Overview

Drug addiction happens--but how does it feel when it happens to you? Developing a drug addiction is a dangerous, harmful, and life-changing experience that happens to thousands of young people every year. Discover what it is like to be addicted to drugs through the heartfelt stories of survivors. Learn how it ""happened to them,"" read their journeys to recovery, and find out more about the causes and treatments of drug addiction in this open, sensitive, and informative exploration. Sometimes, painful experiences happen. It Happened to Me explores painful life crises that affect many young people through poignant diary entries from composite teens who have experienced these situations, supported by informational text. Every year, more and more young people face life-changing situations, from drug and alcohol abuse to eating disorders, family breakups, and homelessness. Being young has never been more challenging. Using a unique in-their-own words approach, this series will strike a chord with many young people who are struggling with complex issues, and help those around them better understand how and why it has happened to them.

Full Product Details

9781915153098

Table of Contents

Reviews

Stereotypes are broken in this series about difficult life situations. Each title tackles social issues relevant to young adults but still foreign to many readers. Teens are challenged to check their preconceived ideas about what it means to be homeless, who joins a gang, and how hard it is to battle drug addiction. Readers will learn about the nuisances of these trying situations: the various reasons people join gangs, transitional homelessness vs chronic homelessness, and the different types of eating disorders. These are supplemented with statistics from organizations and experts. While these are tough topics the author offers paths to recovery and ways to help. Each chapter contains a section called 'It Happened to Me' with fictionalized accounts of survivors told in a journal-like format. Vocabulary words are bolded and an extensive glossary is included along with an index, suggested books and websites, and organizations that can help. VERDICT It would have been more powerful if the authors had gathered true stories rather than fictionalizing the accounts, but this series still provides important information for research and for creating empathy toward impacted individuals. Recommended. --School Library Journal -- (4/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Stereotypes are broken in this series about difficult life situations. Each title tackles social issues relevant to young adults but still foreign to many readers. Teens are challenged to check their preconceived ideas about what it means to be homeless, who joins a gang, and how hard it is to battle drug addiction. Readers will learn about the nuisances of these trying situations: the various reasons people join gangs, transitional homelessness vs chronic homelessness, and the different types of eating disorders. These are supplemented with statistics from organizations and experts. While these are tough topics the author offers paths to recovery and ways to help. Each chapter contains a section called 'It Happened to Me' with fictionalized accounts of survivors told in a journal-like format. Vocabulary words are bolded and an extensive glossary is included along with an index, suggested books and websites, and organizations that can help. VERDICT It would have been more powerful if the authors had gathered true stories rather than fictionalizing the accounts, but this series still provides important information for research and for creating empathy toward impacted individuals. Recommended.--School Library Journal -- Journal (4/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Sarah Eason has written a wide variety of information books for children on many topics from history and geography through space science and social sciences. Karen Latchana Kenney is an Indian-Irish author and editor, born near the equator in Guyana, and raised far north in Minnesota. She writes both fiction and nonfiction stories about scientific wonders and discoveries, immigrant and biracial experiences, momentous historical events, and civil rights struggles. Her books have received several starred reviews and have been named a 2025 Minnesota Book Awards Finalist, a 2025 Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards Finalist, a 2023 Mathical Book Prize Honor book, and a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. She lives in Minnesota with her designer-musician husband and mathematician-robot-building son, where they explore all the wild places they can find. Find her online at https: //www.karenlatchanakenney.com.

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