REVIEW: The Enneagram for Teens by Ainsley Britain

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

Summary and Review


This Enneagram book for teens lays out a great introduction of the personality system in an approachable way. The author comes from the Your Enneagram Coach approach to the Enneagram, and this includes religious/faith components.

The type chapters include two narrative examples for the number along with the usual details like core fear, wounding message, core desire, stress/security, etc.. The sections on career and faith were among my favorite parts – I thought the approach to these areas was great.

The writing style and voice here is good. This is a solid introduction for teens who keep hearing about this Enneagram thing and want to know what it’s about in a simple, approachable way. The chapter on my type felt spot on. I was disappointed that the author indicates that an Enneagram “test” could be helpful to readers. My bias is that tests are more often wrong than right. I think that’s even more complicated for teens whose identity and self-reflection is still in development.

I would be comfortable handing this to a teen who wants to start reading about the Enneagram. But I would follow it up with either podcasts by Enneagram-masters or other books rather than suggest teens try a test. I would also caution teens that their self-perception is still in development, so they might hold their ideas of their type loosely while they continue to mature.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great!