Teens looking for help in understanding their brains and making positive shifts will find this effective.
This down-to-earth guide to cognitive behavioral therapy based on adolescent brain development is practical and accessibly written.
Developed by Dr. Aaron T. Beck as an alternative to traditional methods, CBT focuses on how thoughts influence behaviors. Nebolsine, an experienced CBT practitioner, provides clear interpretations of many research studies that back up her suggestions for changing readers’ attitudes toward their problems, illustrated with anecdotal examples from real teens’ lives. The book opens with simple scientific explanations of the teen brain and its structure and functioning. Relatively well-adjusted young people who need some direction for dealing with studying, overcoming procrastination, gaining confidence in school, and increasing their ability to make and keep worthwhile friendships will benefit from this text that focuses on teaching strategies for dealing constructively with common issues. (The author recommends that teens dealing with more serious issues reach out to a trusted adult.) The dangers of drinking, drugs, and risky sexual behavior are addressed. Short sections labeled “Brain Hack” offer practical suggestions, supplementing other specific techniques in the main text. The chatty narrative directly addressing readers is inviting, although some repetition and jokey asides can be annoying. Chapters on stress and meditation and mindfulness will be of general interest, and the last section, on creating a meaningful narrative for one’s life, will also appeal to many.
Teens looking for help in understanding their brains and making positive shifts will find this effective. (references) (Nonfiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68403-804-6
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Instant Help Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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