Marlena - Julie Buntin

To read the official synopsis, click here. 

Some friendships last forever, some change you for the better. Cat's new friendship with Marlena did none of those. 

​This was a book about toxic friendships, romanticizing poverty and drug use. Cat came from a middle class family and after her parents divorce Cat's mother moved her and her brother into a small Michigan town. It is there that Cat experiences poverty for the first time.  Her family is struggling to stay afloat. Marlena comes into Cat's life like whirlwind. She is two years older than Cat and introduces her to new experiences. 

This story is told in two different timelines. We see the story as it is happening with Cat and we also see Cat as an adult. I really liked seeing adult Cat process how she glamorized part of her childhood and Marlena. 

Marlena was seen almost as a mythical figure. She was beautiful, she was an amazing singer, but ultimately she was drug addict. 

This was a very interesting book on a toxic friendship. I just wish we would have seen Marlena's POV. 

I gave this book a C.