Leslie Butt

Tanked Leslie Butt

Tanked brings us into the dangerous world of Lily, a tenacious fifteen-year-old living in poverty. Lily does not have the family life and support that everyone around her enjoys, and her days are consumed with work, alcohol, and cigarettes. Lily develops survival skills in the form of painting, writing poetry, and playing guitar, but when she returns to school after a depressing summer, things take a turn. Though she excels through her school work, the bullying makes it difficult to attend, and Lily starts skipping school so she can drink and make art. When she meets Adam, a twenty-year-old man who hangs out with her schoolmates, she believes things are finally going to change for the better. Lily's experiences ultimately lead to a dangerous crossroads-will she leave her small town and succeed, or has her fate already been sealed? Lily's will to survive and drive to develop her artistic gifts make Tanked a poignant story about resilience and one young person's desire to create a better life.