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Best Teen & Young Adult Sociology

Holt McDougal Library, High School with Connections: Individual Reader The Fire Next Time
A plea and a warning to citizens to examine the actual state of America after a century of emancipation.
Reviews
"Baldwin touches upon the use of religion to control, and the belief that the white man is the marker to which the black man should aspire, and that is still very clear in the world... As black men and women are told that their natural hair should be tamed to make them more appropriate for the work place, that the vernacular of their homes and families is somehow uneducated, even as they are surrounded by people who code-switch from a redneck southern dialect or a tough talking New York slang at home, to proper grammar in the workplace."
"He discusses a hidden message telling black people to settle for mediocrity rather than striving for excellence. Baldwin believes that black people need to know their history and where they came from so that there will be “no limit to where you can go.”. "…We, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease fleeing from reality and begin to change it.""
"I wish I had read James Baldwin when I was younger."
"Very important book for all Americans to read regardless of race."
"brilliant essays from James Baldwin--a must read."
"Great read."
"Great book!"
"Just finishing it."
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The Sociology Book (Big Ideas Simply Explained)
The Sociology Book profiles the world's most renowned sociologists and more than 100 of their biggest ideas, including issues of equality, diversity, identity, and human rights; the effects of globalization; the role of institutions; and the rise of urban living in modern society. DK's aim is to inform, enrich, and entertain readers of all ages, and everything DK publishes, whether print or digital, embodies the unique DK design approach. DK acts as the parent company for Alpha Books, publisher of the Idiot's Guides series and Prima Games, video gaming publishers, as well as the award-winning travel publisher, Rough Guides.
Reviews
"Underneath the propagated surface of American Consumerism lies a dirty underbelly of oppressed minority and even to include the vast majority in various degrees."
"I like this series of books."
"arrived on time and as advertised."
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Smile & Succeed for Teens: A Crash Course in Face-to-Face Communication
-- Temple Grandin , Author, Thinking in Pictures, The Autistic Brain. ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Developed by a team of teens, parents, and educators, the proven methods in Manecke's book provide your kids with the people skills and confidence they'll need throughout their lives. Each lesson is presented in an entertaining style, with quips, tips, and easy-to-adopt strategies that will teach your teenager the critical elements of good communication. In this book, your teen will discover how to: * Develop self-esteem and beat crippling social anxiety. * Make new friends and speak with confidence. * Sail through the most difficult of interviews for scholarships, programs, and jobs. * Become an effective volunteer. * Improve their school programs and community through effective fundraising. * Succeed at work and stand out to their employer, and much, much more! Like my first book, the tips and techniques are based on the same proven customer service and sales methods used by successful businesses all over the world. In addition, I've added valuable information on finding and keeping a job, overcoming stress, and the benefits of volunteering. It will help make a teen a superstar employee--the type companies jump through hoops to have on their team.
Reviews
""Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, sometimes your smile is the source of your joy" as Thich Nhat Hahn accurately observed."
"Not 100% valuable for younger teens, but overall pretty helpful."
"It’s everything you’re likely to read in any self-help book or what you might have learned in your “business and careers” class in school or what any job training session will teach you. The book starts with the “Top 10 People Skills”, including “Smile”, “Make Eye Contact”, “Turn Off the Electronics” and “Say Please and Thank You”. But, admittedly, with our electronics obsession, some of these skills don’t get practiced as much as they should since people (especially teens) tend not to interact face-to-face as much anymore. The rest of the book is basically applying these skills to different situations such as getting a job, interacting with customers, making sales, volunteering and fundraising. One concern I have with the book is how it frequently stresses being “sincere” and “genuine”, but then prescribes only a few restricted behavioral options – smiling, listening, being enthusiastic, etc. It’s not so simple that if you just smile and act like a super eager beaver, always wanting to please, that people will always like you and that you’ll always impress your boss and make sales. It may very well be effective in the short run to generate donations, but it feels manipulative and might leave a bit of a sour taste in the donor’s mouth. Almost as a side note, I have to respond to this bit of advice in the “Get that Job” section: “Finally, supercharge your interview with your copy of Smile & Success for Teens."
"The subject of people skills gets far too little attention in the education of our children and this book covered it very well and concisely. I have come to conclude that having a job during your teens is as valuable as the advance placement class we push our kids to take. Have your teen get a job this summer, but before you send him out, have him sit down for a couple of hours and read this book."
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Best Teen & Young Adult Psychology

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
With more than five million copies in print all around the world, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens is the ultimate teenage success guide—now updated for the digital age. In an entertaining style, Covey provides a simple approach to help teens improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, and get along with their parents, as well as tackle the new challenges of our time, like cyberbullying and social media. As prejudiced as this may sound, this is a remarkable book, a must-read!” (Stephen R. Covey, Sean's dad, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and cofounder and former vice chairman of Franklin Covey Co.). “I wish I'd had this book when I was a teen.” (Shannon Hale, New York Times bestselling author of Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy and The Goose Girl). Whether you are a teen or not, you should read this book!” (Anson Dorrance, University of North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer coach, 22 time national collegiate champion). I have personally read it and practiced the timeless principles with my daughters.” (Diana Thomas, U.S. vice president of training, learning & development, McDonalds Corporation).
Reviews
"Believe them when they say it is tiny."
"A must have for every teen."
"My granddaughter read this in school and recommended it for her brother."
"While he walked around the house reading it aloud (to make fun of grandma thinking he would learn something positive) he did read it."
"Great book for my high school students!"
"Excellent book for teens."
"Good habits to avoid and acquire very effective."
"Bought for kids for school."
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Best Teen & Young Adult Archaeology

Mummies: Dried, Tanned, Sealed, Drained, Frozen, Embalmed, Stuffed, Wrapped, and Smoked...and We're Dead Serious (National Geographic Kids)
Kids will clamor to read this book in the classroom or at home—and they’ll absorb science, ancient cultures, geography, and more, as freaky photos and intriguing stories keep them glued to every page. A bibliography of adult material and three websites are included, but there are no suggestions for further reading that might list Sandra Markle's fine Outside and Inside Mummies (Walker, 2005), Shelley Tanaka's more difficult Mummies: The Newest, Coolest & Creepiest from Around the World (Abrams, 2005), Kelly Hall's more tightly focused Mysteries of the Mummy Kids (Darby Creek, 2007), or, on a different slant altogether, Philip Manning's intriguing Dinomummy: The Life, Death and Discovery of Dakota, a Dinosaur from Hell Creek (Kingfisher 2007).
Reviews
"My 4year old son LOVED this book when we borrowed it from our library."
"Hilarious book."
"For example: The Ice Man, the Bog bodies of Denmark (many of whom met a very grisly fate), King Tut, the Warrior Woman of Peru, and some celebrity mummies reach out to us from the past. After reading MUMMIES, young readers will have a better awareness of the science underpinning this fascinating field, as well as enjoying the thrill of having read something slightly "shocking.""
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Best Teen & Young Adult Anthropology

No god but God: The Origins and Evolution of Islam
Adapted for young readers from No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam , this exploration of Islam by Reza Aslan, internationally acclaimed scholar of comparative religion, delves into the rituals and traditions of a religion that is largely misunderstood by the West. Because all religions are bound to the social, spiritual, and cultural landscapes from which they arose and in which they developed, prophets must be understood as reformers who redefine and reinterpret the existing beliefs and practices of their communities. On the contrary, by Muhammad's own admission, his message was an attempt to reform the existing religious beliefs and cultural practices of pre-Islamic Arabia so as to bring the God of the Jews and Christians to the Arab peoples. As unique and divinely inspired as the Islamic movement may have been, its origins are undoubtedly linked to the multiethnic, multireligious society that fed the Prophet's imagination as a young man and allowed him to craft his revolutionary message in a language that would have been easily recognizable to the pagan Arabs he was so desperately trying to reach. In the arid, desolate basin of Mecca, surrounded on all sides by the bare mountains of the Arabian desert, stands a small, nondescript sanctuary that the ancient Arabs refer to as the Ka'ba: the Cube. Then, in a remarkable ritual--the origins of which are a mystery--the pilgrims gather as a group and rotate around the Ka'ba seven times, some pausing to kiss each corner of the sanctuary before being captured and swept away again by the current of bodies. The Ka'ba, like the Pyramids in Egypt or the Temple in Jerusalem, may have been constructed as an axis mundi: a sacred space around which the universe revolves, the link between the earth and the solid dome of heaven. The only thing scholars can say with any certainty is that by the sixth century c.e., this small sanctuary made of mud and stone had become the center of religious life in pre-Islamic Arabia: the time known as Jahiliyyah. Traditionally, the Jahiliyyah has been defined by Muslims as an era of moral depravity and religious discord: a time when the sons of Ismail had obscured belief in the one true God and plunged the Arabian Peninsula into the darkness of idolatry.
Reviews
"And the struggles between the different belief streams are as present now as they were 14 centuries ago in the early years of the religion."
"This book is a good basic biography of the life of the prophet Mohammed, clearly written for the non-specialist who wishes to know more about the events of Mohammed's life and the environment in which Islam developed."
"Please note that this book, published under Random House's "Ember" imprint, is an abridged version of author Reza Aslan's original book, edited for teen readers."
"I bought it because of Asian's book on Jesus (Zealot: the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth)."
"Perhaps the processes are "over simplified" but Aslan makes the Islam's internecine warfare somewhat more comprehensible."
"It is an excellent start to one's understanding of a faith with deep roots to Judaism and Christianity."
"UPDATE: Just read some of the other reviews and realized this is the abridged version... Well that's just frustrating... I read Zealot and enjoyed that and was interested in seeing what Aslan brought to a history of Islam. I wanted to understand both the history and beliefs of islam better. I know there is a balance (ie it would have been a SLOW book if every sentence was marked as history or koran).. but a chapter or two saying which was which would have been great.. 2. Very little attention is paid to how modern Islam came about (for example, s***e and sunni are mentioned, but not followed through on... seems like these are sort of a big deal in modern islam, right?)."
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Best Teen & Young Adult Folklore & Mythology

Drawing Dragons: Learn How to Create Fantastic Fire-Breathing Dragons
LEARN TO DRAW DRAGONS In easy-to-follow, step-by-step detail, Drawing Dragons teaches you all the tricks and techniques you’ll need to create your own amazing dragons. Sandra Staple is an artist and photographer who has been drawing dragons for over 15 years, and has literally sketched thousands of them.
Reviews
"When it first arrived, i flipped through the pages."
"nice book - i was able to draw dragons that i was pleased with right from the beginning."
"Granddaughter loves this."
"great instructions for a tween."
"Great, delivered on time and product was as expected."
"Bought this as a gift for my nephew."
"My grand kids just love this book, and I always give them my copy."
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Best Teen & Young Adult Politics & Government

Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution
Inside this practical and inspiring guide to effecting change in today’s world, you’ll learn how to: · Understand and navigate the current system of policy and government. · Work to change the system to reflect your values and to protect our society’s most vulnerable. · Organize for the causes you care about most. · Resources for further reading and organizations to get involved with. He served as mayor of Burlington, Vermont’s largest city, for eight years before defeating an incumbent Republican to be the sole congressperson for the state in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1991.
Reviews
"Love the mobilize section at the end of each chapter along with resources to learn more about the chapter subject."
"I give Bernie Sanders and his ideas a 5+ but I am going to have to give this book a four and if I was really being truthful a three might be more appropriate but I decided on a four since the information in this book is so valuable."
"Sanders has long advocated for a social-democratic system (which is capitalist, not socialist) – one that has been implemented to moderate-to-excellent success in Canada, Australia and many European countries – but these smearers only cite fringe-example countries like Venezuela and Cuba, which are hard-line dictatorships and a very perverted representation of any ideology they claim to be about."
"It's Bernie doing what Bernie does, getting we the people involved! "."
"Great book as Bernie provides solutions for all of his recommendations which is very unusual for politicians."
"Great book."
"This guide is perfectly detailed to talk about the crucial issues that are affecting us right now in the US."
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