The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

From the Hardcover edition:
SUTTER KEELY. HE'S the guy you want at your party. He'll get everyone dancing. He'll get everyone in your parents' pool. Okay, so he's not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men's shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram's V.O., life's pretty fabuloso, actually.
   Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee's clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it's up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee's not like other girls, and before long he's in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else's life - or ruin it forever.

"Besides, it doesn't matter if it's real. It never does with dreams. They aren't anything anyway but lifesavers to cling to so you don't drown. Life is an ocean, and most everyone's hanging onto some kind of dream to keep afloat. Me, I'm just dog paddling on my own, but Aimee's lifesavers a beauty. I love it. Anyone would if they could see the way her face beams as she clutches that thing with all her strength.:"

Sutter Keely reminded me very strongly of Holden Caufield from The Catcher in the Rye, a book I had to force myself to finish. The Spectacular Now was easier for me to read, mainly because of Aimee. Aimee who even I loved through the eyes of Sutter. I felt immense sympathy for her as Sutter tries to boost her confidence while trying not to get attached. He is changing who she is without realizing it. She gains much neeeded confidence but looses the respect of her peers, and her grades start to slide. I kept hoping Sutter would realize the damage he, along with his Seagram's, was causing.
  This book was honest. Addiction is hard to end and this book shows that. If you're one of the many people who love The Catcher in the Rye this is the book for you!