High

October 1, 2018
After various books on addiction for adults and teens, here the Sheffs attempt to cover "everything" an early adolescent wants to know on the topic.It's a bold promise that, sadly, is not fulfilled. The book is divided into four main sections. The first summarizes Nic's addiction and journey to sobriety before delving into a brief, general examination of drug and alcohol abuse. The second section surveys popular drug choices, and the third examines the road from drug use to drug addiction. The last section is a dialogue between the co-authors. Overall, the book does many things right: It never assigns blame to users, and it discusses such topics as marijuana legalization and opioid addiction without bias. Nic also periodically offers personal insights in separate text boxes. These points may not be enough to save the book, however. The overall tone is dry. Examples of adolescent addicts are discussed, but their stories are too brief to allow readers to find emotional touchstones. And though graphs and charts offer visuals, the clip art-like illustrations give the book the off-putting feel of a textbook. An "addictionary" confusingly arranges drugs by type instead of name (do readers know/care that PCP is a "dissociative drug" and GHB is a "club drug"?) and omits some current street names. A list of resources for recovery and further reading is appended. Unfortunately, a great example of a book that adults think young people should read instead of one they want to read. (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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November 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-The authors (a father and son) have each written multiple compelling memoirs about Nic's struggle with addiction. In this latest, they apply their firsthand knowledge to an informative overview of teen drug use, including brief information about the types of narcotics young people are likely to encounter, and advice on how to deal with addiction in oneself or others. However, the Sheffs rely too heavily on personal experiences, even in the fact-based portions of the book. For example, the section that focuses on the teenage brain skips compelling scientific facts and instead relies on anecdotes. Another failing is in the unfocused nature of the book. In trying to cover everything, nothing gets explored in full. This is especially evident in the second section, which covers some drug types in depth while only devoting one or two paragraphs to others. Mental health and its relationship with addiction is put at the forefront of the discussion, and Nic's personal experiences lend credence to the sections on recovery and the effects of addiction. That said, these themes are much more comprehensively explored in the authors' other memoirs on the topic. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries where works by the Sheffs are popular.-Heather Waddell, Abbot Public Library, Marblehead, MA

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