Sunday
Oct282007
Teen Manners: From Malls to Meals to Messaging and Beyond
Sunday, October 28, 2007 at 10:23AM 
Teen Manners: From Malls to Meals to Messaging and BeyondAuthors: Cindy Post Senning and Peggy Post
HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers
134 pages
Reviewed by Isabella Lucero
Teen Manners is a guidebook of etiquette written for a teen audience. Sticky, as well as humdrum, everyday situations of etiquette are proposed and then efficiently answered.
It is both sensible and practical advice. “Etiquette can shape the way you interact with people and create the mood for your day.” Something moody teenagers should take to heart. Additionally, it has some meaningful information with resonance. “Once trust is lost, a relationship is diminished, and it takes ages to rebuild.”
Teen Manners is a useful guide for teens “to act in ways that are respectful, considerate, and honest, or not”, and is broken up into sections on building and strengthening every relationship, keeping in touch through email, letters, the phone, etc., the manners and art of mealtime (a good brush up for anyone at your dinner table), rules and regulations for high school, getting a job or getting into college, social savvy, and even mall manners and driver’s education.
The tone is straightforward, easy to understand, and a quick read. I read it on a bumpy airplane ride from the O.C. to Las Vegas.
A lot of it was common sense to me; however, I did learn some new things. For example if you are introducing a younger person to an older person, you say the older person’s name first, which I did not know!
I am most curious to know what teens would think of this book, especially the teens who are in need of this sort of information. I have plans to pass it on to both of my teens. I did notice my son skimming through it, and would just love to know what he thinks, although we had no time for such obsessing, as he needed to get his homework done.
I would rate this book very highly for teens as the teen years are a difficult time for many and any guidance of how to negotiate this rapidly evolving era is much needed (the etiquette for texting, for example, which seems to drive all parents crazy). I give it an 8 and a must read for the teen audience, especially the moody ones.
Isabella Lucero is a writer, mother, cook, and gardener living in Tucson, Arizona.
Teen Manners is a guidebook of etiquette written for a teen audience. Sticky, as well as humdrum, everyday situations of etiquette are proposed and then efficiently answered.
It is both sensible and practical advice. “Etiquette can shape the way you interact with people and create the mood for your day.” Something moody teenagers should take to heart. Additionally, it has some meaningful information with resonance. “Once trust is lost, a relationship is diminished, and it takes ages to rebuild.”
Teen Manners is a useful guide for teens “to act in ways that are respectful, considerate, and honest, or not”, and is broken up into sections on building and strengthening every relationship, keeping in touch through email, letters, the phone, etc., the manners and art of mealtime (a good brush up for anyone at your dinner table), rules and regulations for high school, getting a job or getting into college, social savvy, and even mall manners and driver’s education.
The tone is straightforward, easy to understand, and a quick read. I read it on a bumpy airplane ride from the O.C. to Las Vegas.
A lot of it was common sense to me; however, I did learn some new things. For example if you are introducing a younger person to an older person, you say the older person’s name first, which I did not know!
I am most curious to know what teens would think of this book, especially the teens who are in need of this sort of information. I have plans to pass it on to both of my teens. I did notice my son skimming through it, and would just love to know what he thinks, although we had no time for such obsessing, as he needed to get his homework done.
I would rate this book very highly for teens as the teen years are a difficult time for many and any guidance of how to negotiate this rapidly evolving era is much needed (the etiquette for texting, for example, which seems to drive all parents crazy). I give it an 8 and a must read for the teen audience, especially the moody ones.
Isabella Lucero is a writer, mother, cook, and gardener living in Tucson, Arizona.
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