Risky Times : How to Be AIDS-Smart and Stay Healthy/Book With Parent's Guide [Paperback]

Jeanne Blake (Author), Jerome Groopman M. D. (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1990

Written by Jeanne Blake, a Boston-based television science reporter, with the assistance of six teenagers from Cambridge High School, Risky Times speaks directly to teenagers. It is the "information vaccine," offering the one truly effective weapon there is: knowledge.

Kids will listen to their peers-in this case, the six teenagers who share their thoughts on sex, AIDS, condom use, peer pressure, drugs, and decision-making.

Myths are dispelled: You can't get AIDS if an infected person sneezes on you; you can get AIDS from sharing an infected needle, even just to pierce your ears. Questions about kissing are explored; hard truths are given unvarnished and unsweetened. The accuracy of the information is assured by the assistance of Dr. Jerome Groopman, an internationally respected Harvard AIDS researcher.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I am only 15 years old." It's a common statement from teenagers. Risky Times will help you tell them with love how dangerously mistaken they are. 214,000 copies in print.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

A fast-paced, celebrity-sprinkled, easy-to-absorb, chatty introduction to AIDS for those contemplating risky behavior. Blake emphasizes compassion for sufferers, and includes touching stories of persons with AIDS (PWAs), most of whom are attractive young people who wish they had listened to the warnings. Celebrities such as Whitney Houston endorse safe sex practices or urge sympathy for PWAs. Profiled also are young people without the virus who have helped to raise money or support AIDS-related projects. There are some practical techniques (how to talk about condoms with partners, how parents can talk to teens about AIDS). There is little scientific analysis, but a few newer medical findings are revealed. This is similar to You Can Do Something About AIDS (Stop AIDS Project, 1988). A better title is Karen Hein's AIDS: Trading Fears for Facts (Consumers Union, 1989); both the Blake and Hein titles are devoid of detailed information on the reproductive system but each has touching case histories of AIDS sufferers who contracted the virus in a variety of ways. Another good title is Elaine Landau's We Have AIDS (Watts, 1990); but of all of these, none surpass in style, thoroughness, and readability Lynda Madaras Talks to Teens About AIDS (Newmarket, 1988). --Anne Osborn, Youth Training School, Dept. of Youth Authority, Ontario, CA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The people that describe their feelings and experiences make this book distinctive. -- Booklist

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (May 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0894806564
• ISBN-13: 978-0894806568
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,871,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck?, March 9, 2011

By 

Justin R. Castillo "spacebarshift" (OR, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Risky Times : How to Be AIDS-Smart and Stay Healthy/Book With Parent's Guide (Paperback)

Jay Leno showed a copy of it on The Tonight Show (March 1, 2011 #3999) to Matt Damon because the author is his former stepmother. There is a picture of kids in it including Ben Affleck.