Bode (Heartbreak and Roses, 1994, etc.) again probes the teenage psyche for insight into adolescent relationships. In this hyper-realistic observation of contemporary teenagers, friendship often takes a backseat to or is complicated by issues of self- esteem, abuse, drugs, and more. For one Chinese-American teen who leaves gang life behind, identity and peers are irrevocably linked when she says, ``What would you do if the only people who understand you are the people you are running away from?'' The most moving accounts are not the shocking ones, but the unvarnished attempts to communicate the importance of friendship and peer validation. Sensible, realistic fare. (Nonfiction. 12+)
