Life Sucks: How to Deal with the Way Life Is, Was, and Always Will Be Unfair

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About Life Sucks: How To Deal With The Way Life

Product Description From New York Times best-selling authors Michael I. Bennett, MD and Sarah Bennett--a book for teens that shows readers that we all deal with crap in our lives and how to laugh at some of the things we can't control. Being a teenager can suck. Your friends can become enemies, and your enemies can become friends. Your family can drive you crazy. School and teachers can be a drag. Your body is constantly changing. And everyone seems to tell you to "just be you." But just who is that? With their open and honest approach, father-daughter team Michael I. Bennett and Sarah Bennett's book is sure to appeal to teenagers and show them they aren't alone in dealing with fake friends, with parents who think they're "hip," and even how high school isn't everyone's glory days. Young readers--and their parents--are sure to find this no-nonsense, real-life advice helpful, and it will help them realize that it's okay to talk to their parents and other advisors around them about big issues that might be uncomfortable to discuss. From School Library Journal Gr 7 Up—This self-help guide for teens offers advice about friendships, school, cultural differences, body image, home life, and sexuality. Each topic has its own chapter and includes a sample situation (such as a teen getting teased at school because they're overweight), a quiz about how readers would react to said situation, and suggestions of "what you can actually do about it" versus what parents tell teens they should do. While the book contains some nuggets of wisdom, the scenarios seem vague. Specific incidents from the lives of the authors or from teens themselves would have made the book more relatable to young adults. Some chapters are stronger than others. The "Bodies Suck" section delivers practical medical information about eating disorders and self-harm. It's clear that one of the authors is an M.D. The "Sexuality Sucks" chapter emphasizes consent and reminds readers that online sexual content is nothing like real-life sex. The "Homes Suck" chapter covers abusive family relationships and when to call the authorities. Less effective is the "Cultural Differences Suck" section, which seems to focus on scenarios that assume readers are either from a conservative religious background or a default white background. Although well-intentioned, the book attempts to tackle too many topics and doesn't go into enough depth about any of them. It's tough to imagine a teen reading this cover to cover, but perhaps they can benefit from individual chapters and the further resources list. VERDICT A secondary purchase where self-help books for teens are in demand.—Amy Duffy, Chicago Public Library About the Author Dr. Michael I. Bennett, educated at both Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, is a board-certified psychiatrist, Canadian, and Red Sox fan. Aside from writing two books of keenly-phrased advice with his daughter, Sarah Bennett, he also has a private practice in adult and child psychiatry that he's been running for over thirty years. He lives with his wife and two dogs in Boston and New Hampshire. Sarah Bennett has written for the internet, television, a monthly sketch comedy show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, and the arts section of her high school paper. She's also written two NYT best-selling books of advice with her father. Mostly, Sarah walks her dog, watches Red Sox games, and enjoys being too old to care that much about most things. Bridget Gibson is a freelance illustrator, concept artist, comic artist based on the Jersey Shore (yes, that Jersey Shore). Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. ­­­ Introductions Suck: Julie Durrell Five Facts About This Book   Whether we’re a preschooler or a young teen, a graduating college senior or a retired person, we human beings all want to know that we’re acceptable, that our being alive somehow makes a difference in the lives of others.   —Fred Rogers, Th