Self Made: Combining Financial Knowledge & Self Experiences With Wisdom To Impact The Culture by Manny Showalter Published by Mandaylan Productions Genres: Adolescence
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads
Written for "The Culture" to give teenagers and young adults a solid blueprint for success. Learn about purchasing a home, interacting with law enforcement, addictions and bad habits, repairing credit and so much more.
Self Made Book Promo from SSWYF on Vimeo.
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Julie’s Review:
Self Made is a handbook for young and new adults on how to do adulting. It reads more like a series of personal accounts/blog posts with lessons learned than a traditional book.
I will say I was a bit put off by the personal accounts, such as the chapter on how to deal with law enforcement. The author brags about how many luxury cars he owns and how he used to get away with saying to the police, “Do you know who I am?” to get out of tickets. I don’t see how this is particularly helpful to new adults, who likely barely even own a car, let alone several luxury cars. This was a bit of a know-your-audience situation, and this book appears to be written for kids just coming into adulthood and who need to learn these tips.
I will say, though, that it has a lot of very useful knowledge and information that new adults need to keep them out of trouble and teach them about life and money. It would be much improved with perhaps a separate introduction section to each chapter with the personal anecdotes and then a more organized list/table format of actionable advice and tips. Charts would be great, too, not just paragraphs. Perhaps some visuals.
I also enjoyed the quotes to live by in each section. Quick bits of wisdom from famous people always help set the tone for the chapter.
The Cookie by Manny Showalter, Daylon Showalter Genres: Adolescence
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads
Lauren has the difficult decision of upholding traditional beliefs and value systems that have been taught by her parents, OR giving into what her school crush Robbie wants… "The Cookie!" In an ideal world Lauren would take heed to her parents warnings, but peer pressure and her infatuation with Robbie is making her challenge everything she knew to be true. Guys are nothing but trouble or are they? Read the story of Lauren and Robbie to see what decision she will make.
The Cookie Explainer Video from SSWYF on Vimeo.
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Julie’s Review:
The Cookie is a short story that follows a teenage girl who is struggling between traditional advice from her parents and peer pressure to share her “cookie” with a boy she likes. It’s a good warning to be very careful when choosing who to share your cookie with because some boys are good for nothing and will break your heart.
