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Summary
Summary
Full of case studies and professional interviews, this book will give teens in troubled families some help in coping with adolescence under the worst of circumstances.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9Blue and Naden show teenagers who live in troubled families that there are resources, people, and agencies who can help them. Eight scenarios describe families in which drug abuse, divorce, child abuse, alcoholism, disability, adoption, alternate families, and sibling problems have created stressful situations. According to the authors, such stresses can be especially hard on teenagers, who may try to shoulder far more of the responsibility than is rightfully theirs, or may be painfully embarrassed by the behaviors exhibited by family members. In each scenario, the comments of a helping agent (such as a clinical social worker, psychiatrist, school guidance counselor, nurse, or minister) are inserted in shaded boxes; they provide suggestions for helping teens cope with their situations. Unfortunately, the text is sometimes simplistic; problems in real life are seldom so black and white or so easily resolved. The last case study is flawed by its misleading title, as troubles ascribed to Sibling Problems are really caused by the mother. Still, this title will be useful in school, public, and church libraries. Contact information for helping agencies is appended.Sylvia V. Meisner, Allen Middle School, Greensboro, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
The unusual structure will draw readers: fictional narratives of families facing problems (drug abuse, alcoholism, etc.) reveal the effects of the family dynamic on one child. Each narrative is interrupted by comments from a professional (social worker, nurse, minister) who ultimately helps the child. Unfortunately, the solutions are too simplistic to believably convey the difficulties of coping with complex family problems. Ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 7^-10. Blue and Naden present eight case studies highlighting different, generically familiar family problems: the adopted son jealous of his older sibling; the child of alcoholics prematurely forced to shoulder the parental burdens for all her family members; the younger child frustrated by, yet protective of, the older brother spiraling out of control from drug abuse. Each scenario's intentional predictability turns out to be one of the book's strengths, as it reinforces the importance of the more dynamic element of every chapter, the commentary. Interspersed within each story are analyses by trained professionals who dignify and make comprehensible to teens the reactions of each study's central character. The comments are articulated simply but effectively, and each story will reassure readers facing the same problem that they are not alone in their struggle and that there are various avenues for seeking help. The book includes a short list of organizations that assist young people facing domestic problems. --Roger Leslie