“Smart Career Planning for Teens” by Emma Davis would not be my go-to recommendation for my students. I work with teens on a daily basis. This book is a heavy lift for today’s teens. It is text dense with no design elements to make the text more engaging (e.g. graphics, chunking, design elements, etc.). While the idea is great, the execution is uneven to the point where sometimes I was not sure if Davis was directing the book towards high school students (I was under the impression that was the target audience), but rather towards college-age students.

Some examples may leave U.S. teens confused. For example, in the U.S., students do not take A-level exams and probably don’t know what they are. There are numerous references to A-levels, studying for them, taking a gap year after them, etc. Later in the book there is discussion on STEM education in the Philippines. STEM courses are prioritized in the U.S. so I am unclear why the example is from the Philippines.

Information and advice is often uneven. For example, there is minimal information presented explaining white collar careers, but blue color careers have short descriptions and average salary. This is followed by more than a page about how to become a successful celebrity interviewer. Next comes some general career advice about getting ahead, then the chapter finished up with a step by step on how to conduct a mock celebrity interview.

In the middle of the book there is a graphic asking for a review of the book (and a QR Code). Is this just in ARC? Other graphics throughout the book would be difficult to use because they are undersized and seem to be taken from other sources (some have company logos on them), but they are not credited in the text.

I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley and BooksGoSocial, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was struggling with the way this book was written and designed (just text content on the Kindle) and the target group being teenagers. It's like a really boring text book, with no "fun stuff" to rest the eye or draw the reader in.

I've given it a 3 as it has some useful information, but it could be some much better if layout / design was done in a way that would speak to the target group. Also the language, is probably more compelling to us "oldies" than teenagers.

Arc Review:
Overall Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A good guide for both teens and parents. This book was organized well, easy to read and to follow along with, provided you with good strategies and advice, also provided you with some helpful encouragement, and a lot of inspiration. Highlights the importances of personal growth, networking, and financial planning. There was a lot of information to take away from this book but I think it was worth the read.

Thank you NetGalley, and publisher’s for an advanced readers copy of this book.

"Smart Career Planning for Teens" by Emma Davis is a book geared toward teenagers who want to figure out what to do with their lives. As a former middle school teacher, I'm experienced in what kids will and won't read, and I feel like the layout, style, and content of this books is too dry for most kids. I also think this could have gotten a second read-through by the editor, as one job field was titled "IT Technology" which is a redundant acronym and serves to make the author seem uneducated on that particular field. The book could really use some stories of people who planned their career, and how it worked out for them. As it is, it reads as a short textbook that kids will read only if assigned for a grade. It could also use some graphics, and an index.