DEGRASSI TALKS: ABUSE Toronto, Mint Publishers, 1992. 124pp, paper, $4.95, ISBN 1-55120-002-3. CIP DEGRASSI TALKS: ALCOHOL Toronto, Mint Publishers, 1992. 124pp, paper, $4.95, ISBN 1-55120-001-5. CIP DEGRASSI TALKS: DEPRESSION Toronto, Mint Publishers, 1992. 124pp, paper, $4.95, ISBN 1-55120-003-1. CIP DEGRASSI TALKS: DRUGS Toronto, Mint Publishers, 1992. 124pp, paper, $4.95, ISBN 1-55120-004-X. CIP DEGRASSI TALKS: SEX Toronto, Mint Publishers, 1992. 124pp, paper, $4.95, ISBN 1-55120-000-7. CIP DEGRASSI TALKS: SEXUALITY Toronto, Mint Publishers, 1992. 124pp, paper, $4.95, ISBN 1-55120-005-8. All distributed by Mint Publishers, 83 Woodlawn Ave., Toronto, Ont. M4V 1G6. CIP Grades 6 to 9 /Ages 11 to 14 Reviewed by Robert Haxton Volume 20 Number 5 1992 October Buy these for your "Degrassi High" fans but expect to feel manipulated. The stars of the popular teen-age television show tell their own stories and talk to their peers about the six problem areas that make up the titles of the series. The basis of the books was a serial documentary aired by CBC in the spring. From the popularity of the TV program one would expect these to have virtually universal appeal, but my fourteen-year-old daughter dismissed them and the program with such unmitigated scorn as to make me wonder whether the concept of "teenager" has become passe, having been co-opted once too often. The most engaging parts are those personal accounts that are unencumbered by the need to pass on a message. What touches you is that awakening of individual identity, which, one feels, is the real antidote to most of these problems and is not amenable to dictation. There's much that's helpful and supportive here if you get past the "Messages" and "Advice." Robert Haxton is a former librarian in Vancouver, British Columbia