Boom: a Guy's Guide to Growing Up (Focus on the Family Book) [Paperback]

Michael Ross (Author)

Book Description

Series: Focus on the Family Book | Publication Date: October 15, 2003

2004 ECPA Gold Medallion winner!

Where can teen guys go when they have questions about their life and the changes they're going through? Boom: a Guy's Guide to Growing Up uses a low-profile approach to tackle all the issues guys face. They'll find honest and straightforward answers on sexuality and dating, physical changes, money management, spiritual growth, and more. This book provides the answers guys crave for understanding this crazy time in their lives.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Ross is the Editor of Breakaway, Focus on the Family's magazine for teen guys. Communicating with teens and families is his passion. He is a speaker, a columnist for Living With Teenagers magazine, and the author of more than 14 books for young people, including BOOM: A Guy's Guide to Growing Up (Tyndale).

Michael loves adventure travel. His most memorable trip was a safari through Zimbabwe on a motorcycle, then by boat down the Zambezi River. Each summer, he and the Summit Adventure staff take teen guys on 10-backpacking excursions near Yosemite National Park.

Michael and his wife Tiffany live in Colorado Springs with their young son and two cats.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (October 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589970608
• ISBN-13: 978-1589970601
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Teens > Religion & Spirituality

More About the Author

Michael Ross is an award-winning writer and former editor of Breakaway, a national magazine for teen guys published by Focus on the Family. He is also the author, co-author, and collaborator of more than 30 books for Christian families, including the Gold Medallion winner BOOM: A Guy's Guide to Growing Up (Tyndale), a best-selling devotional for women Faith that Breathes (Barbour), and his current release What Your Son Isn't Telling You (Bethany House). Michael and his wife Tiffany live in Lincoln, Nebraska, with their young son, Christopher, and two cats. Today, he oversees Back to the Bible's book publishing efforts.

Michael studied journalism and art at Humboldt State University. After college, he began his writing career in Los Angeles--where he spent countless hours working with inner-city youth and their families. These experiences sparked in him a heart for disadvantaged teens. In 1990, he co-founded Breakaway (a national magazine for teenage boys). In 2002, he and a team of wilderness guides began taking readers on summer backpacking excursions near Yosemite National Park. And three years later, Michael launched Breakaway's Father-Son Adventures in Colorado. Under the guidance of Noah's Ark Whitewater Rafting Co., these backcountry trips were designed to strengthen relationships between dads and their teenage sons.

When Michael isn't writing or speaking to teens and their parents, he and his family love adventure travel. Their most memorable trip is a safari through Zimbabwe by motorcycle (with a bunch of teens, of course), and then by boat down the Zambezi River. The author and his wife and son are currently dreaming up a fiction series that will take young readers deep into African jungles and zigzagging down churning mountain rivers--adventures they will research together!

During Michael's publishing career, he has written and edited thousands of articles and has interviewed hundreds of athletes, musicians, actors, as well as amazing people from all walks of life. Some of his most memorable interviews include: actors Sylvester Stallone and Stephen Baldwin, director Catherine Hardewicke (Twilight, Lords of Dogtown), teen superstars Jonas Brothers, CCM artists Kirk Franklin, Skillet, and Steven Curtis Chapman, country music band Sawyer Brown, Indianapolis Colts' Hunter Smith, and UFC fighter Nathan "Rock" Quarry.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME BOOK! But why did it have to end?, June 25, 2005

By 

pauiel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boom: a Guy's Guide to Growing Up (Focus on the Family Book) (Paperback)

You will have absolutely NO REGRETS buying this book.

It is an awesome book written creatively in a way that's entertaining for a teenage guy to read (I'm 15). It covers topics from what changes our body is (has; will be) going through, girls, sexual purity, school, music, tv, the internet, money, and much more! With so many topics, nothing is left out for a teen to know (and of course, we can always head to the Bible if there is something not mentioned in the book).

I've learned something new every chapter about the Lord, and how he wants me to act (and I've read the Bible through and through), and I'm sure I will constantly refer back to it when I need help. It's an amazing book.

Boom: A Guy's Guide to Growing Up is not only a great read, but looks beautiful on the inside, and by simply flipping through a page or two, you can see colorful pages with fun graphics that relate to the topic. But the only problem I had with the book was how abruptly it ended...but really...that only motivates me to search more for a closer relationship with him.

This would make a WONDERFUL birthday present for any age of teen or graduation gift for a teen going into high school. (My recommended age, because this is the time period when I read it, and I'm not sure if I'd have been mature enough to really dive into a stronger faith (and fully understand everything) with the Lord a year or so ago...but then again...all people are different, and, as I've said, this is a GREAT book for any teenager.)

Oh, and if you happen to be a youth pastor...This would be an excellent guide on how to instruct teens. It goes over many topics that matter to teens, and, all that aside, it's a fun read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book, September 11, 2007

By 

Vickie L. Swindling "Vickie Swindling" (On the road across America) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boom: a Guy's Guide to Growing Up (Focus on the Family Book) (Paperback)

I just ordered my son a second copy of this book. He read the first one so many times he literally wore out the binding. This book covers topics that are sometimes difficult for parents to talk about with their sons; it's very straightforward and clear, yet always from a Christian perspective. This book is not just for teen boys, but for their parents as well; it opens the doors of communication on these difficult topics and gives parents a helping hand in talking to their boys about growing up Christian in a secular world. We read this book with our son so we can discuss his questions, but it is so well-written and appropriately presented that a parent can be confident that their son is getting solid, spiritually-based information.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally - a great Birds & Bees for boys, January 1, 2008

By 

Miss FiFi LaRue (Frozen Tundra) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Boom: a Guy's Guide to Growing Up (Focus on the Family Book) (Paperback)

After starting with my daughter on "The Care & Keeping of You" (by the American Girl Co.), I really wanted to find a book for my son. He is almost 11, and things are starting to happen. This was the first book that tactfully goes thru all the changes & challenges that face pre-teen and teenage boys. I was very suprised at all the areas that are covered - even more than my husband or I would've thought of talking with him about. If you are going to start with this book with a pre-teen, I would just caution to either wait a little, or read thru the book yourself first. I felt it was more geared toward either a more mature pre-teen boy or the actual teenagers. I purchased the "Bloom" book for my 9-year old daughter at the same time. The American Girl book is just the right stage for her. I will be waiting a while before we start on the "Bloom" book for the same "maturity level" reasons.