We're Not Monsters: Teens Speak Out about Teens in Trouble

Weill, Sabrina Solin

ISBN 10: 0060295430 ISBN 13: 9780060295431

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2002

Synopsis

I think adults miss something very important about teenagers. They think teenagers are dangerous I little vortexes of evil. I. But my friends and I have so much more we'd rather do than waste time gathering guns and ammunition and stuff. My friends and I are not harmful. But inconsiderate treatment can stir to terrible action those who are." -- John, 15

"We are human beings, not machines. A person can only take so much before reaching a breaking point." -- Jill, 19

We've all seen the newspaper stories, watched the TV dramas unfold. They're everywhere, it seems: teenagers who shoot classmates in schools, who molest children, who commit suicide or cut themselves or give birth in secret and leave babies on doorsteps or in Dumpsters, Are these teenagers born bad -- or did something happen to make them act this way? Why do teens today feel so angry, so full of pain, so alone?

Listen to the voices of teenagers as they comment, candidly, on teens in trouble. The experts, those who study these difficult issues and discuss them in the media, draw their own conclusions. The teens here tell it like it is.

About this title

About the Author

Sabrina Solin is executive editor and one of the founding editors at Cosmogirl Magazine. She is the author of many magazine articles and The Seventeen Guide to Sex and Your Body. She worked previously at Redbook, Seventeen, and Scholastic Magazines.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8&Up--With candor and a mix of teenage testimony and professional advice, this book sheds light on some of the most disturbing contemporary issues: teen killers, suicide, sexual offenders, dangerous sex with older men and women, infanticide, and self-injury. Weill explores the reasons for the emergence of these societal problems and admonishes teens to build connections and communicate with their peers and parents. For each topic, the what, who, why, and how are addressed along with warning signs and possible solutions. Relevant profiles of teens who made the news and "Scary Stats" close each chapter. Written for teens and concerned adults, this open, forthright discussion taps the experiences, attitudes, and opinions of an array of young people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds across the United States. These teens speak out about the behaviors of their troubled peers and share their insights on why they occur. Information and observations from experts offer constructive responses to deviant behaviors. Although there is no index, an appended list of resources is helpful. Rosen has published separate self-help titles on each of these issues in its hi/low "Need to Know Library" series. However, We're Not Monsters offers a more widely documented, higher-reading level presentation. It goes well beyond media coverage of shocking incidents in a hopeful effort to unmask and understand adolescent criminals and victims.

Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0060295430
• ISBN 13: 9780060295431
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240