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TOOLS OF A+ STUDENTS

Name: TOOLS OF A+ STUDENTS
Author: Alexander Ouellet
ISBN: 978-1-5255-0791-5

EPIC STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC & PERSONAL SUCCESS

by Alexander Ouellet ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 23, 2018

A well-written but ultimately uneven motivational guide for teens.

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A teenager advises other teens on how to achieve success in this manual.

Ouellet (The Super Students Guide to Navy Seal Productivity, 2017) was a bullied kid who dealt with his feelings by acting out, often landing himself in the vice principal’s office. It got so bad that, when he was 13 years old, he began contemplating suicide. Through the support of his parents, teachers, and life coach, Ouellet learned to see himself differently: as a good kid with a lot of potential who just needed a new perspective. With this book, he hopes to share what he’s learned in the intervening years with his fellow teens so that they might undergo the same regenerative process. He encourages readers to learn from their mistakes, set excuses aside, and build winning attitudes in order to move through life with greater success. Much of Ouellet’s regimen is structured around discovering one’s passions, picking goals that relate to those interests, and achieving those objectives through helpful strategies like deadlines and daily routines. The author prescribes rituals for morning, bedtime, and throughout the day so that readers are always working toward their goals. Because this is a book for teens, a good portion of it is dedicated to becoming a better student. Ouellet writes in an enthusiastic prose that is certainly impressive for a 16-year-old: “Your mind is like a garden, so you must fertilize it with the best ideas and knowledge.” But contentwise, the book is boilerplate, Tony Robbins–style motivation, which, when spoken in the voice of a teen, comes off as slightly odd. Ouellet’s vision of success is both materialistic and grandiose. It’s a worldview that seems as if it might place greater pressure on teenage readers, not less. When the 13-year-old Ouellet confessed his thoughts of suicide to his father, his parent responded: “I promise you that within a year from now, you’ll be achieving heights you’ll have never thought possible. You’ll be happier than you’ve ever been.” Many readers will likely be left wondering if minors aren’t a bit young for this sort of hyperbolic aspirational thinking.

A well-written but ultimately uneven motivational guide for teens.

Pub Date: March 23, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5255-0791-5

Page Count: 204

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: May 1, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.