Easy - Hardcover

Kerry Cohen Hoffmann is a psychotherapist who works with teens and their families. She received her MFA in creative writing from the University of Oregon and an MA in counseling psychology. A mother of two, she is a native of New Jersey but makes her home in Portland, Oregon.

Grade 8-10–With the hindsight provided by two years' maturity, Jessica looks back on the year her parents divorced, her mother withdrew, her father moved in with his girlfriend, and she herself slipped into sexual activity that she almost immediately regretted. Hoffmann vividly depicts how a 12-year-old's confused desperation, need for comfort, and inability to know when or how to stop self-destructive behavior lead her down a perilous path. Even well-meaning friends and a concerned teacher have difficulty breaking through to her. It's almost an accident when an observant neighbor alerts her mother to a suspicious stranger–Jessica's lover–helping the girl to end that relationship. A pregnancy scare gives her additional reason to reflect on and question what she's been up to. In the end, she has the luck and support that enable her to change course. The writing is realistic, insightful, and nonjudgmental. This book can provide teens with some understanding as to why people might make risky choices while offering readers the assurance that bad decisions need not be irrevocable. –Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
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