| Plot Summary of Love is the Drug |
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Atria, Feb 2004, 23.00, 208 pp.
ISBN: 0743476166
Tyler Tracer lives life through American 80's pop culture whether it is television shows, music, or some other former in from a decade known for furthering the arts (just ask Senator Helms). She makes up top ten lists that Letterman would envy often with four letter words used as participles. As her daddy dies, Tyler draws up a list of why he must not and writes another top ten of why she belongs with her true love David, who lives in Los Angeles.
Her David list persuades Tyler to drive to L.A. from her Tennessee home because she knows he needs her. Tyler also talks in four-letter adjectives, four letter nouns, and four letter verbs, at times all in one phrase, as her road trip includes bad sex with losers and using drugs like cigarettes and crystal meth as fast food. Between road kill and her car killed, Tyler tastes America and conversely America tastes Tyler, but no one knows when either will be ready for the other
Though at times amusing and poignant, LOVE IS THE DRUG never fully captures its audience because the list maker seems too self-centered, self-destructive, and simply inane (this reviewer's top three list). The road show story line pays homage to the Reagan Era so that even those who moved the Reagan film off network to cable will find the book acceptable (Atria will not have to take it off the bookshelf). Sarahbeth Purcell displays a fine comedic touch with a humorous story line, but the chick in her chick lit tale is shallower than Hal as she makes her top ten rules of the road regardless of impact on others.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"This first novel by Sarahbeth Purcell is a touching and hilarious tale about Tyler Tracer, a twenty-four-year-old romantic obsessed with music, list-making, and David, the man who broke her heart. Tyler has a healthy list of reasons why she shouldn't be with her chronically ill, self-involved, geographically undesirable paramour. But that doesn't stop her from taking a wild ride from her Tennessee hometown to Los Angeles--after the death of her father--to woo David into lifelong commitment. Along the way, Tyler finds many things, including unexpected love and the surprising life-saving power of road kill, and discovers that nothing can stop her from mapping out her own life. Not even herself."
tereah, Resident Scholar
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"This novel maps the progress of an unforgettable young woman endeavoring to mend a broken heart and find salvation.
Tyler is a singularly irresistible and straight-talking heroine of Sarahbeth Purcell's touching first novel. An incurable romantic, Tyler's chief obsessions include music, list-making—and David, the man who broke her heart. Despite an exhaustively detailed list of reasons for why she should just forget about David once and for all—including (but by no means limited to) chronic illness, terminal self-absorption, and geographical inaccessibility—Tyler remains hopelessly hooked on him. Hence the wild ride she embarks upon in the wake of her father's death, a ride that takes her from her hometown in Tennessee to sunny Los Angeles, all in hopes of saving David from his ominous take on life.
This hilarious and dark cross-country expedition finds Tyler negotiating the universally perilous terrain of sex, love, and relationships with uncommon verve, wit, and more than a little recklessness. Along the way, Tyler discovers, among other things, the uniquely redemptive powers of road-kill, the fact that enduring love tends to blossom in the most unexpected and unlikeliest places, and, above all, that nothing can stop her from making her own rules and mapping out her own life. Not even herself.
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JG, Resident Scholar
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"After her father's death, Tyler Tracer takes off on a wild adventure filled roadtrip where she encounters all sorts of obstacles on her road to self-realization. Battling family issues, death, heartbreak, and her own self-destructive traits, Tyler faces growing up.
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Alex Anderson, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Love is the Drug |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- present (2000-2010)
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- boatload of casual sex without love
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Druggie/Wino problems?
- drugs
Love problems?
- Obession with uninterested person
Lover is
- physically ill/deformed
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Adversary
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 (an average amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
- California
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- licking
- actual description of hetero sex
- descript. of female anat. (the big B's)
- descript. of female anat. (the big V)
- descript. of nude males (the big P)
Unusual Style:
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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