Good Morning! Here’s the Monday Morning Blog!
Did you get a chance to touch base with that teen or young adult in your life last week? Ask them what they think about getting involved in an activity. Something that may be of interest to them. It will not only keep them busy over the summer but may lead to them learning about themselves and meeting others.
June’s Theme – Teen Organizations
There are many benefits to being involved in organizations. You can meet people from schools other than your own. You can volunteer and give your time and energy to a cause that is important to you. And you can make a difference in the community in which you live.
According to the United Way website, there are five benefits of Teen Volunteering.
Increase self-esteem
Gain more empathy
Become a stronger college applicant
Build long-term generosity
Earn better grades
Along with those benefits, being involved in teen organizations is a great way to network with teens and adults who have the same passions for the causes that you do. You may find a mentor through being involved who may help you to succeed.
This month I am going to focus on the benefits of being involved teen organizations. Check out my mentor page and see how I am doing it Selma P. Verde – Mentor Page
The Way Series
The Way Series focuses on challenges teens face, in a novel format, with characters teens can relate to. Book one is The Hard Way, which focuses on peer pressure. Book two is Shawn’s Way which focuses on bullying. I have always wanted to mentor and help teens succeed, so that is my drive behind writing and publishing this series.
This month I am celebrating the one-year publishing anniversary of Shawn’s Way, so what a better way to do that by making Shawn’s Way my June book of the month!
According to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center, 1 in 5 students are targets of a bully. It is a staggering statistic to think about. Together, we can create a world without bullying. This should be our goal.
Selma’s Book Review
Book Title
Shawn’s Way
Author
Selma P. Verde
Type of Book
Teen/Young Adult Fiction, Coming of Age
Author Background
Selma P. Verde wanted to publish a novel since she was a preteen. She became a published author in 2017 with her first book, The Hard Way. Shawn’s Way is book two of The Way Series, which is a coming-of-age series of books focusing teen challenges. She has always wanted to mentor and help teens succeed, so that is her drive behind writing and publishing this series.
Summary of the book
Shawn’s Way continues the story of the characters in book one of The Way Series but focuses on Shawn’s journey through his freshman year of high school. He’s the younger brother of the star baseball player, Caleb Townson, and is excited to start his freshman year of high school with his friend Bae. They like to ride their bikes to school and hang out after school together playing Tangorka, the popular online video game. When Shawn becomes a target of one who bullies, he must navigate being the new kid in school and feeling the pressure of being picked on.
Reaction to the book
This book is a continuation of the story from the first book, The Hard Way. Reading that first, may give the reader a little more character and story development, but this could be read as a standalone story. Shawn’s Way gives the reader a relatable story about bullying in high school and how he is able to navigate being a target. If you are looking for a read which focuses on a challenge many teens face in high school, this book would be a good one. I would recommend it for teen, young adult readers and adults who want to learn a little more about how a teen faces being the target of a bully.
Link to the author
If you want to learn more about the author, here is a link to her website Selma P. Verde
Link to the book
If you want to purchase a copy of Shawn’s Way,, here is a link to Amazon – Shawn’s Way. Or you can pick it up from one of your local bookstores or shop Bookshop.org and have the purchase credited to them.
The Way Series is a good choice
Both of the books in The Way Series focus on high school and the challenges teens can face. The Hard Way focuses on peer pressure and Shawn’s Way focuses on bullying. Looking for a couple of reads for your teens this summer? Check these two options out on the books tab of my website, Selma’s Books
