I think adults miss something very important about teenagers. They think teenagers are dangerous I little vortexes of evil. I. But my friends and I have so much more we'd rather do than waste time gathering guns and ammunition and stuff. My friends and I are not harmful. But inconsiderate treatment can stir to terrible action those who are." — John, 15

"We are human beings, not machines. A person can only take so much before reaching a breaking point." — Jill, 19

We've all seen the newspaper stories, watched the TV dramas unfold. They're everywhere, it seems: teenagers who shoot classmates in schools, who molest children, who commit suicide or cut themselves or give birth in secret and leave babies on doorsteps or in Dumpsters, Are these teenagers born bad — or did something happen to make them act this way? Why do teens today feel so angry, so full of pain, so alone?

Listen to the voices of teenagers as they comment, candidly, on teens in trouble. The experts, those who study these difficult issues and discuss them in the media, draw their own conclusions. The teens here tell it like it is.

They're everywhere in the news these days, it seems — teenagers who commit horrific crimes of anger: school shootings or sexual molestation or physical abuse. And then there are those whose crimes are self-directed: suicide, cutting, denial of pregnancy, or even infanticide. What's happening? Are teenagers worse than ever? Is society?

Sabrina Solin Weill has interviewed hundreds of teenagers to find out what they think about these issues. "We're Not Monsters" brings its readers — teenagers and adults alike — the revelation that the experts have a lot to say about what's going on, but it is teens themselves who can tell us what we really want to know: why they're hurting, what we can do to fix things — and where to find hope.

Sabrina Solin is executive editor and one of the founding editors at Cosmogirl Magazine. She is the author of many magazine articles and The Seventeen Guide to Sex and Your Body. She worked previously at Redbook, Seventeen, and Scholastic Magazines.