Upbeat and persuasive.
For young self-starters eager to become well-off, a successful Black entrepreneur and financial podcaster offers a pep talk and a program.
In this conversational, approachable guide, Rodgers presents a mix of practical guidelines and attitude adjustment techniques that, she claims, will make that Million Dollar Dream a reality in about 12 years, which is the average for entrepreneurs. Her advice about the nuts and bolts of budgeting, saving, mutual fund investing, and the like is solid, if standard issue. The secret sauce, she insists, is learning how to change negative Zero Dollar thinking, expectations, and decision-making. Her approach blends easily absorbed slogans (“You’re not broke, you’re pre-rich”) and valuable insights (“the riches are in the niches”) with the broader principle that having money “is not about the money,” but about using it to make one’s own and others’ lives better, helping to “create the world you actually want to live in.” Much of the content may seem wildly optimistic, but the author doesn’t downplay the amount of labor that will be required—and she stands as proof that her approach works. Crucially, Rodgers also doesn’t shy away from acknowledging that “studies show that banking policies are sexist and racist” and that queer, disabled, and other marginalized people face real barriers, lending her advice, as someone who succeeded despite these odds, more credibility. Each chapter closes with a summary of major points, and the book’s website contains supplementary worksheets.
Upbeat and persuasive. (100 ways to make money, resources, endnotes) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780310158202
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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