the decisions that they make on their own directly impact Maddie’s life. These things strengthen her as a character and make us as readers absolutely pull for her.

Recovery Road is not an easy book to read, given the topic it delves into and the harsh realities that these teens face on a daily basis. But I wouldn’t expect less from Nelson, and he handles these smoothly and realistically. For me, the setting is spot on, and the style is right for the book itself. It’s well executed in the use of multiple parts for the story telling, giving us insight into the different chapters of Maddie’s recovery. This story is right up there with Paranoid Park for me: it’s gritty, raw, and completely heartfelt. I loved being witness to Maddie, even though I should have had more reservations about her from the start. I also loved that everything I thought about other characters in the book shifted entirely because of my belief in Maddie.

This was yet another book I read in one sitting — something I’ve mentioned is a rare occurrence. But this book is so compelling and begs to be read as a whole. It is entirely fresh and contained a skillful balance of the grit with the realities of relationships. Maddie’s voice is approachable always, despite the fact it could be off putting. Recovery Road will, without doubt, be a story that sticks with me for a long time to come and it further proves to me that Nelson is a dependable, but extremely versatile, writer.

Hand this book off to Nelson’s established fan base, as well as those who like their stories gritty and real. I think fans of Ellen Hopkins or Amy Reed will find much to enjoy here, though stylistically they are much different. Those who enjoy Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak or Wintergirls will also find a lot here. And perhaps the real audience for this is your non-readers. The people too cool to read a book — you know exactly who those kids are. This is the kind of book that will smack them in the face and make them realize there is stuff out there speaking to their interests and their lives. The language and discussion of drug use, partying, and an attempted rape scene are issues readers should be prepared for, so do not hand this to your younger readers. Without doubt, this story will appeal to both males and females because of the subject.