Customer Reviews
does not ask any questions 
2006-11-04
While this book comes across as a warts and all look at one of the big players in the teen help industry it fails to ask some really fundamental questions.
What would have been a less harsh and equally effectvie solution for jerome, the boy who had never touched an illicit drug and who only needed greater attention academically to thrive? Why was his mother not encouraged to look at the alternative school that he ended up at first? Is there a potential danger in putting a naive and socially struggling kid from the suburbs in a place with world weary drug taking sophisticates? Would it be culturally appropriate for a hispanic girl with devout catholic beliefs to have to confess her sexual sins publically?
This book also presents the kids relapses as an unfortunate accident without extensively delving into why. It strikes me that Trevor, the witty and easygoing Englishman never really learnt how to survive outside of the highly artificial world of ASR. Perhaps this was because it did not give him the self worth to refuse to engage in behaviours extreme enough to be lifethreatening or the practical tools to say no to a very real and strong temptation.
And what of the staff? Only one line was devoted to the fact that the enthusiastic English teacher left claiming the only thing she loved about the place was the kids. Why was this so?
And whhat is the effect of such a high turnover of staff on vulnerable troubled young people? DJ the ADD adoptee began a down hill slide when his favourite PE teacher Big Mike abruptly left.
Finally it does not question at all the morality of the programme. Actively punishing harrdworking kids such as Jerome for not turning in their friends when they confide in each other does not teach loyalty or strengthen friendship. It comes across as meanspirited and unjust. Does any school have the moral right to tell a mother what she should or should not put in a letter to her child?
While this book is quite clear about what goes on at a therapudic boarding school it asks no questions at all about the controversial aspects of the industry and presents it as without controversy
A must-read for anyone, especially parents of teens 
2006-02-08
I was initially drawn to this book because I was the parent of a "struggling teen" looking for answers. But now that I've read it, I can really recommend this book to anyone. I cried when the kids in the book had setbacks. Many of them have to deal with cancer and deaths among family and friends, on top of the other problems that teens have to get through: pressure to be thin, have sex, etc. Marcus does an amazing job of letting the reader know what each of the kids is thinking and feeling.
A teen can get off course very quickly, and their parents are usually the last to understand what's gone wrong or what to do about it. Reading this book will help parents to recognize the signs before it's too late. There's no obvious reason why some kids will recover from problems they encounter in life while others get into trouble, but once it happens, they often need to be in a therapeutic setting like that depicted in the book.
The four kids depicted in the book are now approaching the age of 21, and I've heard that they're turning into responsible, happy, successful adults. The author does speaking engagements, and sometimes one of the four students will accompany him to speak about their experiences.
If you're a parent of a teen or a pre-teen, this is absolutely a must-read.
Excellent 2005-08-18
For anyone with a troubled teenagers and anyone looking into a therapeutic boarding school, this is the book for you. It gives great insight into the troubled minds of our kids (the pain they are going thru deep inside that we may not even be aware of). I thought it was an honest depiction of the school in question, letting us know there are no gaurantees.
Hitting Home... 2005-07-28
This book is a life raft to parents of struggling teens. Often, we have few places to turn to when our children begin displaying signs they are adrift. Marcus' story brings to light the familial and societal problems that nudge our children in the wrong direction.
As a mother whose daughter is now attending a wilderness camp out west, I had many "Aha! moments" while turning the pages. I understood the plight of the worried parents, the fear of the teenage students, the frustration a family goes through when their child is in trouble.
In our materialistic and disenfranchised society, it's time for parents to start turning off the television and the computer monitor and turning toward their children. Our children are awash in Gucci and Nike ads, tours of J-Lo's closet on MTV, violence, sex and negativity in the mainstream media. It's time to take back our culture and set our priorities.
Marcus' book shines a light on the struggles on four teenagers. I'm certain we find a piece of our own families in his words....
Captivating read 2005-06-24
I recently picked this book up at my local library and once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. This book follows Group 23 at Swift River, a sort of rehabilitation center and school, from the reason their parents decided to shell out the $70,000 for their (usually) 14 month stay to his interviews with the four students after their graduation. This book provides a comprehensive look at what is happening to youth in this generation. The students he choose to highlight did not represent only one certain socio-economic class or all have one distinct problem that they shared. Rather he choose a bulimic Texan who drove a leather seated SUV, a depressed boy from Queens who lived across the street from the Projects, a girl who was forced to deal with the death of her mother, a low life boyfriend and sexual assault, and an adopted boy who was a bit too fascinated with fire. This book takes you through their struggles and triumphs. Whether or not the school is a triumph or that the members of the Group will triumph in life is left to leave you wondering.
Highly recommended reading!
Perhaps Marcus was snowed at ASR? 
2007-11-14
It is very well known practice at such gulag schools as ASR and others like them (including the infamous WWASP programs) that the press is granted very limited access and shown highly scripted and controlled aspects of the program designed to make them look very good. It is only through the reports of the students, and some parents who have visited and seen the atrocities, that we know of the widespread patterns of systematic physical and psychological abuse that go on at these facilities.
Marcus was shown the best of what they could show, and in doing so, appears to have been manipulated into showing a positive view of the teen gulag for profit industry after visiting one of the largest of their programs. I suggest any parent considering putting their teenage daughter or son into one of these programs do some serious research on the internet before doing so. The likes of these "gulag schools" include several (like ASR) run by Aspen Education Group, another grouping of them affiliated with WWASP, and then hundreds of very similar programs either run by smaller companies or independently run. There are alternatives, please don't incarcerate your teenagers in these programs.
If you're a parent worried about your teen, read this book 2007-09-02
Although my children are grown, I'm still interested in learning about adolescence in this country, not the least because we now have four grandchildren. This book chronicles 14 months in a "therapeutic" school for "troubled" teenagers. It sheds a lot of light not only on how these types of school work with kids, but on the young people themselves, as well, of course, as their families. I am always taken by books that fairly portrays all sides of an issue. This book does this extremely well. While the therapeutic school in question is a profit making one, the teachers and some administrators are passionate in their desire to help the students. Unfortunately, as this is real life, while most kids seem to improve, not all do, and even among those who do, the "outcome" is not necessarily what the parents would hope. Sometimes there are truly miraculous "recoveries" and if I were a parent at the point of sending my child to this type of an institution, I could do nothing, but hold our hope that my child would be one of those. At the end of the book, the author outlines the key questions to which he sought the answers through writing the book. He addresses what he learned and can pass on to other parents through his writing. He also lists the warning signs the parents of the Swift River students he wrote about realized their kids had displayed by eighth or ninth grade. These are things that every parent should open his or her eyes to if they wish to help their kids sooner rather than later. (pg 314 of the hardcover edition).
Missed the point 
2007-03-26
This book didn't work for me. It didn't really have any workable suggestions. Just so-so.
Riveting and Helpful 2007-01-12
If you have a troubled teen, this is a book you won't be able to put down. If you are thinking of sending your teen away for help, this book will give you lots of things to consider. If you'd just like some ideas on how to better relate to and maybe help your teen, there are endless ideas in here.
A real look into the minds of some troubled teens 2006-11-23
From my standpoint, this book was not written to be an expose on therapeutic schools. It was not written to tell you what the staff/parents/etc could have done to have better results. It was not written to tell you how to fix your teen. Simply, it is a glimpse into the lives of some trouble teens that were sent to the same place at the same moment in time. And with that in mind - the author produce a moving and real portrayal of his observations.
As a parent, I found this book to be memorizing. Not only when I look at my teenager, but also when I remember my tremulous teenage years. Marcus manages to capture the heart of these kids and their individual struggles.
He does not offer solutions, but rather (and more accurately IMHO) states that sometimes there are no right and wrong answers. That raising kids does not always boil down to the latest research and/or ideology on parenting. In the end, teens must choose their destiny and quite blaming everything on everyone else. Only then, do they have a chance to overcome the multitude of challenges that one must face in our society.
Excellent book. I can not recommend it highly enough.
