There's no getting around it: some things in life suck. With this basic premise, this empathetic book guides readers through some of the inevitable bummers of the teenage years. Sedley, a clinical psychologist and an experienced practitioner of family and adolescent therapy, presents plenty of generalized problems and issues that are common among young people, and offers potential solutions and ideas to combat them. Confronting negative thoughts and feelings is the basic strategy of the acceptance and commitment therapy that Sedley puts forth. He describes skills that can help readers stop trying to fight against their unwanted emotions and cope with inevitable setbacks. Sedley's credibility is bolstered by his openness about not having the answer to every problem or question faced by readers; rather, he encourages kids to look for strategies that work for them. Some exercises are written, while others are behavioral or observational. At its core, the book is a self-help tract on learning to accept one's emotions that will serve readers through their adolescence and beyond.

A very generalized introduction to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).Developed by psychologist Steven Hayes, ACT is designed to help patients move beyond the stresses caused by negative thoughts. Author and clinical psychologist Sedley begins by acknowledging many of the negative emotions that teens may experience: worry, sadness, loneliness, anger, and shame. Then, using a caveman analogy, he explains that human brains are hard-wired to look for danger, which in the modern age is social rejection. ACT contends that breaking the cycle of negative thoughts involves accepting them—rather than focusing on shame about past behaviors or fear about potential future behaviors—and using mindfulness to focus on the immediate moment. The book suggests activities such as listening to music, staring at a body of water, or paying attention to breathing to aid with mindfulness. Sedley also includes a rating scale to help readers discover their personal values, which they can then use when setting goals for working toward a lifestyle that demonstrates these values. The brevity of topic coverage (typically only a page) necessitates a lot of generalization, and readers may find themselves frustrated. The childish, black-and-white line drawings lend the book a distressingly patronizing feel. This may work as an introduction to the concept of ACT, but it's too simplistic to help readers engage in self-directed ACT practices. (Nonfiction. 14-18)