Life as a teenager can be tough. Pressures from school, expectations from parents, fitting in with peers, and facing self-doubt are just a few things that can weigh heavily on a teen's shoulders. While some young adults seem to thrive on adversity, others wilt under the strain and opt for less productive means of coping. Millions of American teenagers and college students deliberately injure themselves as a way of handling stress. They cut, burn, break, and poison their bodies, seeking physical pain as a means to avoid emotional pain. In Self-Injury: The Ultimate Teen Guide, Judy Dodge Cummings tackles this serious subject, offering hope for young adults everywhere. In this book, Cummings defines self-injury as it is understood by the medical community and examines the causes of self-harm. The author shares the stories of several young women and men to help explain what types of people are most affected by this disorder. Topics covered in this book include *Who is most prone to self-injury *Internal and external triggers to self-harm *The impact of social media and the Internet on this issue *Obvious and subtle signs of self-harm *Coping mechanisms *Resources for individuals Aimed at teens who need to find healthier ways to handle the pressures of everyday life, this book will also assist friends and families who want to help their loved ones. Weaved throughout the chapters are first-person accounts of teens who intentionally hurt themselves, and their stories will help others understand they are not alone. Providing paths to recovery, Self-Injury: The Ultimate Teen Guide is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to break free from self-destructive behavior.

Sometimes, an intolerable situation calls for a drastic measure-fleeing for freedom. Whether you're a slave seeking freedom in the North or a convict swimming for your life in a shark-infested canal, the urge to be free drives your every move. In Great Escapes: Real Tales of Harrowing Getaways, readers ages 9 to 12 meet five ingenious fugitives and freedom seekers who all shared one common goal: escape.The human spirit craves freedom, and when liberty is taken away, people go to great lengths to get it back. Great Escapes: Real Tales of Harrowing Getaways tells the histories of five ingenious departures, including the one perpetuated by William and Ellen Craft, who donned disguises and made a 1,000-mile run for freedom. Another man, Douglas Mawson, battled a power greater than any human villain, when in 1913, Mother Nature trapped Mawson in her icy Antarctic jaws. Alone and dangling over a bottomless crevasse by a fraying rope, the only escape tools Mawson had were his strength and determination.In 1943, Nazi guards packed hundreds of Belgian Jews into train cars and headed for the concentration camp at Auschwitz. Twelve-year-old Simon Gronowski was among these deportees, and he was determined to find a way off the moving train before it reached its ghastly destination. Alcatraz was a rocky fortress designed to hold federal prisoners until the end of their sentence or death, whichever came first. Prison officials claimed the Rock was inescapable. But in 1962, three inmates vanished, never to be seen again. No less amazing is the escape of 57 East Germans from communist-controlled East Germany during the Cold War, through a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. History is ripe with examples of people desperate to escape the traps in which they are snared. Get an up-close look at the guts, skill, determination, and luck of remarkable escape artists in Great Escapes: Real Stories of Harrowing Getaways. This is the sixth book in a series called Mystery & Mayhem, which features true tales that whet kids' appetites for history by engaging them in genres with proven track records-mystery and adventure. History is made of near misses, unexplained disappearances, unsolved mysteries, and bizarre events that are almost too weird to be true-almost! The Mystery and Mayhem series delves into these tidbits of history to provide kids with a jumping off point into a lifelong habit of appreciating history. Each of the five true tales told within Great Escapes are paired with further fun facts about the setting, industry, and time period. A glossary and resources page provide the opportunity to practice using essential academic tools. These nonfiction narratives use clear, concise language with compelling plots that both avid and reluctant readers will be drawn to.

It's 1906, and strict immigration laws have divided Han Liu's family. His mother and sister are in China, while he and his father live in San Francisco, California. Han resists his father's attempts to teach him traditional Chinese values. Han is an American, after all, and he'd rather read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer than study Chinese proverbs. But when a massive earthquake and fire destroy Chinatown and separate Han from his father, those proverbs are all he has left. Can Han use the wisdom of his family to survive the earthquake and fire, reunite with his father, and rebuild their life? It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been under represented, lost, or forgotten over time.

It's 1906, and strict immigration laws have divided Han Liu's family. His mother and sister are in China, while he and his father live in San Francisco, California. Han resists his father's attempts to teach him traditional Chinese values. Han is an American, after all, and he'd rather read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer than study Chinese proverbs. But when a massive earthquake and fire destroy Chinatown and separate Han from his father, those proverbs are all he has left. Can Han use the wisdom of his family to survive the earthquake and fire, reunite with his father, and rebuild their life? It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been under represented, lost, or forgotten over time.