Sugar Rush

Sugar Rush is a 2004 novel by Julie Burchill that was turned into a TV series in the UK. Since the series is not available here in Region 1, I got the book instead.

I had seen it described (once) as a shallow fantasy story. Considering the premise is: a girl moves to a new school and promptly scores the affection of the head-of-the-totem-pole most popular girl, I was willing to believe it. But the concept didn't affront me -- we have, after all, been subjected to heterosexual fantasies since we were children. Even as toddlers we are fed Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Pocahontas. If hypothetically Sugar Rush's gay daydream were to show us the other side of the coin for once, that's something more than worthy of a look.

It was with a feuding mix of intrigued elation and embarassed chagrin that I discovered how utterly off-base the 'fantasy angle' was in describing Sugar Rush. The last thing I was expecting to find from Sugar Rush, was exactly what it is: one of the most disgustingly poignant and frighteningly insightful books I've ever read. Mind you, it's not poignant in a universal way, where I can say "read this book, it will change your life." It's poignant in the shockingly idiosyncratic way, where I have to wonder if -- in my specific case -- the author has been watching me live, in order to write this story. I'm a little bit terrified by this book, but only because it's been so long since I've had to face my own cold reality.

I was fully prepared for Sugar Rush to be superficial, gaudy, maybe even as bad as those preposterously graphic porn novels for houswives Wal-Mart sells about ravishing princes and gross idealized rape scenarios. But it wasn't. Not at all. I actually found it to be quite a sincere novel. Far from shallow, it's pretty insightful, verging on brilliant.

It's neither as eloquent nor as romantic as Annie On My Mind, but there's no shame in being beaten by the best. It's a different aesthetic -- one that I'm less fond of. But it's one that is, in all honesty, exceedingly more true to my actual teenage years than Annie is. Annie represents idyllic, perfect love, while Sugar Rush presents a more accurate depiction of the sordid little lives we lead. At its finest moments, Sugar Rush manages to accurately capture the naive, butterflies-in-the-stomach fun of being young, juxtaposed against the horrible rough edges inherent in the coming of age. Side by side you have the light-headed excitment mixed with fear that you get from brand new experiences, when you're young enough to feel like anything can happen; And then comes sorrow, the dread, the existential confusion that accompanies divorce, lost friendships, school. The self-doubt, the unbridled enthusiasm, the awkwardness, the drugs... portrayed just how I really experienced them all as a teen.

I was pleased to find that Maria "Sugar" Sweet wasn't quite the archetypal "popular girl" ruling the school like she had been portrayed in some write-ups. As a matter of fact, her popularity lasts all of about one paragraph, from then on out she's more of an outcast misfit. I certainly have nothing against popular people (love 'em), but two people alone in the world clinging to each other for warmth -- that's my favorite kind of love story. This novel takes a familiar set of angst and imbues it with a new modernity.

SPOILERS

I generally don't find it necessary to delve into spoiler territory in my reviews, but it's impossible to discuss the impact of Sugar Rush without doing so. So I strongly discourage those who have not read the novel, who think they ever might, from reading any further portion of this review.

While an upcoming tragedy was distinctly foreshadowed, I was expecting something categorically different, perhaps an ill-fated out-ing like in a Nancy Garden novel. I think the disastrous and illuminating phone call with Stella is the moment where the reader is supposed to realize Stella and Maria are two terminally selfish, woefully clueless peas in a pod. And I did briefly consider it, but I shrugged it off. You have to understand, my mind was set on this being a love story. An unadventurous straight-A private school prep falls for the informal but passionate city school girl? Where have I seen that before? I was fully expecting this to be the crude, unkempt 00s update of Annie On My Mind. My mind wouldn't let go of the idea that they would end up together until the gangbang scene, putting me right in the mindset of Kim and allowing me to be quite a bit as flabbergasted as she.

It's hard for me to even process this book. I have to look back on scenes like when Maria cheered Kim up after her disastrous school presentation and wonder, in light of the ending... what was the motive there? I suppose Maria was a good friend some of the time, it wasn't ALL about attention. But she still did manipulate Kim. But Maria probably didn't even realize how she was manipulating Kim. That's sort of the point, that she's simply clueless and blind.

Suffice to say, Sugar Rush mirrors what I've gone through quite ferociously. It scarily mimics a few aspects of my history that I have no intention of getting into, but what was most striking about it was the thought process Kim went through. It's not just that she was duped, but that she was duping herself to an extent. She held on to hope longer than a person reasonable should have, looking at everything that Sugar did and figuring out a way to keep believing they were meant for each other. Kim had a conclusion in mind, and morphed the circumstances to support that conclusion, rather than looking at the circumstances and deciphering what they mean. My real life tragic flaw is the very same, when it comes to love I make excuses and manipulate the benefit of the doubt until I can "reasonably" hold on to hope. Until it eventually all tumbles down, when the benefit of the doubt gives way to hard facts.

I'm really glad Zoe and Kim ended up together, though. I was always hoping they would be friends again, I never felt they should have really parted ways in the first place. I was shipping them without ever thinking they had a chance to be together. That confrontation scene at the end was exquisite. All in all I just have to say this novel was impeccable at every turn. The writing was a little odd at moments, but the story was flawless and brilliantly handled.

Now I'm off to embark on "Sweet," the novel's sequel. I'm a very trepid about what territory it might cover (since it was inspired by the portrayal of Sugar in the TV series, rather than the original novel), but with such a steller first book I'm confident it will be excellent.

Update: Sugar Rush the TV Series

Sugar Rush became a hit TV show on the UK's Channel 4 in 2005 & 2006. To prep myself for reading "Sweet," I watched a few episodes of the TV series. As a TV show, it's quite decent. Coming into it blind, I'm certain I would enjoy it a lot. But as a devout fan of the original novel, I find the TV interpretation hard to swallow. It's a show inspired by the characters of Sugar Rush (or even just its premise) rather than being an adaption of Sugar Rush itself. The characters are similar to how they appear in the book, but the plot does not align in the least. Zoe does not even exist in this adaption, although a random character named Saint (Zoe's nickname) begins appearing in season 2. The TV version of Stella never even abandons Kim & the family, thus altering her character dramatically. Basically, the TV version is devoid of every little thing that makes Sugar Rush bloody brilliant. Yet, if I can mentally divorce the show from the source material, I would enjoy the TV version as a quality (though trashy) gay teen drama that came out right around the time we in the US had the stellar South of Nowhere.