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Dreamland

The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
As an adult book, Sam Quinones's Dreamland took the world by storm, winning the NBCC Award for General Nonfiction and hitting at least a dozen Best Book of the Year lists. Now, adapted for the first time for a young adult audience, this compelling reporting explains the roots of the current opiate crisis.
In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital center of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland. Quinones explains how the rise of the prescription drug OxyContin, a miraculous and extremely addictive painkiller pushed by pharmaceutical companies, paralleled the massive influx of black tar heroin—cheap, potent, and originating from one small county on Mexico's west coast, independent of any drug cartel.

Introducing a memorable cast of characters—pharmaceutical pioneers, young Mexican entrepreneurs, narcotics investigators, survivors, teens, and parents—Dreamland is a revelatory account of the massive threat facing America and its heartland.
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  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      May 15, 2019
      In this young adult adaptation of his adult title Dreamland (2015), seasoned journalist Quinones narrates a fast-paced exposé of the opiate epidemic. The story begins and ends in Portsmouth, Ohio, a leader in both societal decline due to addiction and, years later, hope for recovering addicts. Quinones lays out the causes of the epidemic as if bringing together puzzle pieces. Purdue Pharma's ad campaign targeting physicians downplayed the addictive nature of painkillers; physicians overprescribed them, most--but not all--with sincere intentions of helping their patients. A seemingly endless stream of Mexican drug dealers sought out the addict population as customers for their imported black tar heroin, which provided the same euphoria but with less cost and inconvenience. Presented as victims are the addicts--predominantly white families, at first poor and rural, later from privileged backgrounds. The efforts of law enforcement and public health officials to tackle the problem are detailed. Personal profiles crafted from interviews keep things interesting, and the technical descriptions of the various drug forms and the history of opiates are informative. Although the author describes the radical about-face by lawmakers who took a "tough on crime" approach to drugs when victims were predominantly black, readers may finish the book with the impression that Mexicans have wreaked havoc on innocent white lives. A scrupulously researched, well-crafted tale that sheds light on a timely topic. (epilogue, photographs, reading guide, source notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

      COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      June 1, 2019
      Grades 8-12 This young adult adaptation of 2015's widely acclaimed study of the opioid crisis begins in 1929 with Portsmouth, Ohio, where the community hub was once a swimming pool called Dreamland. From there, we are taken on a carefully researched journey through America and beyond, as anecdotal stories show how the epidemic has overrun small towns and suburbs throughout the country. Quinones lays out a historical narrative, tracing the use of opiates in medicine, detailing how a pharmaceutical company found a legal way to produce more addicts, and explaining why government research has been percolating so long. He examines the struggle of law enforcement to quell this disaster, as well as the various solutions still being considered, from reforming drug laws to finding ways to help recovering addicts. This riveting tale will introduce readers to the tiny Mexican state of Nayarit, the heart of the crisis, where a small town of nonviolent drug dealers has shaped the face of this critical period in American history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 2, 2015
      In this fascinating, often horrifying investigation, journalist Quinones (True Tales from Another Mexico) delves into the heart of America’s obsession with opiates like heroin, morphine, and OxyContin. He looks at how aggressive marketing and irresponsible business tactics led to the widespread use of addictive prescription painkillers (especially OxyContin) and how Mexican drug cartels introduced black tar heroin into small towns and
      vulnerable areas around the U.S. The story of the so-called Xalisco Boys, the source of so much misery and exploitation, unfolds with grim efficiency under Quinone’s scrutiny. He doesn’t hold back as he describes how widespread addiction and pill mills devastated entire communities, such as the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio. Through extensive interviews and research, Quinone gives a very human perspective to this topic, telling the tales of addicts and pushers, researchers and cops alike. While some of the threads become repetitive, this remains a harrowing, eye-opening look at two sides of the same coin, the legal and illegal faces of addictive painkillers and their insidious power. Agent: Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Management.

    • Kirkus

      May 15, 2019
      In this young adult adaptation of his adult title Dreamland (2015), seasoned journalist Quinones narrates a fast-paced expos� of the opiate epidemic. The story begins and ends in Portsmouth, Ohio, a leader in both societal decline due to addiction and, years later, hope for recovering addicts. Quinones lays out the causes of the epidemic as if bringing together puzzle pieces. Purdue Pharma's ad campaign targeting physicians downplayed the addictive nature of painkillers; physicians overprescribed them, most--but not all--with sincere intentions of helping their patients. A seemingly endless stream of Mexican drug dealers sought out the addict population as customers for their imported black tar heroin, which provided the same euphoria but with less cost and inconvenience. Presented as victims are the addicts--predominantly white families, at first poor and rural, later from privileged backgrounds. The efforts of law enforcement and public health officials to tackle the problem are detailed. Personal profiles crafted from interviews keep things interesting, and the technical descriptions of the various drug forms and the history of opiates are informative. Although the author describes the radical about-face by lawmakers who took a "tough on crime" approach to drugs when victims were predominantly black, readers may finish the book with the impression that Mexicans have wreaked havoc on innocent white lives. A scrupulously researched, well-crafted tale that sheds light on a timely topic. (epilogue, photographs, reading guide, source notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

      COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:7.7
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:6

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