Book Reviews

The P2PN is always looking for new sources of information. If you read a book that you think others would benefit from, kindly write a short review and send it to us so we can pass it along.

Alcohol and Substance Abuse
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 From Binge to Blackout by Chris and Toren Volkmann Throughout his college years, Toren Volkmann partied like there was no tomorrow, having what was supposed to be the time of his life. Like so many parents, his mother, Chris, overlooked Toren’s growing alcohol problem. But when he graduated, Toren realized that he had become a full-blown alcoholic. And he was not alone. <read more>

Dying to Drink - College binge drinking <read more>

SMASHED by Koren Sailckas - story of a drunken girlhood <read more>
Beautiful Boy
 Tweak Tweak and Beautiful Boy
Tweak by Nic Sheff:
and the companion book, Beautiful Boy by David Sheff: Nic writes about his drugs addition to methamphetamine (pot was his gateway drug) In Beautiful Boy by David Sheff: David, Nic's Dad, writes about what it’s like for a parent living through your child’s drug addition.
     
Bullying
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 The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander:
From Preschool to High school-How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence by Barbara Coloroso <read more>
 
AndWordsCanHurt
And Words Can Hurt Forever:How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence by James Garabino and Ellen DeLara And Words Can Hurt Forever teaches parents to accept reality (bullying occurs daily), challenge old beliefs ("Kids will be kids" or "If I lived through it, so can they"), and ally with other parents to take on the school system.  Revelatory and ultimately uplifting, this groundbreaking book doesn't just highlight the problem, but offers steps that can be taken — must be taken — to solve it. <read more>

Read Bullying: What Should Parents and Teachers Know?
   

Cliques by Charlene C. Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese: This book addresses two different phenomena: bullying and cliques latter. <Read More>

GOOD-BYE BULLY MACHINE by Debbie Fox and Allan L. Beane, Ph.D., (Free Spirit Publishing, $6.99 softcover, $12.99 hardcover) was written to teach kids ages 8 and up what bullying is, why it hurts, and what they can do to put a stop to it. Part of the Bully Free Classroom™ line of resources, GOOD-BYE BULLY MACHINE engages kids with clear messages and unique collage art.
  Please Stop Laughing Please Stop Laughing At Us by Jodee Blanco : One survivor's extraordinary quest to prevent school bullying. <read more>.
Listen to an interview with the author and NPR correspondent, Diane Rehm

Moose: With her signature acerbic wit and captivating insight, the author of the wildly popular Straight Up and Dirty offers a powerful and beautifully stark portrait of adolescence. <Read More>
     
Raising Children - All Ages
What Kids Need to Succeed
 What Kids Need to Succeed by Judy Galbraith
Describes new assets including caring neighborhoods, community service, integrity, cultural competence, and peaceful conflict resolution, then gives specific suggestions for building all 40 assets at home, at school, in the neighborhood, and in the faith community. <Read More>

What Teens Need to Succeed by Peter Benson and Judy Galbraith
Psychologist Peter Benson and former teacher/counselor Judy Galbraith based their writing on surveys of over 350,000 U.S. teens to provide a unique look at "positive assets"-good things that contribute to an individual's success in life. External assets include families, peers, spiritual support systems, schools, neighborhoods and their wider communities, while internal assets are defined as motivation, honesty, responsibility, decision-making skills, resistance skills, and more.

The Gifted Kids Survival Guide by Judy Galbraith
Examines the problems of gifted and talented students and explains how they can make the best use of their educational opportunities, get along better with parents and friends, and better understand themselves.
 
BoundariesWithTeens
 Boundaries with Teens by Dr. John Townsend : Dr. Townsend shows parents how to bring control to an out-of-control family life, how to set limits and still be loving parents, how to define legitimate boundaries for the family, how to instill in teens a godly character. <Read More>

Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men. <Read More>

Boys with be Boys: What are little boys made of? It used to be frogs, snails, and puppy dog tails, but today it is MTV, ADD, and STDs. <Read More>
  JustTellMeWhatToSay

Five Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary Chapman: This is a tangible resource for stemming the tide of violence, immorality, and despair engulfing many teens today. <read more>

The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It
by M. Gigi Durham In this book, various myths of sexuality circulated via the mass media are examined to demonstrate how children, and young girls in particular, are positioned in terms of an exploitative version of eroticism and sexuality. It also offers clear guidelines for adults to help them work with children to recognize, understand, and ultimately resist the damaging consequences of these trends, in favor of a fully realized and positive concept of female sexuality. <Read More>

How to Really Parent your Teenager: Raising balanced teens in an unbalanced world by Ross Campbell: Parents will learn how to spot depression and anticipate rebellion, how to discuss sexuality and keep anger in check, and most importantly, how to maintain communication and communicate love.

Just Tell Me What to Say by Betsy Brown Braun: This bookgives parents sensible language and explanations for handling specific situations inevitable in raising young children. <Read More>

  Price of Priv Parking Lot Rules & 75 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Children by Tom Sturges:How do you raise amazing children? How do you teach them to be kind and honest, insightful and inquisitive, athletic and curious, loving and thoughtful? <Read More>

Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine: How parental pressure and material advantage are creating a generation of disconnected and unhappy kids. <Read More>

The Primal Teen by Barbara Strauch Strauch, the medical science and health editor at the New York Times, sets out to offer reassurance to parents baffled by their kids' seemingly irrational and erratic behavior. <Read More>
 
Protecting the Gift
 Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane) by Gavin DeBecker <Read More>

The Roller Coaster Years by Charlene C. Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese: For the 20 million parents of 10- to 15-year-olds, The Roller-Coaster Years is a lively guide to mastering the ups and downs of early adolescence. <Read More>

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey: Based on his father's bestselling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sean Covey applies the same principles to teens, using a vivacious, entertaining style. <Read More>
 
StayingConnected

Staying Connected with your Teenager by Michael Riera: At last, a book of sage advice that will help frustrated parents reconnect with their teenager and keep that connection even in today's often-crazy world. <Read More>

Talking to Tweens:They may look sweet and compliant, but these days children aged between 8 and 12—“tweens” —are fast emerging as a force to be reckoned with. <Read More>

When Parents Hurt: Compassionate Strategies When You and Your Adolescent or Grown Child Don't Get Along by Joshua Coleman, Ph. D. He explores the many ways that today's parents feel alienated, shamed, guilt-ridden, worried, or rejected by their adolescent and grown children, and offers comprehensive, research-based solutions to solving this national problem. <Read More>

Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting by Carl Honore Honore delivers a far-ranging investigation of the real dangers of parenting in the age of anxiety and details a new worldwide movement challenging the status quo. When the obsession to give children the best of everything runs rampant, parents, schools, communities, and corporations unwittingly combine forces to create a culture of over-scheduled, over-stimulated, and overindulged kids.<Read More>

Yes, Your Teen is Crazy by Michael Bradley
     
Mental Health
Placeholder Image How I stayed Alive when my Brain was trying to kill me by Susan Rose Blauner Susan Blauner, a survivor of multiple suicide attempts, breaks the silence to offer guidance and hope for those contemplating ending their lives — and for their loved ones. <Read More>
A portion of the book's proceeds will go to the National Hopeline Network
(1-800-SUICIDE). 

The Out of Sync Child
Many parents, educators, doctors, and mental health professionals have difficulty recognizing SPD. <Read More>
 
ExplosiveChild
 The Explosive Child by Ross Greene, Ph. D.
As in prior editions, the third edition describes a more contemporary approach to understanding and helping inflexible, easily frustrated, explosive children at home and school, but also includes the various updates to the CPS model that have occurred since the first edition was published in 1998. <read more>

The Grieving Teen: Although the circumstances surrounding a death are difficult to handle at any age, adolescence brings with it challenges and struggles that until now have been largely overlooked. <Read More>

The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence by Tracy Alderman The Scarred Soul explores the reasons behind self-injury  and shows how to overcome the psychological traps that lead to self-destructive acts.
<read more>
  Skinny Boy

Skinny Boy: Challenging the assumption that anorexia is an exclusively female affliction, this compelling memoir is the first to describe how a young man overcame this often fatal disorder. <Read More>

The Teen Whisperer by Michael Linderman: Mike Linderman is a star in the making. He wrestles cattle at the crack of dawn, then spends his days working with the country's most troubled teens before coming home at night to three healthy teens of his own. <Read More>

     
Violence
 Placeholder Image But I Love Him: Protecting your teen daughter from Controlling, Abusive Dating Relationships by Dr.Jill Murray Is your daughter in danger?  Dr. Murray identifies these controlling, abusive patterns of behavior and helps you get your daughter out of the relationship without alienating her. <Read More>

Goat: A Memoir by Brad Land A painful and powerful look at fraternity violence. <Read More>
 
ScarredSoul
 The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence by Tracy Alderman The Scarred Soul explores the reasons behind self-injury  and shows how to overcome the psychological traps that lead to self-destructive acts. <Read More>

When your Child has been Molested by Kathryn Brohl and Joyce Case Potter: Using everyday language, the authors provide information, comfort, and advice on how to put the pieces back together again after a child has been sexually molested.<Read More>