Review of Savvy Life Skills for Teens

[Gabriela Contreras Gonzalez]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Savvy Life Skills for Teens" by Eric Reinertsen.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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What do you wish you had learned sooner? How hard was it to learn about money or time management? Who did you turn to when you needed life advice? What skilled changed your life? Savvy Life Skills for Teens by Eric Reinertsen is a book meant to empower and teach teenagers about basic life tools so they can gain independence and be ready for adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it.

The book touches on important topics like budgeting, emergency funds, time management, understanding emotions, and how to build strong and healthy relationships, among others. Each chapter has a brief explanation of the skill, an example, and ends with some resources for dealing with, practicing, or solving issues related to that skill. The author uses several examples and visualization techniques to explain his ideas and simplify concepts, which I appreciated as it helped me realize how I can improve my communication skills (for example, by nodding when someone is talking to me), build a support system, or remind myself of the importance of living in the present. The thing I liked the most is that the author does not pretend to create magical and perfect solutions to life problems, nor does he intend to prevent problems; instead, he just uses everyday techniques to improve the reader’s life. After finishing the book, most readers will realize they are already using some skills; they just needed some clarity, guidance, and confidence when using them.

One thing that bothers me is that the book focuses too much on talking about adult experiences (asking for a promotion, looking for an apartment), which I feel do not directly relate with the target audience. It could be a cultural difference, but teenagers, for me, don’t seem too worried about renting an apartment while young adults might be. This could lead to readers to lose interest in the book. Another problem I had is that not every section focuses on a skill, and it discusses the same topic in several sections, which I found tedious.

Overall, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. The author’s writing style is simple and familiar; he never uses technical language. The editing was flawless, as I did not find any errors. Something I enjoyed about the book is that, even if it is meant to be for teenagers, adults and young adults can still learn from it. I liked the financial advice the author gives, for example, watching out for the small expenses, as, even as an adult, sometimes I forget that even those French fries end up adding up to my budget and count as an expense. The only reason I deducted one star is that some chapters felt boring and repetitive.

I recommend this book to young adults, teenagers, and adults. This book is suitable for anyone trying to improve their lives.

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Savvy Life Skills for Teens
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[Madiha_]

This non-fiction book sounds so informative. I would have liked to read it when I was a teenager, it looks like a good guide for teens (except for the repetitive parts you mentioned, it may be annoying for them). But you say that even young people and adults can benefit from it, so I may give it a try! Great review, though!

[Benita Ogarekpe]

The issues that you’ve outlined here could be very useful to the author if they chose to improve on this book in any way. I hope they get to see it. Great feedback!