Jojo and his toddler sister, Kayla, live with their grandparents, Mam and Pop, and the occasional presence of their drug-addicted mother, Leonie, on a farm on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Leonie is simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she's high. Mam is dying of cancer; and quiet, steady Pop tries to run the household and teach Jojo how to be a man. When the white father of Leonie's children...

The author offers an account of her journey from a fifteen-year-old living on the streets and eating garbage to her acceptance into Harvard, a feat that prompted a Lifetime movie and a successful motivational-speaking career.

After her dad is sentenced to prison time, seventeen-year-old Lucy Nelson and her mother move across the country to start over in the town--and farmhouse--where her mother grew up. Once settled, Lucy is determined to keep her mind off anything "real" and decides to pass the time by reading a stack of her mother's childhood books, which has sat in her grandmother's home for decades. When Lucy finds her mom's old summer bucket list shoved between...

Arlie has spent years trying to keep her addict mom out of trouble. She's used to staying out of sight from the law, her stepdad, and anyone who might ask about the burns on her face. After her mom's sudden death, an uncle she never knew she had shows up wanting to give her a permanent home. Arlie's not sure she needs rescuing, but maybe she's ready to be part of the real world.

"When their drug-abusing mother is released from prison determined to rebuild their family, Rey kidnaps his younger brother Oliver and escapes their desert home for the California coast."--Container.

Seventeen-year-old Rose Hemmersbach aspires to break out of small town Sparta, Wisconsin and achieve her artistic dreams, just like her aunt Colleen, but must face her mother's heroin addiction and its ramifications first.

Drug and alcohol abuse can have a devastating effect on friendships and families. In this compelling book, young adults offer true-life tales that detail the price of addiction. Many of these first-person accounts highlight the fallout from a loved one's substance abuse issues, such as estrangement, neglect, and abuse. One writer can no longer see his beloved grandfather because of his alcoholism, while another feels betrayed by a friend who is addicted...

It is impossible not to root for Ceti, almost fifteen, who tells her story of growing up in shelters, learning soccer from her Gramps, and sleeping in her Mom's red truck where they listened over and over to Rolling Stones discs someone left behind. Following in the steps of her hero, Lionel Messi, Ceti is a shooting star on the field. A U.S. scout is coming to watch her play in the State Championship; she has Ruby, her best friend since kindergarten...

Discusses the causes and dangers of chemical dependency, its effects on the family, and ways to get help in dealing with this problem.

Gabi Hernández está en su último año de la preparatoria. Para entretenerse, escribe todo lo que le pasa en su diario: las solicitudes a las universidades, el embarazo de Cindy, cuando Sebastián salió del clóset, los chicos guapos de su clase, la adicción de su padre a la metanfetamina, y toda la comida que se le antoja. Pero lo mejor de todo lo que escribe es la poesía que la ayuda a ser quien es. Sixteen-year-old Gabi Hernandez chronicles...