Reviewed by Nandita Keshavan for Readers' Favorite

Seasons of Empowerment for Adolescent Girls by Irene Roth is a useful guide to self development, in four stages, designed to help adolescent girls accept their individuality, live from the heart and develop true confidence and assertiveness. The concepts are arranged in seasons to highlight the natural progression of maturity and classify goals into four stages. It is a useful technique which allows people to adapt in stages and establish a stronger identity gradually. Although the book lacks anecdotes and examples, which would have made it easier to read and relate to, I found the book very thorough and it will appeal to people who are interested in easily accessing the core messages and reflecting on them since each sub chapter has its own space for personal reflection and introspection.

Journaling is a powerful tool to understand our own thoughts and if we are ever looking to improve ourselves, we should first try to identify the phase we are in and therefore the help needed. Many people who do not go through this transformation in adolescence have residual aspects of low self esteem and passivity in their personality, and this book is useful for anyone at any stage in their development. In fact, I felt that the book should have been gender neutral since boys would also benefit from this book.

The content is about embracing yourself, being kind to yourself not only via your internal dialogue, but also by surrounding yourself with positive people and putting an end to negativity and bullying. It is a refreshing and eye opening book for those who have not been through these stages, and I wholeheartedly agree with the author that most people's lives would have been different had they undergone this transformation earlier in life. Readers should be aware that it is an intense workbook, and can be repetitive at times, but the overall effect is to emphasise the importance of the core beliefs and values one needs in life.