by Ann M. Martin

4.5 stars – 22 reviews

Supports Us with Commissions Earned

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Here’s the set-up:

Sunny’s mom has stopped her cancer treatments, leaving the hospital to spend her final days at home. Sunny has been sleep deprived and kind of all over the place. She goes to school, but not to her classes. She talks to Dawn a little, but otherwise, her mind has been hijacked by thoughts of losing her mom. When a string of visitors comes through the door to say their good-byes, she finally realizes this is it. The end.
Facing the pain allows Sunny to actually talk to her mom and learn a little more about her before she’s gone. Sunny makes it her duty to start helping and becomes obsessed with listing everything she needs to say before her mom dies. Her mother knows there isn’t enough time—there will never be enough time—to say everything that needs to be said . . . but maybe there’s something she can give her daughter that will help ease Sunny’s pain.
This ebook features an illustrated personal history of Ann M. Martin, including rare images from the author’s collection.

by Frances E. Jensen, Amy Ellis Nutt

4.6 stars – 1,809 reviews

Supports Us with Commissions Earned

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Here’s the set-up:

A New York Times Bestseller

Renowned neurologist Dr. Frances E. Jensen offers a revolutionary look at the brains of teenagers, dispelling myths and offering practical advice for teens, parents and teachers.

Dr. Frances E. Jensen is chair of the department of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As a mother, teacher, researcher, clinician, and frequent lecturer to parents and teens, she is in a unique position to explain to readers the workings of the teen brain. In The Teenage Brain, Dr. Jensen brings to readers the astonishing findings that previously remained buried in academic journals.

The root myth scientists believed for years was that the adolescent brain was essentially an adult one, only with fewer miles on it. Over the last decade, however, the scientific community has learned that the teen years encompass vitally important stages of brain development.  Samples of some of the most recent findings include:

• Teens are better learners than adults because their brain cells more readily “build” memories. But this heightened adaptability can be hijacked by addiction, and the adolescent brain can become addicted more strongly and for a longer duration than the adult brain.
• Studies show that girls’ brains are a full two years more mature than boys’ brains in the mid-teens, possibly explaining differences seen in the classroom and in social behavior.
• Adolescents may not be as resilient to the effects of drugs as we thought. Recent experimental and human studies show that the occasional use of marijuana, for instance, can cause lingering memory problems even days after smoking, and that long-term use of pot impacts later adulthood IQ.
• Multi-tasking causes divided attention and has been shown to reduce learning ability in the teenage brain. Multi-tasking also has some addictive qualities, which may result in habitual short attention in teenagers.
• Emotionally stressful situations may impact the adolescent more than it would affect the adult: stress can have permanent effects on mental health and can to lead to higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression.

Dr. Jensen gathers what we’ve discovered about adolescent brain function, wiring, and capacity and explains the science in the contexts of everyday learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision-making.  In this groundbreaking yet accessible book, these findings also yield practical suggestions that will help adults and teenagers negotiate the mysterious world of adolescent development.