Inspiration and advice for job-seeking members of Generation Z.
In the first two books of her My Job series, Skees, a baby boomer, traveled the world to interview people of varying ages who worked in a wide variety of careers. In this entry, she follows a similar path, focusing on “Gen Z”—people born between 1995 and 2015—but she wisely collaborates with Yusuf, herself a Gen Zer. Together, they share stories about other Gen Zers from 22 countries and 31 states, and the text is consistently punchy and engaging. A passionate preface by 19-year-old Yusuf, for instance, sets the tone and connects with the target audience (“We might be just scooping ice cream, bussing tables or babysitting. But we have aspirations, hopes, dreams and desires”), and the prologue by Skees cites generational statistics, offers an overview of career options, and speaks to Gen Z’s consumer power. The book includes Covid-19 pandemic-related resources as well as a section on racial justice, because, as Skees notes, “Gen Z reports that the BLM [Black Lives Matter] movement is one of the most impactful events on their worldview.” The foundational first chapter offers useful factoids about the title demographic as well as snippets of conversations with Gen Zers about how they view the workplace, adapt to changing technology, set career goals, and embrace entrepreneurialism. Chapters 2 and 3, in which the authors profile scores of Gen Zers, comprise the heart of the book; the latter chapter draws on numerous other sources to highlight Gen Z “dream-job attainers.” It features some remarkable stories, including those of Kiowa Kavovit, a 7-year-old who appeared on the TV show Shark Tank and obtained a $100,000 investment for her eco-friendly adhesive bandage, and Malala Yousafzai, the famed 15-year-old educational activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize and wrote a bestselling book. Chapter 4 is chock-full of job-search advice and resources tailored to Gen Zers, including helpful tips on internships, cover letters, resumes, interviewing, and more.
An age-specific job manual featuring compelling stories and authoritative counsel.Pub Date: March 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66-290426-4
Page Count: 358
Publisher: Skees Family Foundation
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: BUSINESS | SELF-HELP | GENERAL NONFICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
24
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All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.
“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright—of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.
26
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More life reflections from the bestselling author on themes of societal captivity and the catharsis of personal freedom.
In her third book, Doyle (Love Warrior, 2016, etc.) begins with a life-changing event. “Four years ago,” she writes, “married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.” That woman, Abby Wambach, would become her wife. Emblematically arranged into three sections—“Caged,” “Keys,” “Freedom”—the narrative offers, among other elements, vignettes about the soulful author’s girlhood, when she was bulimic and felt like a zoo animal, a “caged girl made for wide-open skies.” She followed the path that seemed right and appropriate based on her Catholic upbringing and adolescent conditioning. After a downward spiral into “drinking, drugging, and purging,” Doyle found sobriety and the authentic self she’d been suppressing. Still, there was trouble: Straining an already troubled marriage was her husband’s infidelity, which eventually led to life-altering choices and the discovery of a love she’d never experienced before. Throughout the book, Doyle remains open and candid, whether she’s admitting to rigging a high school homecoming court election or denouncing the doting perfectionism of “cream cheese parenting,” which is about “giving your children the best of everything.” The author’s fears and concerns are often mirrored by real-world issues: gender roles and bias, white privilege, racism, and religion-fueled homophobia and hypocrisy. Some stories merely skim the surface of larger issues, but Doyle revisits them in later sections and digs deeper, using friends and familial references to personify their impact on her life, both past and present. Shorter pieces, some only a page in length, manage to effectively translate an emotional gut punch, as when Doyle’s therapist called her blooming extramarital lesbian love a “dangerous distraction.” Ultimately, the narrative is an in-depth look at a courageous woman eager to share the wealth of her experiences by embracing vulnerability and reclaiming her inner strength and resiliency.
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0125-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Categories: GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | SELF-HELP
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