Rating: 
Summary: A Splendid Book
Review: Laura Stepp has given us a gift, a superb book on adolescents, what can go wrong and, more importantly, what can go right. This is a wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: The challange of guiding our early adlolescents
Review: The author extensively interviewed and spent massive amounts of time with each of 12 middle schoolers and early high schoolers in LA. Durham, NC, and a small town in Kansas. We get deeply into the lives of these youngsters and their families. We share everything from their triumphs to their getting into very serious trouble (one was suspended from school for a year for bringing an unloaded gun to school). What we learn is that this age group is one in which kids start to assert some independence and both teachers and parents have to give up some control. Stepp puts it well .. we must let kids climb the mountain but still retain enough control to keep them away from the edge of the cliff. Kids this age must believe that we are listening to them and care about what they have to say. Kids need good role models including adults other than their parents. This age group is so crucial to a child's development. The need for more independence is so important yet the dangers of serious mistakes is ever present. What I like about this book is that Stepp makes her observations and offers insights and comments without inserting an excessive amount of ideology. Msny books of this genre have political agendas, both feminist and conservative, This book steers clear of such agendi. This book is important reading for both parents and teachers. I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book about frequently overlooked topic
Review: When my children were babies and toddlers, I found overwhelming amounts of information about their needs and care-- magazines, books, TV shows. Now that they are 15 and 9, I can't find much worth reading to help me with their needs. I found that this book was very helpful. The author interviewed many teenagers and profiled 12 of them in this book. The book is an interesting glimpse into their lives, and the lives of their families, and the unique problems they each face. Although this is not a "self-help" book, with prescriptions for how to solve the problems parents face, the final chapter summarizes the author's findings from the interviews and gives advice to parents. This summary should be copied and posted where every parent of a teenager will see it frequently because it's a very complete summary of things that teenagers need from their parents.I am also starting to work my way through the books listed in the bibliography. It appears to be a great resource for further reading about adolescents. Finally, I wanted to explain the reason I awarded only 4 stars. I felt that the book focussed too much on teenagers who have some kind of "problem": poverty, drugs, neglect, etc. Although the book was useful for all parents of older children and teens, I think it would have been better for me if there had been a few more middle-class kids who are doing well in school in the book. That's the kind of kids that I am dealing with, and they still have problems. I suspect that's the kind of kid a lot of... customers are raising too.
Rating:
Summary: Easy engrossing reading
Review: While waiting for clients to show up to see a house, I picked up this book and started reading. Having a new middle schooler, I found that I could not put this down because I could see him in so many of the situations. As soon as I got home, I went on-line and ordered it right away. I will be reading every page of this book. Very engrossing. You feel that you know each individual as you read about them. Also easy reading. As the mother of a three year old, I have many interuptions and it is nice to have a book that can be read in short spurts. This is a must read for anyone with children entering into those adolescent years!
Rating:
Summary: Easy engrossing reading
Review: While waiting for clients to show up to see a house, I picked up this book and started reading. Having a new middle schooler, I found that I could not put this down because I could see him in so many of the situations. As soon as I got home, I went on-line and ordered it right away. I will be reading every page of this book. Very engrossing. You feel that you know each individual as you read about them. Also easy reading. As the mother of a three year old, I have many interuptions and it is nice to have a book that can be read in short spurts. This is a must read for anyone with children entering into those adolescent years!
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