Customer Reviews

The Every Day Living Of Children & Teens Monologues

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I run an after-school theater program for middle school students, and I ordered this book because the other monologue books I had didn't seem relevant or age-appropriate for the children. I was seriously displeased when it arrived, though; the monologues are too badly written to be usable, even for my middle schoolers. People don't choose words they way these monologues are written. They're badly scripted and terribly edited; I struggled to find even a couple that didn't contain grammatical or spelling errors.

Do not purchase this. Every monologue, though "real-life" situation, is worded as an adult would say it. This is someone who is entirely out of touch with today's teens/children. The wording sounds so stiff and unrealistic. "Man! I'm so irresponsible. My own mom can't even depend on me. I'm just so stupid." Kids don't talk like this. "I don't have a single friend in the entire world. Whenever I try to initiate a conversation I'm instantly ignored by the other students." These monologues may be relevant for adults in the counseling field, but for acting/drama purposes, this is unusable and a waste of money.

I was very impressed, and elated that Arda Young had written monologues that express the hearts/minds of teens everywhere. This book is easy to read, no foul language to where even pre-teens can read it and learn. Not many books are written for the appropriate ages, but Ms. Young as a tremendous gift, great love, and commitment to writing books that teens can relate to, and enjoy.

Lastly, I love this book because of my love for the Arts, as well as Literature. These monologues will help in aiding young inspiring actors/actresses with memorization, stage directions, emotion/expressions, and much more!

Congratulation, Adra on a job well done!!

Anita R. Sneed-Carter
Founder/Minister/Author
Walking By Faith Ministry
The Sneed-Carter Christian Publication

Adra Young, The Everyday Living of Children & Teens Monologues
book review by Push Nevahda Review

I wish I had access to this kind of book when I was a kid. Adra Young's new collection, The Everyday Living of Children and Teens Monologues is just right for any teenager who is interested in acting. The book consists of actual events acted out from the perspective of actual teenagers, under the aegis of Young - as Acting Coach, Actress, and Educator. The book will help teenagers tap into their emotions to deal with real life scenarios. Through the art of acting, children can learn guidance and direction on how cope with serious life issues of abuse, peer pressure, death, violence, family dilemmas, and moving away from old neighborhoods into new ones.

This book would also serve well those educators interested in learning new and innovative ways to reach out to the youth. The book is comprehensive, and provides a broad display of Ms. Young's insight and experience as a skilled educator. I have recommended this book to many of my friends who are teachers and educators. This book is a must-read!
4/5

Parents, educators, mentors, theater groups, artistic labs, or anyone else who serve youth and children need to buy copies of this book. Everyday Living of Children and Teen Monologues is a "Required Reading List" book for anyone who interacts with children.

What I like about the book, written by Adra Young, is that it is simply honest. She has taken real life teen experiences and adapted them as monologues for the stage. This is an excellent learning approach that should be adopted across the United States and other parts of the world for all children and teens to learn how to express themselves.

Adra Young has her finger on the pulse of young people. She is trauly aware of teen issues. In the book, she has integrated her teaching experiences with realistic teen happenings to create a range of monologues that express what they feel and blended it all into dramatic scenes which can be portrayed on stage.

Buy the book. You no longer have to create dramatic scenes for auditions, Adra Young has done it for you. Use the Everyday Living monologues to inspire a healthy self-consciousness and elicit responsive dialogue from our children and youth. Everyday Living gives them a dramatic platform which allows them to have their say.

The non-fiction novel, "The Everyday Living of Children and Teens Monologues - Volume 1" by author, Adra Young is a riveting collection of one-act plays that can be utilized by aspiring actors for auditioning practices. What makes this novel so special is the fact that each play speaks candidly to the variety of serious subject matter and issues youth of today deal with daily. While youth get material they can easily relate to and identify with, parents get a rare, honest glimpse into the everyday dealings of their children from a prospective never offered to them before.

It offers an oftentimes eye-opening account of the dynamics of the interpersonal relationships, social situations, and academic struggles and progresses between youth and the people they come into contact with daily. It helps parents to understand why their children may be acting out in school or why they seem to have withdrawn from their own family and friends. With information offered through the plays in this book, parents are offered an opportunity to halt counter-productive thought processes that unaddressed could possibly lead to dangerous behaviors. This books helps parents to help their children both professionally if they are interested in an acting career, as well as personally by giving insight into what many children may have found difficult to talk about before. That is an example of a win-win situation on all fronts and therefore, makes "The Everyday Living of Children and Teens Monologues - Volume 1" a MUST HAVE for any literary collection. I give Five Stars to Adra Young for creating a non-fiction novel that will stand proudly in its commitment and good representation of our youth for years to come.

Reviewed By: Tracie E. Christian
Author of: "The Black College Sabbatical - FALL QUARTER" -www.trafford.com/07-0988 & Amazon.com
"The Black College Sabbatical - WINTER QUARTER" - www.bbotw.com & Amazon.com
"Urban Verses - Poetry To Make You Say Hmmm....." www.publicbookshelf.com
www.tracieechristian.com

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)


Adra Young has presented us with a valuable book of monologues for youth. They represent true to life situations that youth face. Ms. Young has provided monologues for various situations, from dealing with a friend that is being abused, moving away, sharing with a granddad, gaining a new stepparent, feeling like you don't fit in, and dealing with bullies.

This book has so many possible uses that I'm unsure where to start. Adults wishing to reach out to children, to come to understand them better will love this book. Youth that are interested in improving their acting ability will love this book. Ms Young provides directives for each monologue. Many times inexperienced actors do not know what to emphasis or what movements to make. Through her writings Ms Young assists students in developing acting skills.

"Everyday Living of Children & Teens Monologues" is a unique book because it is multifaceted. Ms Young's skill as teacher is evident in this book. She witnessed a need and has successfully accomplished her goal. She addresses sensitive situations that youth face and provides education for youth and helps to establish stronger lines of communication between adults and youth.

This book is beautifully written. I was particularly touched by:

"What My Teachers and Friends At School Don't Know

Every day I am the first kid at school and the last one to leave. The teachers think I'm and ideal student. I know they often wonder why I'm hanging around after school when no one else is there except for the custodial employees.
Daily my friends ask me how come I arrived to school so early in the morning. I don't reply, I just look at them and smile. The truth is my family and I hadn't a place to call our own.
We're homeless! Right now, we live in a shelter. Hey, It's cool; I'm not worried about it. It's getting better. My family has just about enough money saved up to make our big move.
We'll be leaving the shelter and moving into our new place real soon. I can't wait! But for the mean time it's absolutely imperative that my teachers, and friends never find out about this."

The cover of "The Everyday Living of Children & Teen Monologues" speaks volumes. Photos of youth, some smiling and some that look troubled. It may be a small book but it has a large statement to make. Eagerly I turned page after page enjoying the monologues. Working in education I know how many times students have these situations and as adults we do not always understand how they are feeling or why they are behaving in such a manner. This book should be on the desk of every educator. I intend to use Ms Young's book at summer camp and with some of my classes. It is a great honor to highly recommend this book to students, parents, educators, those who professionally work with youth and anyone who cares about youth.

Book received free of charge