Tweaked Sparknotes

Tweaked

Written by Katherine Holubitsky, Tweaked is a novel that shows the readers how dangerous drugs are to both the user and their peers. With the two year meth addiction, Chase continues to financially and emotionally drain out his family however; the problems becomes worse when Chase escapes from his dealer's house. Richard Cross, the man Chase attacked, died and as a result, Chase is charged with murder. His mother secretly proceeds to monetarily support Chase but when she was caught, the bond between the family members exacerbated. Time elapsed and Chase was finally caught when stealing a car however, he dies shortly after and overdose and becomes brain dead. Tweaked shows us the reality of how hazardous drugs can be through the physical

and emotional conflicts Gordie and his family encounter.
The events in the story emphasize the theme of drugs and the negative impacts it has to its consumers.

As mentioned earlier, the addiction Chase had cost his family a fortune and it’s the reason for their debts. Chased stole credit cards and managed to clear out his parents accounts thus causing the family to sell their house in order to return the debts. "Mom acts like we're traitors. … She can no longer trust us now that we’ve joined forces with the police." (Holubitsky. 140) This statement above resembles the current relationships between the family. Gordie’s mother believed that by proceeding to financially support Chase, he would eventually recognize his mistake and surrender. When Gordie and his father opposed of this idea however, they were perceived as traitors and the family’s relationship became very distant. After two years of struggling, the side effects such as insomnia, having a stress disorder, and anxiety still exists after the death of Chase hence another reason why drugs are bad. This is evident in the quote "Dad has about one good day out of seven. … He cries a lot. But he's doing better than the first month …" (Holubitsky. 176). In a story, the death of the antagonist typically symbolizes happiness for example, when Bob Ewell dies in To Kill a Mockingbird. The father of Tweaked however, still cries because of the stress and troubles Chase left

behind.
On April 14, 2015, an article was uploaded on BBC news about the death of a seventeen year old, Adam Owen, in Northern Ireland. Similar to Chase, Adam has been a substance abuser for three years now. Adam's father, Carl, described Adam as someone who was once a "happy intelligent young man into a suicidal teenager" ("Parents call for 'legal high' ban after Adam Owens' death"). To prevent anymore fatal teen deaths, Adam’s family is attempting to persuade Northern Ireland to ban “legal high”. As of last year, it has been recorded that about twenty-seven percent of high school students have used some sort of illicit drugs. Many of those teens have families who are experiencing the same or similar conflicts that the Jessup family are experiencing. According to Detective Keppler in Tweaked, the best method to avoid such conflicts would be to “Keep your head up. ... Keep living your life.” (Holubitsky.137) because once you get in, you cannot get out.