Jackie Hardrick.com Jackie Hardrick.com Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Enlighten Publications ISBN-10:  0970622627 Type: Fiction Pages: 272 Copyright: May 2, 2003 ISBN-13: 9780970622624 Recipient of the 2005-2006 Georgia Peach Honor Book Award for Teen Readers! Voted 2004 Best Young Adult Fiction by Urban Spectrum newspaper! Recommended Reading by the Black Caucus National Council of Teachers of English The purpose of this exciting and drama-packed contemporary young adult novel is to make teenagers THINK, to discourage drug use, and to encourage valuing themselves & their education. Imani in Never Say Goodbye shows teenagers the consequences of using illegal drugs. It depicts how experimentation can lead to addiction. How addiction affects someone socially, mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. Imani in Never Say Goodbye also shows the responsibilities of a teen mother and the limitations they impose. Other messages range from not tolerating mental or physical abuse to achieving good grades in preparing for higher education. Available Through: www.jackiehardrick.com or Enlighten Publications call toll free: 1-866-862-8626. Enlighten Publications accepts Purchase Orders, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Business Checks & Money Orders. ***Now Available***Imani in Never Say Goodbye t-shirts! Black short sleeve 100% cotton pre-shrunk tee. Available only through www.jackiehardrick.com or Enlighten Publications 1-866-862-8626 (toll-free)             Excerpt Who Knew? Imani never saw it coming and neither did Fatima, Dominique, Tyler...One drag off a joint, one crack house, one drug test, one injury, one argument, one death, one drug deal, one wrong place at the wrong time led to one thing after another and their worlds spun out of control.Who will survive? Who will have to say Goodbye? Join Imani and crew as their drama unfolds... Imani (age 17)..."So no matter what, I'm going to college by any means necessary." Tyler (17)..."I could have gotten Imani and all of us killed. I should have given them what they wanted." Fatima (18)..."This year is so messed up. I feel like we've been in a smackdown." Dominique (16)..."Kelli wouldn't offer me weed if it could hurt me. What should I do? Okay, just one little puff." Kelli (16)..."Doms, I can get all the weed you need. Call me." Mercedes (17)..."Troy, you said you wouldn't hit me again." Troy (17)..."Mercedes, I love you so much it makes me crazy."

Booklist 2/15/04 issue
Seventeen-year-old Imani gets top billing once again in this companion to Imani in Young Love & Deception (2002). In fact, Imani is just one of several urban, African American teens whose lives intersect during a tumultuous senior year. As Imani, star of her high school b-ball team, struggles with the SATs and worries over how she'll pay for college, other girls in her crowd deal with grimmer problems, including single motherhood and drug addiction. Hardrick's good intentions are obvious; she promotes higher education and clean living and casts the alternative in a uniformly squalid light. The novel even comes with discussion questions: "What are the financial, physical, mental, and social consequences of using drugs?"


The abundant messages aside, many readers will respond to the dramatic plotlines and Hardrick's flair for dialogue ("Maaan, I got so many honeys it's gonna be hard pickin' just one") as well as the hip-hop vibe projected by the book jacket.--Jennifer Mattson

Voices of Youth Advocates 12/03 issue
Clearly, the author has an agenda for her characters and for her readers. Her book is marketed "to make teenagers think, to discourage them from trying drugs, and to encourage their education and themselves." As cautionary fiction, this book is a success and will fill a definite need in public and seconday school libraries. Even reluctant readers will appreciate the quick pace of the plot and snappy, slangy dialogue. This title will attract readers and offer them food for thought.-Jamie S. Hansen

Black Issues Book Review (May-June 2004)
"The suspense that Hardrick captures will always leave you waiting to see what happens next, but the truth is, you'll never guess. This novel doesn't skimp on any drama associated with being a teenager in today's hectic society. Hardrick does a marvelous job of recreating a true-to-life world that lures readers into the lives of regular 'can't-wait-till-I'm-grown' teenagers trying to find a place for themselves in the real world."