The Gold Winner for "Best Teen Book" in the Readers' Choice Book Awards, now being adapted for TV by Emmy award-winning producer Mark Blutman!
"A riveting read from start to finish, 'Gripped Part 1: The Truth We Never Told' by author Stacy A. Padula is especially and unreservedly recommended for middle school, high school, and community library YA Fiction collections." - Midwest Book Review
In high school, Taylor Dunkin broke more records than any other athlete to step foot in Montgomery, Massachusetts. As a sophomore in college, he was ranked by ESPN as one of the NFL's top 100 prospects. However, his aspirations came to a jarring halt when a season-ending injury sent him spiraling into a dark world of pain, depression, and addiction.
One year later, Taylor is a person of interest in a highly confidential investigation headed by the Boston Police Department. He has entangled himself in a crime ring notorious for pushing drugs on local college campuses. Montgomery's hometown hero has fallen hard, and he's taking a lot of people down with him.
Luke Davids has become the middleman between Taylor and teens in Montgomery who want to buy drugs. Freshmen Cathy Kagelli, Chris Dunkin, and Jason Davids are just a few of the students at Montgomery Lake High who have fallen victim to the benzos and opiates supplied by Taylor and Luke.
When Taylor's youngest brother Marc discovers that Taylor is behind the copious amount of pills circulating around his high school, he sets off to not only reverse the damage Taylor has caused, but also save his lifelong role model from becoming a casualty of America's deadly opioid epidemic.
Reihe
Auflage
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für Jugendliche
Interest Age: From 13 to 18 years
Produkt-Hinweis
Broschur/Paperback
Klebebindung
Maße
Höhe: 229 mm
Breite: 152 mm
Dicke: 12 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-7350168-3-2 (9781735016832)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Stacy Padula, raised in Pembroke, Massachusetts, and a Presidential Scholar at Wentworth in Boston, initially pursued architecture and design but was drawn to literature and writing. After graduating, she briefly worked in architecture before transitioning to private education, publishing, and writing. She founded Briley & Baxter Publications, South Shore College Consulting & Tutoring, and co-founded BLE Pictures. Residing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with her husband Tim and their three miniature dachshunds, Stacy enjoys church, podcasts, skiing, online classes, following the stock market, attending Bruins games, playing fantasy sports, hosting Bible studies, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.Stacy began her writing career as a teenager with the Montgomery Lake High series, addressing critical issues like substance abuse and bullying in realistic young adult fiction. Her first book was published shortly after college. In 2017, she launched the Gripped series, a prequel and sequel to her first series, which is being adapted for TV by Emmy-Award-winning producer Mark Blutman. In 2019, she wrote her first screenplay, an adaptation of her novel The Aftermath. In 2020, she co-authored the On the Right Path children's book series with NBA Coach Brett Gunning, endorsed by Joel Osteen, Mike D'Antoni, and Kevin McHale.Stacy's accolades include Marquis Who's Who in America (2018-Present), IAOTP's Top Educational Consultant (2019), Empowered Woman (2020), Top Inspirational Author (2022), Top Global Impact Author (2023), Female Visionary (2025), and The CIO TIMES Woman of the Year (2024). She was named a Social Impact Hero by Authority Magazine (2020), featured on T.I.P. Magazine's cover (2020, 2023), the Reuters Building in Times Square as "Empowered Woman of the Year" (2021), and the Planet Hollywood Jumbotron (2022). She was recognized as a Top 50 Fearless Leader (2023) and Top 25 Global Impact Leader (2025), and she was named to her region's "40 Under 40" (2023). Her novels Gripped Part 1, Gripped Part 3, Gripped Part 5, When Darkness Tries to Hide, The Aftermath, and The Forces Within won Readers' Choice Awards (2022-2025), as did her children's book On the Right Path: Book One (2025). She also served as a judge for the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards.
