Customer Reviews

Chicken Soup for the Teen Soul: Real-Life Stories by Real Teens (Chicken Soup for the Soul)

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I haven't read much of Chicken Soup before -- it never seemed like my kind of thing, I guess. But I've liked and been reading the Teen Ink magazine since the beginning of this year, and when this book came out I thought I'd give it a try.

First off, don't judge it for its looks or its title. No, seriously. The writing in here isn't "soupy" or sugar-coated, no matter how smiley the six teens on the cover look. Some of it gets pretty visceral; it's a book by teens with their experiences right now, not just people who WERE teens once upon a time. And it's not half-hearted in describing anything.

The writing isn't the same as writing by adults; it's got a fairly different quality about it, not better or worse, just different. It's not pretentious or "trying too hard." I liked that.

On flipping through the book, looking at the cover and the little cartoons inside (what's up with those little cartoons?), I have to say I got a little leery. But when I sat down and read the whole thing, I found it as good as Teen Ink magazine itself, and for the same reasons: it's earnest. It's honest. And, as a teen myself, it did feel real.

Chicken Soup for the Teen Soul: Real -Life Stories by Real Teens was a little bit weirder than most books because it has a series of books. Most books in series talk about teenagers with issues in their lives and others talk about family issues, complications with friends, another book deals with women's problems, and dealing with violent problems. This book doesn't have one main character it has many. I think it's a good book because it helps me learn that other teens my age have problems either with their family or their friends or even their boyfriends.

I would recommend this book to teenagers and to adults. I would mostly like adults to understand that teens get as much stress as everyone does. Some parents don't get that we go through the same things that adults go through. Sometimes it's hard or use to say what's the matter with us to our family and people just don't get it. It's just a good book, and I guess everyone should read it. It helped me understand more about myself. This is why everyone should read this book to help understand more about teenagers.