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Best Teen & Young Adult Parental Issues

Countdown to College: 21 'To Do' Lists for High School
An easy timeline to help high school students maximize each of their 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years and optimize their chances of getting into the college of their choice. Over the last fifteen years, through city wide community parent and student workshops, nonprofit online and in person seminars and through her professional school counseling responsibilities, Valerie has helped thousands of first generation and traditional students streamline the seemingly daunting process of academic planning, finding resources and applying to college.
Reviews
"Our kids don't seem to be getting a lot of this information from schools, so they need to be taught these things at home!"
"This book is to provide a grocery list so at the end of four years you can kick back and enjoy a gourmet meal."
"I have purchased this book several times for family and friends that are entering high school and it is an invaluable guide - kudos to the authors!"
"It highlights all the necessary steps for high schoolers (and their parents) to stay on target for picking and attending the right college."
"This book help parents a great deal to know what is needed and in what order so they will be prepared for college."
"This book is essential for high school students who are planning to attend college!"
"Should have gotten this book when my grandsons were just entering High School."
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A Teen's Guide to the 5 Love Languages: How to Understand Yourself and Improve All Your Relationships
But do the five love languages work for teens, for their relationships with parents, siblings, friends, teachers, coaches, and significant others? Introducing A Teen’s Guide to the 5 Love Languages, the first-ever edition written just to teens, for teens, and with a teen's world in mind. A straight-forward overview of the 5 love languages A profile/assessment instrument specifically geared to teens Practical examples/tips for how to apply each language in a teen’s context Graphics that drive home key concepts. Dr. Chapman does a wonderful job of breaking down his love languages theory for young people, delving in to what it might look like to love someone through service, words, touch, gifts, and time.
Reviews
"Great book for teens!"
"My daughter listens to it and want the paperback edition."
"Great book and fast shipping."
"Teens enjoyed and found it relevant."
"This is a great book for teens to read!!!"
"Excellent book."
"Written by the author of the other best-selling “Love Languages” books, this one shares the information in ways that are more relatable to teens. He covers how to discover their own language accurately, family issues, handling anger and my particular favorite – the idea of “romantic” love being a choice, too. He talks about common inappropriate behaviors when dealing with other people and how they communicate our lack of love (real or not) for that person. It’s so easy to not say “thank you” or give presents to a friend or family member, because his/her love language is “time”."
"A Teen's Guide to the 5 Love Languages, written by New York Times bestselling author Gary Chapman, Ph.D., guides emerging adults in discovering and understanding their own love languages, as well as how to best express love in all relationships, whether it be to their parents, siblings, friends, teachers, coaches, or significant others. The author outlines the general characteristics of each of the five love language (words, time, gifts, service, and touch) and explains the various dialects with each language and offers practical examples of how to communicate the love languages in the daily ups-and-downs of relationships."
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Enrique's Journey (The Young Adult Adaptation): The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother
Adapted for young people, this edition of Enrique’s Journey is. written by Sonia Nazario and based on the adult book of the same name. It is the true story of Enrique, a teenager from Honduras, who sets out on a journey, braving hardship and peril, to find his mother, who had no choice but to leave him when he was a child and go to the United States in search of work. Enrique’s story will bring to light the daily struggles of migrants, legal and otherwise, and the complicated choices they face simply trying to survive and provide for the basic needs of their families. Gr 7 Up–When Enrique was seven years old, his mother, a single parent faced with crippling economic difficulties in her native Honduras, migrated to the United States in hopes of securing a brighter future for her family. While her sacrifice provided important economic advantages, the separation eventually drove 17-year-old Enrique to embark on a four-month, 12,000 mile journey to reunite with her, traveling largely on the rooftops of trains into the United States as an undocumented migrant.
Reviews
"Sonia Nazario has published a YA appropriate version of her multiple award winning non-fiction story, Enrique's Journey. Nazario does a superb job of showing the emotional devastation suffered by both the parents who leave and the abandoned children. Enrique is a sad, lonely young man determined to reunite his family and create a happy life."
"Nazario has done much research and presents a well-rounded, factual account of the perils that these children are facings as they flee poverty in Central America and bandits in Mexico."
"This true story sheds light on the journey of unaccompanied minors into the United States."
"I got a little lost with all the statistics and I feel very sad for what illegal immigrants go through to get to the USA."
"It provided me with better insight to share with friends and a better perspective of what similar people feel."
"An enlightening truth about the journey of many children."
"This is something that we take fore granted but now that I have read this book I will certainly be more grateful for what God has blessed me with."
"Honest and unsentimental account of the agonizing journey of a boy determined to reunite with his mother."
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Best Teen & Young Adult LGBT Nonfiction eBooks

The ABC's of LGBT+
In the last few years the overturning of DOMA, the SCOTUS ruling in favor of the Marriage Equality Act, American transgender politicians elected to office, and landmark moments such as Apple becoming the most valuable company in the world under the leadership of an openly gay CEO have advanced LGBT awareness and understanding. Along with in-depth definitions, personal anecdotes, helpful infographics, resources, and more; Mardell’s LGBT book is proof it does get better every day in a world where people are empowered by information and understanding. Ashley Mardell's The ABC's of LGBT serves as a powerful tool for those that might be questioning their own identity, as well as for those seeking a deeper knowledge of the many, varied identities that exist in relation to our attractions, desires, and personal understandings of self." Her insight and honest approach to LGBTQIA+ education has helped millions of kids and adults understand who they are.
Reviews
"I plan on also gifting his school library a copy of this book as well - our state finally has LGBT inclusive sex education and this book would be a great resource for curious and questioning teens."
"As ususal Ash Mardell is amazing, informative and exceedingly funny."
"Ash is absolutely perfect."
"My daughter loved the book..she got some usefull knowledge and more of an understanding of things in a sometimes humourus way..and from different points of view."
"i love Ash's book!"
"I really like this book, I think it really helped some of my friends learn more about the LGBT+ community, and it's actually helping me discover my gender identity cuz I've been questioning myself for awhile."
"It will be good to have for future children i have that want to know more about people around them or themselves."
"This book is the most comprehensive LGBTQ+ identity piece of media I've seen yet!"
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Best Teen & Young Adult Adoption Issues

Prison Baby: A Memoir
A deeply personal and inspiring memoir recounting one woman's struggles--beginning with her birth in prison--to find self-acceptance Even at twelve years old Deborah Jiang Stein, the adopted daughter of a progressive Jewish couple in Seattle, felt like an outsider. "Prison Baby , one woman's profound quest for family and identity, is also a soul stirring call to arms on behalf of incarcerated women and their children. “A compelling story of loss, addiction, and healing…told with grace and much heart.”. —Heidi W. Durrow, New York Times best-selling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky “At a time when more and more women are being incarcerated worldwide, Deborah Jiang Stein's story of the secrets and ignominy surrounding her prison birth gives readers a brave account of the backlash children and society encounter when families are torn apart by addiction, prison, and shame. More than anything, Deborah's book is a call for an open-eyed examination of our broken criminal justice system, and a heartfelt plea for more compassionate responses to poverty and mental illness.”. —Naseem Rakha, author of The Crying Tree "A profoundly moving search for identify, Prison Baby is as inspiring as it is haunting. —Katrina Kittle, author of The Blessings of the Animals. “Prison Baby is an emotionally charged, transformative story about one woman's search for her true origins. Candid and searing, Deborah Jiang Stein's memoir is a remarkable story about identity, lost and found—and about the author's journey to reclaim—and celebrate—that most primal of relationships, the one between mother and child. I dare you to read this book without crying.”. —Mira Bartok, author of The Memory Palace " Prison Baby hits all the emotions of the who, what, where, when and why's of adoption right on the head of the nail!
Reviews
"When Deborah was twelve-years-old, she discovered, while snooping through her adoptive mother's dresser drawers, that her birth mother was a heroin addict and was in prison when Deborah was born. Deborah's writing style is superb; how could it not be?"
"This utterly fascinating story, about an adopted child who discovers she was born in prison, is so well written, so honest in its emotion, and so brave in its telling, is unforgettable."
"Deborah Jiang Stein tells the story of her prison birth in an amazingly powerful telling of not just her prison momma, but the author's slips through adolecence and adulthood."
"But as she travels to women's prisons, Deborah Jiang Stein finds many women who have had the experiences her first mother had-- of being forced to give birth in prison for crimes related to addiction. As an adoptive parent and as a recovering addict, the most pain I felt--the places I cried--were in Deborah's description of how sorry she felt was as her adoptive mother was dying. However, as a recovering addict, I do not fully forgive myself for my clueless, heartless behaviors when I had my emotions and empathy buried under an ocean of alcohol and I thank God I didn't have kids at the time, but I did have parents and I did hurt them and I do feel tremendous remorse about that. But I also found myself wishing that her mother had tried harder to understand Deborah's needs and especially had not kept the secrets from Deborah or tried to smother all questions with her love and her parental competence. At the same time, her parents adopted Deborah without any benefit of generational hindsight. "Adoption research surveys indicate that not until the 1970's did more than a thousand white families include adopted children of color. I was too scared to eke out even one word to her in response, to tell her I didn't feel part of anything.-DJS". My parents adopted my mixed-race (considered black) brother at almost the same time in US histgory as Deborah was adopted, the 1960's. Rendering someone invisible will result in a failure of empathy that Deborah experienced from her loving, privileged parents. Because of my personal experience and reflection, I was aware of these dynamics when we began our adoption journey but I really wanted to be a parent. When I announced (because I am the announcer) that my husband and I would attempt to adopt locally and seek same-race adoption, I ran into a world of problems that I won't go into for this review."
"An incredible book."
"This book clearly shows how broken the system is, This little girl's life could of been so different if she would of had answers early on."
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Best Teen & Young Adult Marriage & Divorce Issues

The Divorce Workbook for Teens: Activities to Help You Move Beyond the Breakup
This book gives them everything they need to get through their parents' divorce and keep it from taking a long-term emotional toll. This workbook helps teens understand their feelings, cope with parental fighting, and be happy after their parents' divorce.
Reviews
"I usually just skim the stories and at times have skipped over entire activities because the activities are elementary-like, and the high schoolers I work with don't take them seriously."
"this workbook was really helpful for me, and unlike other workbooks it didn't make me feel...crazy or undermined or anything."
"Great for working with teens and preteens."
"It was an okay book and even since it's aimed at teens it didn't really interest me or help me deal with depression."
"I love using this workbook with teens."
"This workbook is an amazing tool to have as a Clinician working with children."
"I have used it with some of my clients."
"Great book....but mine is missing pages 27-58 (instead of these pages there is a second copy of pages 1-26)."
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