Tag: boundaries

REVIEW: Enneagram Empowerment by Laura Miltenberger

REVIEW: Enneagram Empowerment by Laura Miltenberger

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and DK Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

This opens with introductory information on the Enneagram including four pages per type in an overview. The book also introduces concepts like wings, stances, centers, and subtypes. I was sad to see it comes with a quiz. As I have said before, your Enneagram type is notoriously hard to discern with a quiz. Quizzes work well when evaluating observable behaviors. But the Enneagram is all about motivation. You may have several types who eschew conflict, but their reasons for doing so will differ. When I took the “quiz” here, I had five numbers with the same overall score. The goal of the quiz is to help readers narrow down the 9 types to 2 or 3. For me, I would have had 7 from the quiz.

When it comes to the introductory material, I would not recommend this book to Enneagram novices. Other than the quiz, there’s nothing “wrong” with the material at all. The introductory material is just pretty thin. I feel there are other resources that are better – The Road Back to You and Millenneagram to name a couple. They spend more time on the basics. (You can read my reviews other Enneagram resources here.)

Where this resource shines, though, is in the information on empowerment. The author splits the book into two sections – self-empowerment and relational empowerment. Self-empowerment includes things like self-care and empowered thinking, while relational empowerment includes boundaries, etc.. The author gives both general information on these various topics as well as Enneagram-type specific examples and suggestions. I found the Enneagram-specific pieces fascinating.

I am not sure I personally would get enough out of the empowerment pieces to add this to my Enneagram library. BUT I could see therapists and spiritual directors (although there is no faith component to the book) who work with people of a variety of types in empowerment tasks getting a LOT out of those pieces of this resource. I will definitely recommend this one to my helping-professional friends for their work.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

BONUS REVIEW: Hug? by Charlene Chua

BONUS REVIEW: Hug? by Charlene Chua

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kids Can Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When a girl’s cat gets sick, she offers a hug to help it feel better. Then, a dog asks her for a hug next. Then a family of ducks. And a skunk. The girl continues to say yes, even when she’s uncertain, until things go too far.

Review

This is a cute story with excellent illustrations. I read it twice so I could really take in the changes in the girl’s hair and the condition of her clothes as the story goes on. On the surface, this is a story about the power of hugs, but it seems to have other layers when you take in the illustrations.

A case could be made that this is a book about boundaries. The girl gets to a point where she says no – first when someone goes too far and then again when the requests become overwhelming. There’s no clear discussion of this in the text of the book, but these things could be discussed with kids as the book is read. I could see this fitting perfectly into conversations about kids having the right to say no to requests for hugs, about boundaries with their bodies, and about boundaries in general.

This was great!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

BONUS REVIEW: Recommended for You by Laura Silverman

BONUS REVIEW: Recommended for You by Laura Silverman

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Shoshanna adores her job at the mall bookstore, Once Upon. Her boss is a mentor, and she loves her co-workers. And it’s a good thing she loves it because it’s the holiday season which means the mall is crazy busy, and she is working double shifts until Christmas.

Shoshanna needs those double shifts. Her car has become unreliable, and the repair is expensive. Her moms don’t have the money, and they are fighting enough already. She doesn’t want to add any stress to their household. But then her boss offers a holiday incentive. The person who sells to the most customers leading up to Christmas will earn a bonus. That extra money would go a long way toward helping her fix her car.

The biggest roadblock to Shoshanna’s success is the new guy, Jake. He doesn’t even read, except for things assigned at school! But he’s charming and clever, and customers like him. He’s bonded with Shoshanna’s work friends and leveraged technology to help him make recommendations. He is serious competition. In all of their interactions he has come across as a jerk to Shoshanna, so she is determined to beat him. She’ll get the money she needs AND show Jake that being a bookseller is about more than doing an online search.

Review

This was fun! I loved the bookstore pieces in this as well as Shoshanna’s enthusiasm about her work and about books/reading in general. The author does a good job of keeping Shoshanna endearing, even when she’s a bit much. There’s some immaturity at play, which makes sense for her age. In fact, it’s been awhile since I read a YA novel where the main character felt like a genuine teenager. Shoshanna really feels genuine. Here, she has a lot to learn about boundaries. She wants everyone to be happy, get along, and feel good about themselves, even if that means she meddles in things she shouldn’t. The other great thing about this is that Shoshanna learns from her mistakes. She is intentional about making different, better choices as the book goes on. She lets her failures instruct her for the future.

The bookstore pieces are balanced by the women in Shoshanna’s life and the problems they are experiencing. Shoshanna’s moms are fighting and it makes home feel unsettled and tense. Then, when Shoshanna alienates her best friends, she can’t even go home for comfort because things there are so on-edge. There are nice holiday pieces woven in, too – Hanukkah celebrations for Shoshanna and Jake as well as the Christmas festivities at the mall.

The romance here is sweet and gradual. It’s a low key enemies-to-lovers story. And in reality it’s probably more bickering-rivals-to-crushes, but the usual features of the trope are there. I warmed up to Jake pretty quickly and loved watching his relationship with Shoshanna thaw over time.

While the cover doesn’t show it, this is definitely a holiday story, so librarians and booksellers should keep this title in mind for holiday displays. Readers who love sweet teen romances, books about books and bookstores, and stories about personal growth should check this on out! (Some language, LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥=Great!