Some helpful tips buried within repetitive text and an uninspired design.
Productivity tips compiled from secondary sources and delivered in accessible language.
This guide aims to inform young people of the reasons for their lack of productivity and how they can improve their time management skills. Five concise chapters discuss the elimination of distractions and dealing with procrastination, two problem areas teens often face as they manage their busy schedules and technology use. Readers may find some helpful takeaways with recommendations to use productivity apps, such as a screen-time counter or digital planner. The author also presents strategies like the Pomodoro Technique, which involves setting alarms for focused study stints, or the Ivy Lee system of listing six things to do per day in order of priority. This overview of productivity ideas compiles findings from secondary sources, a few interviews with teenagers, and an assortment of blogs, news articles, and websites; actual primary source research studies barely feature. The images used are relatively unhelpful; they mostly feature stock photos of people of various ages and races looking at devices. The colorful but unlabeled drawing of a brain, for example, contributes little and does not support the portions of the book that discuss the significance of different areas of the brain. The writing style is informative but simplistic: The repetition of words like tough, challenge, and challenging may become monotonous to more sophisticated readers.
Some helpful tips buried within repetitive text and an uninspired design. (source notes, further research, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781678206048
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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