Down Is Not Out

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up Lee and Wortman have chosen a middle ground in approach and style, including in their prospective audience a mix of teens and concerned adults. Language is clear and comprehensible even when concepts are complex and technical. The text is descriptive and analytical with illustrative case histories. Types of depression are discussed ranging from ``normal moodiness'' to ``manic'' with emphasis on the special nature of teen depression. Factors which trigger such depression are examined. The authors suggest that a sense of loss in any number of areas is the common denominator in the onset of teen depression. One chapter is devoted to suicide. Another chapter details treatment and therapy. This is a useful book which covers aspects of the subject not in Kathleen McCoy's Coping with Teenage Depression (NAL, 1983) or Ari Kiev's Riding Through the Downers, Hassles, Snags, and Funks (Dutton, 1980; o.p.). Libby K. White, Schenectady County Public Lib . , N . Y.