ACTIONABLE LIFE SKILLS FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Shine presents a primer to help young adults build a wide variety of life skills.

In her nonfiction debut, the author draws on her two decades of experience as a consultant, team leader, and manager to provide her target audience of young adults with detailed and practical advice compiled to address concerns about adult life. Shine’s main areas of focus include self-knowledge, self-care, academic excellence, searching for a job, managing money, paying for college, transportation, getting an apartment, guarding against fraud, and dealing with issues of spirituality and morality. Under each of these headings, the author provides pragmatic counsel and anecdotal elaboration. About academic achievement, for instance, she writes bluntly, “The number one academic skill that can change your life is your ability and desire to read. It is fundamental.” About getting a job, she states simply, “There’s no feeling quite like earning a paycheck with your name on it.” Accompanying each of these chapters are “Take Action!” sections designed to help Shine’s readers apply her points in real life, asking questions such as “Looking back on your childhood, were there any traumatic incidents or episodes?” The guidebook’s plainspoken phrasing is its chief strength; at every step, the text feels like straight-shooting talk from an experienced, caring friend. When discussing how to behave at work, for example, the author warns against the cheap pleasure of gossip: “Never talk about anyone behind their back… Be the person who can always be trusted.” Tips on everything from rental hacks to GED details are balanced by deeper considerations of honesty and finding peace in a loud and distracting world. Young adults just entering that world will find much of this advice invaluable—and adult readers may get some very helpful reminders, too.

A wide-ranging and winningly honest guide for young adults entering the wider world.