Book resources

Clark, Chap. Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (2004).
- The definitive work on today's adolescent mindset and culture, and how teachers/ministers can best approach working with this generation. A must read.

Rice, Wayne. Understanding Your Teenager (1999)
- Great overview of adolescent development, spiritual growth stages, and successful parenting techniques aimed at bringing out their best. (don't miss the companion website, http://www.understandingyourteenager.com/)

Mueller, Walt. Youth Culture 101 (2007)
- Looks to be a good overview of current youth culture trends, as well as suggested responses

Clark, Chap and Clark, Dee. Disconnected: Parenting Teens in a Myspace World (2007).
- "After the overwhelming response to Hurt, authors Chap and Dee Clark here equip parents with an up-to-date, realistic parenting book that doesn’t ignore the harsh realities of adolescent life. It builds a foundation for parents by describing exactly how things have changed, takes them through the various developmental stages their children go through, and gives them workable paradigms for parenting." (from http://www.amazon.com/)

Elkind, David. The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon (2001).
- "Charts the baby-boom generation's obsession with raising successful children and the adverse results experienced by youngsters asked to do too much too soon, and offers advice on avoiding this syndrome."

Hersch, Patricia. A Tribe Apart: A Journey Into the Heart of American Adolescence (1998)
- "A former contributing editor to Psychology Today magazine draws on her three years of observation and conversation with a group of teenagers from a common American town to portray today's adolescents as a society unto themselves."

Kindlon, Dan, and Thompson, Michael. Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys (1999)
- "The groundbreaking bestselling guide to raising emotionally healthy boys shows parents how to avoid the violence, addiction, and sexual excess that plagues many young men when they reach their teens."

Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (1994)
- "A clinical psychologist observes the psychological pitfalls faced by teenage girls growing up in a dangerous world in which violence, sexual harassment, eating disorders, promiscuity, and drug use have become the norm."

Greenwald, Andy. Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo (2003)
- history of/insight into the "emo" music movement (well-reviewed, and looks interesting)

(unless otherwise stated, all quoted summaries from http://www.wcls.org/)