Informative, balanced, and well organized for research.
Concise, informative chapters and ample statistics explore teens’ use of AI tools, primarily chatbots and generative AI.
“AI promises to transform the lives of teenagers in many ways, inside and outside the classroom,” notes Allen. The book opens with diagrams that show how young people use generative AI and how they feel about it. (Confusingly, statistics presented just four pages apart differ dramatically and are presented without clarifying context: An opening uncited pie chart indicates that 41% of teens and young adults have never used generative AI, while a 2024 Common Sense Media survey in Chapter 1 gives a figure of 30%.) The introduction describes positive and negative examples of uses of AI, such as monitoring for warning signs of worsening mental health and the distressing discovery that early ChatGPT models “discussed suicide plans with young users and helped them write suicide notes.” Later chapters cover education (cheating concerns, personalized tutoring), deepfakes and cyberbullying (sextortion, the Take It Down Act), chatbots (app-based companions, unhealthy obsessions), leisure (personalized entertainment recommendations, more immersive gaming) and job market applications (developing “skills that AI cannot match,” career coaching). The clear sentences, text boxes, infographics, and stock photos with descriptive captions keep the flow of information organized. The chapters begin with real-life examples and quotations, followed by evenhanded explanations of the power, limitations, unintended consequences, and outright misuse of AI tools.
Informative, balanced, and well organized for research. (source notes, for further research, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781678212544
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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