Senning, Cindy Post. Teen Manners: From Malls to Meals to Messaging and Beyond. Illustrated by Sharon Watts. HarperTeen, 2007. ISBN 9780060881986. $15.99. 144 p.
Reviewer: Betsy Sieber
Reading Level: Young adult
Rating: Outstanding
Genre: Informational books
Subject: Etiquette for children and teenagers--Juvenile literature; Books--Reviews;
This down-to-earth and well-constructed manners guide dictates with humor and taste proper conduct for young teenagers. The text is accompanied by occasional sketches to further encourage adolescent readers. The advice within is written as to be easily approachable and contains many examples, as well as tips, to prove its point. Some of the examples are put together in a “quiz” form a la Seventeen magazine, but each option is described in terms of the consequences that would follow--i.e., how your behavior would reflect on your person, were you to make that choice.
An enjoyable and easy to understand read. There is much use of teenage dialect (especially when talking about modern communication, such as cell phones) and the reader never feels like he or she is being talked down to. Although many teenagers wouldn’t be caught reading it, it is certainly an excellent resource to make available to them.
Volume 28, no. 3 (Jan/Feb 2008)
