The New Diary of a Teenage Health Freak

Health Education

ISSN: 0965-4283

Article publication date: 1 February 1998

60

Citation

Hearn, G. (1998), "The New Diary of a Teenage Health Freak", Health Education, Vol. 98 No. 1, pp. 33-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/he.1998.98.1.33.2

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


My first impressions of this book, from simply looking at the cover, were that it would probably be quite a childish and irrelevant book for a “normal” teenager. A more imaginative title would help, and so would not having the nerd photos on the front cover! However, when reading further into the book, it gives a different impression. The style is appropriate for people of my age ‐ it is clear, precise, and appears to have been written from experience. The reader can easily relate to the character involved because all the little personal details and aspects of his life described in the book are relevant things common to most teenagers.

The book deals with many issues that concern teenagers, adult things, childish things, and it deals with them in a frank and accurate way. Of course, not everyone will find all the parts of the book interesting, but it is easy to flick between each chapter and just decide at leisure what you want and don’t want to read. I personally find it stressful to have to read a book cover to cover to get the whole story.

The book contains a lot of relevant passages and there is very little that I think needs to be left out. One problem is that the main character, Peter Payne, does tend to get ill a lot. I think that it would be possible to write a book like this about teenage health questions without having it written about a hypochondriac.

I, for one, get a lot of mood swings, almost always to do with my social life at school and with my friends. I am probably not the only one and it is a fairly important subject, so it might be a nice idea to include parts that deal with these emotions.

I would recommend this book to others to read because it is interesting reading about someone who is not unlike yourself. It can also serve as a helpful guide throughout teenage life.

George’s father, Graham Hearn (age 441/2), adds: I think this book addresses a number of important health issues both physical and psychological, and does it in a clever and unusual style. It has a considerable amount of humour which helps to hook the reader and keep him or her interested.

My only real criticism of the book is that it tends to fall between two stools. Certainly, parents who are going through the traumas of living with teenage children and who have obviously gone through their own crises as teenagers themselves will be able to identify with the points raised in the book far more objectively and easily than a young teenager. On the other hand, a teenager reading the book may not be receptive to the information and gentle advice that is given on the various health issues. In which case, the point of the book can be questioned.

This criticism set aside, I thought that the content of the book was appropriate. I cannot think of any other relevant issues that could have been included.

Obviously, teenagers mature at different rates and I would suggest that the book is only appropriate for young teens. However, the way the text of the book is laid out, in various fonts, with bullet points, etc, will help, I am sure, in making the book more appealing to the teenage reader. The illustrations were also very good. The cover could have been designed better and I feel this could put off some potential teenage readers.

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