Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (Youth, Family, and Culture)

Rating:
Summary: Great research
Review: Clark's thorough research combined with genuine compassion and care for the state of adolescents comes through in Hurt to create a book that is not only academically sound, but also one that will touch your heart. This is a must read for anyone studying adolescents, but it is also completely accessible for parents and others who are seeking insight on what is going on in the world of their kids.

Rating:
Summary: A "Must Read" for anyone who works with young people!!
Review: Imagine this, taking a sabatical from your career as a seminary professor, and instead of resting or reflecting during your time off, you elect to teach public high school for a year, all with the intent of better understanding the lives and culture of young people.

This choice to teach high school was the basis for Chap Clark's groundbreakign book, "Hurt", which I heartily recommend to anyone connected with middle and high schoolers in America. As a former youth worker and parent of a teenager (and another approaching teenage) I cannot say enough about this book for its clear perception of the state of youth culture.

Prepare to be surprised, shocked, offended, and awakened to the state of our youth. This book will make you mad, sad, scared, and hopeful. Prepare for a paradigm shift. Clark has done careful research of the world of high school students, and his work examines their world of "clusters", or friendship groups, and also includes insightful glimpses of the social world, moral confusion, lonliness, and sexual behavior of our young.

I say "our young" because they really belong to us. This is our country's future, and Clark points out in vividly clear language the pain they face, the confusion they deal with, and the ways we adults have abandoned them.

However, this book is not a complete downer. Each chapter ends with hopeful suggestions for change; ways in which the cultural afflictions young people face can be healed. Hope is abundant, and change is possible.

If you truly care about middle and high schoolers, this book is for you! Make it your book club choice, buy it for your friends, fellow teachers, adminstrators, school board members, and youth workers!