Frey, James. A Million Little Pieces. Anchor, 2005. ISBN 978-0307276902 pp. $18

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I crawled inside the narrator’s skin and I could feel the bugs crawling over it. Stomach twisted and churned as he alternated eating and throwing up, eating and throwing up. Pulse raced; would he walk out? or stick it out? Would the girl be his downfall or salvation? I could not put this book down–had to get my fix to the end.

Billed as a memoir, and later discovered to be completely fabricated, A Million Little Pieces follows the story of an addict hitting rock bottom, going through rehab, confronting his demons, and starting on a path to resolve his issues.

This was a high adrenaline roller coaster ride through a subculture I don’t need to ever experience firsthand, thanks to this horrific and gripping account. I had to keep checking to see if the protagonist made it to the end.