Beautiful Boy
By: David Sheff
Characters
Nic- A special, confused boy who struggles with a drug addiction.
David- Nic's dad who helps Nic overcome his addiction.
Karen- Nic's step mom.
Conflict
There are two major conflicts in this book. To start, Nic is against himself. Nic is confused as a teenager and doesn't know where to fit in. This causes Nic to start drugs. Also, Nic is againts his dad. As Nic's dad tries to help him overcome his addiction, they grow far apart and argue constantly.
Analysis
When Nic was very young his parents got divorced, and he moved to live most of the time in San Francisco with his dad. For the first 10 years of his life, Nic has a normal routine of going to school and spending time with his dad. Although, Nic is somewhat "special". He always stands out in class and is much different from the other kids. Nic struggles with finding exactly where to fit in. When Nic is 11, he starts trying drugs and alcohol because he claims "everyone does it." When his dad, David, confronts him about it he admits to it and says he will never do it again, but unfortunately he does. Where Nic and David live, in Berkeley Hills, drugs are normal. David thought that Nic's use of drugs was just a little run in with pot and alcohol, and with a little guidance it would all be over, but Nic plummeted into drugs and started using LSD, cocaine, and eventually meth. As Nic grows older, he begins to steal money from his parents for drugs. One day Nic steals the family car and goes missing for two weeks. This forced David to come to the realization that it is time for rehab. David and Nic continue to struggle with rehab after many more of Nic's near death experiences, arrests, and disappearances. As the struggle continues Nic isn't the only one who has an addiction. David also has an addiction, and addiction to helping Nic. This causes them both to spiral downhill.