Juveniles in Trouble

Wormser, Richard

ISBN 10: 067186775X ISBN 13: 9780671867751

Publisher: Julian Messner, 1994

Synopsis

Some of America's most troubled teens, from mall rats to killers, describe alienating childhoods and their efforts to redirect their lives.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6 Up-Wormser describes the lives of young people who run away from home and live on the streets, who are addicted to drugs, who are in gangs, and who commit crimes. Institutions that deal with them are presented, such as Covenant House, a shelter and drug treatment program; and Shock Incarceration, a prison "boot camp." The process of arrest, appearing before a judge, imprisonment, and even being sentenced to death are explored. The frequent use of quotations from youngsters in the variety of situations presented helps to bring the text to life. One thing the tone makes clear: most kids, like those who appear in these vignettes, will never escape the vicious cycles of their lives. Many of them realize this and feel so hopeless that they neither value their lives nor anyone else's. The book presents the realities accurately, but it's unfortunate that there aren't a few more positive stories to counterbalance the bleakness. Furthermore, the text occasionally lapses into sensationalism-details provided about death-row prisoners serve no purpose other than to pique morbid curiosity.
Jacqueline Rose, Lake Oswego Public Library, OR
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 8-12. This frank look at today's troubled youth covers a lot of ground in an easy-to-read format. Wormser makes extensive use of first-person narratives from teens on the street, in shelters, and even on death row to illustrate what he presents as a pretty bleak picture of growing teen hopelessness and the resulting increase in violence. Although much, perhaps too much, time is spent with programs at Covenant House that offer juveniles a chance to regain control of their lives, Wormser doesn't pretend programs are a panacea. He tells stories of the numerous failures as well as successes and leaves no doubt that it is the teens themselves who must be willing to do what it takes to get themselves back on track. It's hard to imagine the reader, young adult or otherwise, who won't be both moved and frightened by the information presented here. Society provides no easy answers for a problem that isn't going to go away any time soon, and teens need more hard-hitting, factual information like this to help them understand how important the choices they make today are going to be for the rest of their lives. Jeanne Triner

About this edition

• Publisher: Julian Messner
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 067186775X
• ISBN 13: 9780671867751
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 157