Book Report #2

Book Report #2 Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Unit Due: Thurs., May 29th (B-Day) & Fri., May 30th (A-Day) Books: Smack, by Melvin Burgess; OR Go Ask Alice, Anonymous

Format: The written part of your book report should be double-spaced. A Title Page should include the following information: your name, period, date and the title and author of the book you read. The Overview should be no more than ½ page in length. There are no length requirements for Sections 2 – 4. However, all of the questions in Sections 2 – 4 must be answered completely.

Section 1: Overview (10 points) (Maximum Length = ½ page) Write an overall plot summary of the book you read. Include the names of the characters and their relationship to the main character.

Section 2: Continuum of Use (30 points) 1. Refer to the Continuum of Use you learned about in class. Explain the main character’s progression from use – misuse – abuse of drugs. Give specific examples to explain why the main character began to use drugs, when his/her drug use became misuse, and when his/her drug use became abusive. 2. What does the main character do to try to recover from his/her addiction? Was he/she successful? Why or why not? Be sure to give specific examples from the book to explain the steps he/she took in this process and why he/she was successful or not.

Section 3: Health Connections (30 points) 1. Identify and explain one defense mechanism the main character used to cope with his/her problems, other than drug use. (Refer to the handout you received during the Mental Health unit). Be sure to define the defense mechanism and give specific examples from the book to explain why you think the main character used this particular defense mechanism.

2. Explain what healthy coping mechanisms he/she could have used to resolve with these problems more effectively. Be sure to explain specific examples you learned in class, and why you think they would have worked for the main character.

3. How did drug use or abuse affect the characters’ physical health? What negative experiences did the main character and the other characters suffer as a result of their drug use or abuse? (Be sure to talk about bad experiences that happened to all the characters while they were under the influence of drugs or as a result of their drug use.)

Section 4: Commentary (5 points) Critique the book. What did you like about the book? What did you dislike?

Explain why you would or would not recommend this book to other 9th graders.