Ask Me If I Care: Voices from an American High School

I love this book, mostly because of my found feelings and memories of the Author Nancy Rubin. As a Berkeley High Alumi I took social living, and I actually think I am one of the many real, honest, and raw entries in her book. In he social living class, we were all allowed to be honest, and open, that was truly a safe place. One of my fondest memories is recieving a letters from myself which I wrote in her class and in turn Miss Rubin would mail them to her student at the date the student requested. I recieved one, when I graduated,on my 18th birthday, my 21st birthday, and my 30th birthday. This book is great for those young adults! Thanks, Miss Rubin

As a teen worker I found this be a useful guide into the minds of teens. It didn't surprise me as much as it confirmed or validated my experiences working with teens. Be warned, if you are not ready to hear the truth in graphic detail, then this book is not for you. But, if you have an open mind, a caring heart and a willingness to really understand teens then this book is a must!

With the Christmas season upon us, the search for meaningful gifts for our teens can be as frustrating as grasping for ways to communicate with and guide our children through the treacherous waters of adolescence. ASK ME IF I CARE may be the perfect solution. Written by Nancy Rubin, a Social Living teacher of 17 years, it is a riveting collection of letters written by teens about the issues facing them today. Problems that we as parents never had to deal with in our day. The short first person entries by their own peers will gain and hold the attention of even the most reluctant reader. It's one engaging short story after another, all true, all relevant, all brutally honest. Your teen cannot help but identify and learn from the very identifiable experiences of people trying to navigate through the same waters with the same emotional tools as themselves. This is the gift that can change, even save lives.

I have used Ask Me If I Care for four years in my classes in teacher education and adolescent development. My students, who are finishing college and about to enter the teaching credential program or are currently completing their teaching credential, have consistently said they "cannot put the book down". Inevitably, students finish the book in days, completely absorbed in the powerful, sometimes painfully honest words of the adolescents in Nancy Rubin's book. Ask Me If I Care gives my students what they cannot get from a textbook on adolescent development; namely, the truth, the range of experiences and feelings and thoughts and opinions and needs and so much that this age group has to tell us. As a professor of secondary education, I am very grateful for this book.