The Fresh Voices series was inspired by a writing contest of by the same name that identified high school writers interested in composing book-length works for young adults. Working with a professional editor, the young authors spent the summer learning about the book industry and meeting journalists while writing their individual books, both fiction and nonfiction. The four titles in this series represent the first four winners of the contest. Readers are urged to reject the material desolation and moral depravity of the pop-cultured American status quo in this forceful and heartfelt work of nonfiction by a 17-year-old author. While there are no doubt powerful cultural forces acting against a happier way of life, a more sturdy path to happiness and fulfillment based upon God and Christ can be found, if one is willing to seek it. To help lead the reader onto a better path, Biblical references from the New International Version and The Message offer insight into more responsible dealings with such commonplace subjects as materialism, relationships, spiritual fulfillment, and the filtering out of the media.