Who am I?

What am I doing here?

What do I want to become?

These and many other questions and topics are explained for teens in "The Teenager’s Guide to the Real World," by Marshall Brain.

The book and extremely useful website (www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw) to "The Teenager’s Guide to the Real World" helps teens understand what it takes to become a successful adult in today’s society and it helps teens to see how the world really works.

Brain starts with the central reality that teens get to design their own lives and he helps them to see the freedom they have to control their own lives and destinies.

The book helps teens learn a great deal more about themselves and the world around them and they are able to explore and think about their choices with a new clarity. The insights gleaned from Brain should make it easier for kids to begin planning a successful path in life.

Some teens may frown upon this book and website, but then wish they would have read it earlier on as they reach their mid-20s. This reviewer would have tossed the book aside when she was 16 or 17 years old, but now wishes she would have had it as a guide six years later.

Speaking as an authority figure, the author with the unlikely name begins the book by talking about money, much like a parent would talk to their children, and shows the reader just how much money it takes to live in America today. The most important information, in this reviewer’s opinion, can be found in the section on money, even information that can be useful for those who have passed the teenager years.

He goes on to explain in very blunt language that adults do, in fact, rule the world and how mystified teens, including himself as a teen, really are by this fact. According to the 1995 World Almanac, adults represent 70 percent of the population and teens only 10 percent.

Brain also explains love, marriage, relationships, sex and the difference between men and women in the simplest of terms and shows why love, marriage, sex and children are so important to people. He says that "love is THE fact of life and the one thing central to all human existence."

The book logically addressed important facts about success, about money and personal finances and setting goals, weighing options, listening and controlling anger to achieve higher success.

Brain also touches on topics that many teens are not familiar with but need to know to survive in the "real world." Topics such as: laws, police and lawyers, avoiding scams and what material possessions mean.

 The website to this book expands upon scams and links the user to more than 500 sites that either explain a specific scam, or are a scam. It provides a six page article on great dating ideas for teens, useful information on part-time jobs and summer jobs, car-buying information, secrets to avoiding accidents, information about college, careers and interviews and resumes, as well as different organizations that they can join and hotline numbers they can call if they have problems or need someone to talk to.

It also lists some fantastic books that will help teens understand themselves and the world around them. Books such as "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus," by John Gray and "How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie, to name just a couple.

"The Teenager’s Guide to the Real World" is not a book just for teens, but for anyone learning or gaining a better understanding of themselves and the world they are living in.

A note to parents: Check out the website (www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw) with your teens. If the information interests them, buy them the book. If it doesn't interest them, buy the book. Eventually they will read it and thank you.