Author: Patricia McCormick
Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: Drugs, Divorce, Family Relationships
Year of Publication: 2005
Publisher & Location: Hyperion Books
ISBN#: 0-7868-5173-2
Target Age Level: Junior High, High School
# of Pages: 187
Quality of Illustrations: None
Brief Summary: Toby is thirteen and his family is unraveling. His father left and they had to move to an apartment. His mother is battling depression. His brother, Jake, is starting to use drugs and alcohol. Toby tries to keep is family together and doesn't want to alarm his mother. He makes excuses for Jake, cleans up after him, and doesn't tell his mom that he knows Jake is using drugs. He also hides bills from his mother to try to alleviate her financial stress. As Toby continues to try to keep the family together, things continue to unravel. Jake's behavior becomes more and more dangerous and he is eventually arrested. Everything comes out and his mother decides to start focusing on her family again.
Personal Comments/Biases, and/or Things to Consider When Using This Book With Children:
It's written from Toby's perspective. He relates his thoughts as he's trying to restore normalcy to his home. It does talk about a human sexuality class that Toby has to attend, however nothing explicit is discussed. Mostly it talks about Toby's embarrassment of having to be there.
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