The positivity is relentless, but anxious readers may be left feeling a bit less pressured.
Following Markey’s The Body Image Book for Girls (2020), this title co-authored with Hart and Zacher offers an extended pep talk aimed at tween and teen boys.
Bolstered by personal statements and advice from dozens of interviewees in their midteens to mid-20s—including one who discusses his transition, another who is gay and Black, a little person, and a 15-year-old with diabetes—the co-authors, academics from the field of psychology, urge readers to be comfortable in their own skins rather than trying to be like celebrities, influencers, or professional athletes. The approach isn’t so much “anything goes” as common-sensical; aside from occasional strictures against, for instance, nutritional supplements, sexting, and food fads, the general course recommended is a middle one. Occasional fast food or soda is OK so long as there is plenty of fresh and home-prepared food in the mix; exercise is important but shredded abs are not; and self-compassion achieves better results than setting unrealistic goals. The increasing obesity of American youth receives a single glancing mention, and the book supports the Health at Every Size framework. The research-based content, backed up by checklists, quotes from doctors, and resources, lends heft to the upbeat message. While debunking the myth that boys are not susceptible to eating disorders, the focus is less on problems than finding ways to acknowledge them and move on. The illustrations are mostly diagrams or graphic-style spot art.
The positivity is relentless, but anxious readers may be left feeling a bit less pressured. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: April 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-108-94937-8
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Cambridge Univ.
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
Congolese-American Sophie makes a harrowing trek through a war-torn jungle to protect a young bonobo.
On her way to spend the summer at the bonobo sanctuary her mother runs, 14-year-old Sophie rescues a sickly baby bonobo from a trafficker. Though her Congolese mother is not pleased Sophie paid for the ape, she is proud that Sophie works to bond with Otto, the baby. A week before Sophie's to return home to her father in Miami, her mother must take advantage
of a charter flight to relocate some apes, and she leaves Sophie with Otto and the sanctuary workers. War breaks out, and after missing a U.N. flight out, Sophie must hide herself and Otto from violent militants and starving villagers. Unable to take Otto out of the country, she decides finding her mother hundreds of miles to the north is her only choice. Schrefer jumps from his usual teen suspense to craft this well-researched tale of jungle survival set during a fictional conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Realistic characters (ape and human) deal with disturbing situations described in graphic, but never gratuitous detail. The lessons Sophie learns about her childhood home, love and what it means to be endangered will resonate with readers.
Even if some hairbreadth escapes test credulity, this is a great next read for fans of our nearest ape cousins or survival adventure. (map, author's note, author Q&A) (Adventure. 12-16)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-16576-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Unhappy teens in need of a lecture on thinking positively and being more in touch with one’s emotions need look no further.
Mangan presents in as many chapters a 20-point strategy that ranges from “Have a Positive Attitude” and “Cut Your Problems Into Pieces” to “Practice Being Patient” and “Appreciate the Value of Your Hard Work.” She blends private exercises like visualizing forgiveness with comments on selective attention, “problematic procrastination” and other bad habits, reframing situations to put them in different lights, “changing shoes” to understand others better and subjecting feelings to rational analysis. Though the author has a graduate degree and years of practice in clinical psychology, she offers generalities and generic situations rather than specific cases from her experience, and the book is devoid of references to further resources or even an index. Superficial advice (“If you are unsafe or are around kids that you know are bullies, just walk away”) combines with techniques that are unlikely to interest readers (“Make a song verse out of your list of helpful thoughts”). The author also makes questionable claims about the mind-body connection (“When you smile, your body sends a signal to your brain that you are happy”) and fails to make a case for regarding side forays into food habits and environmental concerns as relevant to her topic. Obvious issues and common-sense advice, unpersuasively presented. (Self-help. 12-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-1040-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
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