Written by Jeanne Blake, a Boston-based television science reporter, with the assistance of six teenagers from Cambridge High School, Risky Times speaks directly to teenagers. It is the "information vaccine," offering the one truly effective weapon there is: knowledge.

Kids will listen to their peers-in this case, the six teenagers who share their thoughts on sex, AIDS, condom use, peer pressure, drugs, and decision-making.

Myths are dispelled: You can't get AIDS if an infected person sneezes on you; you can get AIDS from sharing an infected needle, even just to pierce your ears. Questions about kissing are explored; hard truths are given unvarnished and unsweetened. The accuracy of the information is assured by the assistance of Dr. Jerome Groopman, an internationally respected Harvard AIDS researcher.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I am only 15 years old." It's a common statement from teenagers. Risky Times will help you tell them with love how dangerously mistaken they are. 214,000 copies in print.

Jeanne Blake is the Science and Medical Editor for WBZ-TV in Boston, Massachusetts. She has been honored by the Massachusetts Public Health Association for her "significant contributions of public service in behalf of public health."