Candid insights from a role model for kindness in government.
A former New Zealand prime minister’s memoir, skillfully repackaged for teens by Shamir.
Growing up, Jacinda Ardern never expected to become a politician. Despite her passion for politics, she believed that she was too thin-skinned to succeed in that field. But she discovered that her “flaws”—anxiety, sensitivity, over-preparation, and a tendency toward imposter syndrome—could also be her strengths. She shares this encouraging message with readers, along with her signature leadership principle of kindness. Ardern tells her story in vivid vignettes, beginning with her childhood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, living in small communities where her father was a policeman. Ardern excelled on the high school debate team while dealing with debilitating worrying. She volunteered and then started working for the Labour Party and was eventually elected to parliament herself. A progressive, she had already left the church over their opposition to LGBTQ+ rights. In September 2017, a month before becoming prime minister, she learned that she was pregnant. Ardern pushed herself to prove that she could run the country while pregnant and then as a new mother, but burnout was inevitable; she concludes with her decision to resign in January 2023. A timeline would have been handy for tracking events, but this is an engaging read for teens that offers a peek behind the scenes of the life of a remarkable and influential woman.
Candid insights from a role model for kindness in government. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9780593692219
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Attractively designed and handsomely illustrated, this informative text introduces teens to many intriguing angles on a...
Will the world end in a bang or a whimper? Unless pre-empted by human-induced disaster or one of many scientifically possible catastrophic scenarios, life on Earth will end a billion years from now in a sizzle.
Predicting the end of the world is an old story, argues the author, presenting evidence in brief surveys of eschatologies from the world's major religions and mythologies of ancient civilizations. Miller also notes how end-of-world scenarios have captured humanity's imagination in their frequent appearances in science-fiction novels and motion pictures. (Disappointingly, the reasons for this ongoing fascination are not explored.) A chapter about imminent predictions for 2012 explains the Mayan prophecy and a theory about a phantom planet called Nibiru crashing into Earth. Another chapter examines pseudoscientific end-of-world theories such as planetary alignment and pole shifts. The primary focus is on scientifically plausible scenarios: self-destruction through nuclear war or continued environmental exploitation; humanity wiped out by a pandemic; an asteroid or comet strike destroying Earth.
Attractively designed and handsomely illustrated, this informative text introduces teens to many intriguing angles on a high-interest topic that should inspire many to further explore the subject. (chronology, glossary, bibliography, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7613-7396-4
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
Catnip for scandal junkies, with a bit of historical perspective stirred in.
A gleefully explicit catalogue of the past century’s headline-grabbing bad behavior.
Aimed at readers who don’t need to be told who Brangelina is but may be hazy on “twisted besties” Leopold and Loeb or even Monica Lewinsky, this edutaining survey presents a wide-angle array of murders, sexual follies, controversial trials, race violence, political corruption and general envelope-pushing from the 1906 killing of Stanford White on. Each of the chronologically arranged entries opens with a capsule “Scoop” followed by a slightly fuller account under a “What Went Down” header. Along with a small black-and-white photo and one or two sidebar quotes, the author tacks on subsequent developments, sometimes-perceptive suggestions about “Why We Still Care” and a short roster of similar incidents in recent history. Though she misspells “Symbionese” and repeatedly awards FDR only three Presidential wins, in general Fryd presents reasonably accurate summaries of events and issues while giving all sides of the more muddled conflicts at least a nod. Additional cred is provided by a teen panel of editorial advisors.
Catnip for scandal junkies, with a bit of historical perspective stirred in. (index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9827322-0-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Zest/Orange Avenue
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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