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Raising the Shades
Casey needs a way out of the dark
Ever since his mother fled the scene, thirteen-year-old Casey has taken over her cooking, cleaning, and looking after his father when he's "sick." In denial about his father's secret drinking and drug problem, Casey is increasingly isolated, angry, and overwhelmed. But Dad's addiction isn't as secret as Casey thinks, as he learns when his aunt announces that an intervention is in the works. Casey is conflicted. He wants to help save his father, the person he loves most in the world, but he doesn't want to betray him.
In this powerful novel, Doug Wilhelm shows how denial can cut both ways, as Casey stops overriding his own feelings and discovers his own way toward confronting his father directly, face-to-face, for the first time.
Ever since his mother fled the scene, thirteen-year-old Casey has taken over her cooking, cleaning, and looking after his father when he's "sick." In denial about his father's secret drinking and drug problem, Casey is increasingly isolated, angry, and overwhelmed. But Dad's addiction isn't as secret as Casey thinks, as he learns when his aunt announces that an intervention is in the works. Casey is conflicted. He wants to help save his father, the person he loves most in the world, but he doesn't want to betray him.
In this powerful novel, Doug Wilhelm shows how denial can cut both ways, as Casey stops overriding his own feelings and discovers his own way toward confronting his father directly, face-to-face, for the first time.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2001
9 people want to read
About the author
Doug Wilhelm
34 books48 followersDoug Wilhelm is the author of 17 books for young readers, including Street of Storytellers, a multi-award winning novel for YA and adult readers:
• Gold medal, YA fiction, 2020 Independent Press Awards
• Silver medal, teen fiction, 2020 Benjamin Franklin Awards
• Winner, young adult books, 2019 Independent Publishers of New England Book Awards
• Kirkus Reviews Indie Editors Choice
Doug's previous books include The Revealers, a novel about bullying that has been the focus of reading-and-discussion projects in over 1,000 U.S. middle schools, and True Shoes, the Revealers sequel on cyberbullying. Doug began writing for young people with the legendary Choose Your Own Adventure series, for which he has written 10 books. When he visits schools to talk about his books, kids notice that he is six feet ten inches tall!
http://www.dougwilhelm.com/
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougwi...
• Gold medal, YA fiction, 2020 Independent Press Awards
• Silver medal, teen fiction, 2020 Benjamin Franklin Awards
• Winner, young adult books, 2019 Independent Publishers of New England Book Awards
• Kirkus Reviews Indie Editors Choice
Doug's previous books include The Revealers, a novel about bullying that has been the focus of reading-and-discussion projects in over 1,000 U.S. middle schools, and True Shoes, the Revealers sequel on cyberbullying. Doug began writing for young people with the legendary Choose Your Own Adventure series, for which he has written 10 books. When he visits schools to talk about his books, kids notice that he is six feet ten inches tall!
http://www.dougwilhelm.com/
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougwi...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 15, 2008
Casey is taking care of his alcoholic father and doesn't see any other way of improving things. He loves his dad but resents him at the same time. When his aunt tries to get a intervention arranged, Casey has to decide if life as it is now is better than if things don't go well at the intervention. Does his love for his dad keep him from helping his dad? Is being an alcoholic as bad as it seems sometimes? Casey has to decide that if you love someone, sometimes you have to do tough things to help them. A good read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review