Tiny Teenage Tales

~~~~ Summary. Sam, a teenager who has experienced her parents' maltreatment her entire life, fears that her younger sister will experience the same fate. She and her companion Dodger come up with a plan to leave their group home and form a community that will aid other children just like them. Sam comes encounters a fantasy tree house inhabited by a mystery woman named Theory while traveling to meet Dodger at a remote lake. Sam learns the abilities she has been hiding inside that will aid in both her own healing and the healing of other abuse victims under Theory's compassionate yet effective guidance. Author Sarah Mendivel has created Sam's Theory, a motivational novel that is tragic, humorous, frightening, magical, devastating, and inspiring all at once. Although she includes some fantastical aspects in her book, she does not attempt to minimize or sugarcoat the reality of child abuse, which she depicts with an unflinching rawness. Because of this, readers who have e...

1. How did you get the idea of this book? I work a lot with kids and teens that are having a hard time with life experiences and the feelings that come with it. I used to work at a children's hospital in Chicago, IL where teenagers that were feeling depressed, anxious, or suicidal would come to get help. We would work together to learn about what made them sad, angry, and nervous, then team up to figure out what coping tools they could use to feel more successful in the world. This job was my most favorite job in the entire world because of how much I love teenagers and children. I happen to think you are all very special and it was important to me that you saw just how special you are, too. If you knew how important you were and saw yourself the way I do, you would do incredible things in this life. So, I wrote this book to try and help teens having a hard time to let them know that they can be okay. It's okay to feel lonely or stuck, but there are ways you can get out of thos...