Necessary Steps: A Familys Journey: A family struggles with adolescent addiction
by Jane I. Barsumian
Category: Self-Help

Although Paige's great passion is softball, and although she's the ace pitcher in her league and a star shortstop and first base player, she is also the 'easy out,' and couldn't hit the ball if it were the Goodyear blimp landing across the plate. 'If you don't learn to hit, I'm kicking you off the team.' says Valerie, the captain of the team. Valerie is the prettiest, smartest girl in sixth grade, the second best hitter/pitcher in the league, and she has hated Paige since kindergarten. Suddenly Paige's worse nightmare looms over her. Even her best friend, Gerry, the crowning home run Queen, calls her a traitor. To add more misery to Paige's life, she's expected to be the perfect kid while her parents fume over her teenage brother who could be headed straight for drug rehab. So she keeps her troubles to herself. When she accidentally discovers incriminating evidence against Valerie, Paige must decide whether to get even, or, as her Nana would tell her, take the high road and simply walk around those immovable boulders of life.