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Damage A M Jenkins Books

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Damage A M Jenkins Books

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Tags : Amazon.com: Damage (9780060290993): A. M. Jenkins: Books,A. M. Jenkins,Damage,HarperTeen,0060290994,Social Themes - Emotions & Feelings,Depression (Psychology);Fiction.,Depression, Mental;Fiction.,Football;Fiction.,Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Depression, Mental,Fiction,Fiction-Coming of Age,Football,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Social Issues - Adolescence,Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings,Social Issues - Special Needs,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Young Adult Fiction Social Themes Dating & Sex,Young Adult Fiction Social Themes Emotions & Feelings,Young Adult Fiction Social Themes General (see also headings under Family),Depression (Psychology)

Damage A M Jenkins Books Reviews

Seventeen-year-old Austin Reid has a newspaper clipping thumb-tacked to the bulletin board in his bedroom. The headline reads "The Pride of the Parkersville Panthers" and the photo is a head shot of a smiling guy in a football jersey. That guy is Austin - or at least, he used to be that guy. These days, smiling is an effort, in fact, just breathing is an effort and Austin doesn't know why. He just knows that he feels weary, disconnected from the world and entirely overwhelmed.

When Senior year starts, Austin hooks up with Heather Mackenzie, the most beautiful girl in Parkersville, and things get a little bit better. He still feels like he's only half a person and he's still just going through the motions a lot of the time, but having Heather gives him a reason to get out of bed.

Like Austin, Heather lost her father a while ago - his to cancer, hers to suicide - and he thinks that under her vain and selfish exterior is someone who's as sad as lonely as he is. But Heather doesn't want to look below the surface, and when Austin admits how he sometimes feels, her rejection pushes him to consider putting an end to his pain for good.

Damage is a stark, unflinching look at the downward spiral of undiagnosed depression, written with honesty and sympathy.
I went into reading this very skeptical. A football book? Why would I ever want to read a football book? and several other sites recommended it though, so I did get it and read it. It started out a little flat. I was still reeling over the whole football thing. The first person narration was a little off-putting. Things weren't great. Typical jock, typical girl, typical story, blahblahblah. Or...you know, not. I started getting interested upon getting a better explanation about Curtis, a surprisingly sensitive football player. I still had my doubts, mentally ranting about how stupid it was that society forced football players to put on a perfect "image", still feeling that these boys were pathetically weak for not showing their emotions. (This, actually, was the one thought that stayed through the entire book. The rest were all disproven.) Going into the second half, things aren't as perfect as they seem. There are some crude moments, but realistic and essential ones. The facade is lifted and everyone's lives have been damaged. It was Austin's conversation with his mom that really won me over, leading in to one of the best endings I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The emphasis on football died down, and more and more of the book focused on the characters' lives and emotions, the interesting stuff. Simply amazing. As Austin's interest in life fades, the intensity of the book grows. Damage is really one of those books that everyone should take the time to read. Biggest shocker? A.M. Jenkins is a woman.

Rating 5/5
Back in the 80's, a lot of teen novels were based on getting kids to NOT do stuff. There were anti-drug books (like the notorious and simply awful "Go Ask Alice"), anti-drinking books, anti-driving too fast, anti-pregnancy, anti-being mean to your parents, etc. So I think it was sometime during the 90s that perceptions and intentions slowly began to change. Suddenly people were writing books about teens with problems that weren't their own faults. Books where kids were abused at home, or suffered homelessness, or had ADD. Which brings us to the 21st century and "Damage" by A.M. Jenkins. By and large, the book's supposed to be about one thing and one thing only. Depression. And if this were some kind of an After-School-Special book then I'm sure the hero's depression would be the main focus of the story with peripheral attention paid to other characters and situations. This, however, is not the case. Jenkins is a little too good an author to allow her books to end up being one-sided diatribes. As a result, "Damage", is a little too good to characterize as "just" a novel about depression.

It didn't used to be this way. When Austin began high school he was enthusiastic about everything. Girls. Football. His friends. But with the beginning of his Senior year, the year he's supposed to be having the time of his life, he just can't get excited anymore. He still goes through the motions, of course. And really, the only person who notices that anything is wrong is his best friend Curtis, so he can't be doing too badly, right? Still, everything seems to be on a downhill track until Austin hooks up with gorgeous hot Heather. She seems just the person to get him out of his rut. Ignoring the warnings from Curtis, Austin goes for Heather full-throttle. But he knows perfectly well that he should be careful. One wrong step with her and he could end up feeling the way he did before. Only much much worse and with possible irreparable results.

There were a couple of things I particularly liked about this book. I liked that it took place in a small town that wasn't stereotypical backwoodsy-everybody's-a-racist-hicksburg. The result of making it such a close and loving community is that it shows that depression can hit a person anywhere. Regardless of where they grow up or what their family situation is. Of course, the book does have some flaws. At times, it feels as if Jenkins is straining to make this book feel like a real teenaged boy's thoughts and fantasies. While treading in the steps of such awesome YA writers like Chris Crutcher, Jenkins sometimes falls a little short when adopting a teen boy's voice.

But it's still worth the read. I suppose there's at least one worthwhile YA book for every topic of concern out there today. And for depression, "Damage" may well be it. But the book's just as much about football and dating as it is Austin's internal problems. The author also includes important contact info for anyone who knows or is someone who needs professional help in treating this potentially deadly disease. Jenkins lets readers suffering know that they're not alone. Hopefully it can help someone somewhere.
I look for books that can be given or read to students that will help them understand their issues -- for self-understanding and hope. I thought that this book did a good job of describing depression. However, in this book the young man's problems miraculously disappeared practically overnight as the result of breaking up with a girl (and she wasn't the initial cause of the depression). I would want a youth with such severe depression to get professional help.
read half this book in my freshman year of highschool. kept it in my head for years and years and now here I sit a junior in college and I've finally been able to finish it. excellent book. kept me captivated for a long. long time. I also have been able to help a friend through this book. thank you.
My daughter loves this author