Reviewed by Mansoor Ahmed for Readers' Favorite

UP! The Playbook for Every Woman on the Rise by Kelly Mooney and Katy Mooney is a frank, practical career guide written by two sisters who spent decades learning the hard way what nobody told them early enough. Kelly grew up in a small Ohio town, sharing a bathroom with six sisters, and eventually rose to become CEO of one of America's largest digital agencies before selling it to IBM. She opens the book with her own unvarnished story: the job where she discovered a male colleague was earning twice her salary, the years of overworking without advocacy, and the single question from a friend, "Why not you?" That question changed everything. The book is divided into five parts covering how to lead yourself, own your choices, find your fit, think bigger, and get in the game. Each short chapter comes with concrete tools, real-life scripts, and reflection exercises. There is no single prescribed path, and the authors are deliberate about that. Whether you are just starting, stuck in a role that has stopped growing, or ready to aim for something much bigger, there is a section written for where you are right now.

Kelly and Katy Mooney write with the kind of honesty that only comes from having genuinely struggled. The pace is brisk, and the chapters are short enough to read in one sitting, which makes the whole book feel immediately usable rather than theoretical. I was struck by the detail of Kelly being told her male colleague earned double because "he has a family to support and you don't," a moment so absurd it still lands like a punch decades later. The individuals here are real women at real crossroads, and their stories make the advice feel grounded rather than generic. The themes of self-advocacy, confidence, and defining success on your own terms run through every page with warmth. UP! is the kind of book you underline, return to, and hand to every woman you want to see thrive.