Stuff That Sucks: A Teen’s Guide to Accepting What You Can’t Change and Committing to What You Can

In a book first published in the U.K., clinical psychologist Sedley uses the language and tactics of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to encourage teens to recognize the feelings negatively affecting them, and offers tools and ideas for how they can mitigate or otherwise get a handle on them. Sedley doesn’t get much into the specifics of what might have caused the hurt readers are feeling, and he doesn’t need to. Worry, shame, and anger (just some of the “stuff that sucks” covered) can have any number of sources, and the suggestions he proposes—identifying one’s core values, reaching out to friends (or professionals), and trying to think of persistent negative thoughts as annoying rather than day ruining—are broadly applicable. Occasional b&w line drawings are perhaps a tad juvenile for the target audience, but Sedley’s informal but candid tone is consistently reassuring. Ages 13–up. (Mar.)