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Dope Sick

(2009, Fiction - Contemporary Fiction, Written by Walter Myers)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Cautionary tale about a teen drug addict.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 14 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The main character uses and deals drugs, and participates in a robbery, for which he is sent to jail.

  • Violence:

    A boy is shot in the arm, another shoots a policeman. A man kills another man for calling him a name. Two boys are beaten in jail.

  • Sex:

    A teen gets pregnant.

  • Language:

    Some, including "s--t" and "f--k."

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    This book is all about drug abuse, both illegal and prescription: many references to many different drugs and drug paraphernalia, and the main character is an addict and injects heroin. A mother is a falling-down drunk who has to be dragged home by her son.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Dope Sick

Parents need to know that this is a book about drug abuse by street punks, so there are plenty of drug and violence references, though nothing graphic, and the main character is forced to confront what the drugs are doing to his life.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about how kids get started using drugs. How did Jeremy get started? Why does he continue using them when he knows they're destroying him? Why does he feel so hopeless? Is he right, or is there a way out for him?
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