Although I don’t have personal experience with gambling addiction, that aspect of the book for the most part seemed well done, not only establishing a believable scenario for how a teenager could wind up in that situation (a negligent parent not taking care of Chelsea/the bills, society’s tendency to make material things seem necessary, and casinos eager to take anyone’s money), this also did a good job of capturing the rush Chelsea gets, the compulsion that she can’t quite talk herself into resisting, and the denial that it’s a problem for her even as she recognizes the problem in others.

I didn’t love the romance, I felt like the age gap should have been explored further, and I wanted more information about who Nate is beyond the surface stuff that would attract a young girl. I had a similar feeling about a woman Chelsea befriends at the casino as well as Chelsea’s best friend, both seemed slightly underdeveloped, a little more background/depth for each of them would have made for a richer reading experience. On the flipside of that, even though the dad isn’t the biggest presence in Chelsea’s life, what was written of him gave me a firm understanding of the parent he was and how that contributes to Chelsea’s choices.

Certain things wrapped up easier than I thought they maybe should have, but I did like the note this ended on, the last page or so, there was a realism there that was missing in those aforementioned easier resolutions.

If you’re looking for something that’s a little different for contemporary YA (I don’t know of many that feature a teenage girl with a gambling habit) and if you like a swift pace that’ll have the pages steadily turning, Bluff is worth a try. ( )