I was really excited to be able to read and review this book, but it was quite a disappointment. Maybe the title and subtitle oversold it, but I got very little out of reading this book. I think the author chose to speak briefly on SO many topics that there wasn't much depth to anything. It is a nice-looking ebook that is organized well and is probably inviting to teens due to its simplicity and brevity, but as an educator looking to increase his depth of understanding on this topic, I didn't get much of a return on my investment (of time).

I was provided a free copy of this book via LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Decision and problem analysis is an area of great interest to this reviewer as I have taught it professionally to engineers and technology professionals. The process for critical decision making and problem solving can be rigid and numeric and must be fact-based. When you are making decisions that can cost a company millions of dollars, it is not a 'touchy feely' process. That said, teens and young adults find these processes dull and boring and, therefore often don't have the paience to learn them. The end result is that they don't internalize good techniques and go on habitually making using poor, intuitive processes. In comes this book. The author does an admirable job of taking complex processes (I'm assuming that she has at least some grasp on the more formal processes) and makes them relevant and applicable to a younger audience. She does a good job of bringing the mental processing of information and data into the realm of the teen and young adult and makes it useable. The volume is a good effort and young adults would be well served by it. ( )

The subtitle of this book says it is for people of all ages, which is true in many respects. Some material feels aimed at younger and less experienced people, for example: "What do I wear?" "How do I respond to the bully who keeps bugging me?" In contrast, the book contains a section on physiology of the brain and how it functions during decision-making.
I am slightly torn in my opinion of this book. It seems to be trying to address too broad an audience. I am doubtful that many teenagers would make it through the entire book, and I think many college students would stop reading when they encountered ideas aimed at a younger group.
Stephany K. Thomann has written a book replete with ideas and examples concerning making good decisions. Her research is extensive and her pedigree is solid. The narrative is witty and easy to read. The subject is covered thoroughly, including informative decision-making and problem-solving, even covering the difference between the two. The importance of communication is also addressed. I believe if both parents and their young adult children read this book, many interesting and productive conversations might result. I appreciate Thomann's statement: "You can only be confident that you've done your best to choose the best option for you at that moment. The only result you can predict is that you'll be able to keep the responsibility for your decision." ( )

Over the last two decades, I have worked with students at every level of learning K through 12 -- IB, AP, gifted, advanced, general education, special needs, second-language learners. That said, I am not sure exactly who this book was written for. It appears to be trying to be "everything for everyone," and falls a little flat in the effort. Do not misunderstand -- there are some true gems scattered throughout the book. However, as a whole, it is confusing. It has super-technical jargon about the workings of the human brain and then lapses into a casual conversational style complete with slang. It asks the reader to enagage in high-level thinking and then in the middle of the process to stop working and (breathe). All told, I can only imagine a select few of the students I've worked with even trying to make it all the way through this work... which is a shame, because it covers a number of subjects that they really should be reading, talking, and thinking about a whole deal more than they currently do. I might recommend this book for some of its chapters individually, or for a small group led by an adult who can steer the way; however, I think that this would be a tough slog for all but the most dedicated of teens to handle independently. ( )

When I picked up Decide and Solve: Decision-making and problem-solving skills guide for teenagers, young adults and you, I thought it was a great idea.

It's the kind of a book I could have used when I was in high school and even in college. It claimed to be able to speak to three groups of people. The problem is, I'm not sure that's possible. The three groups involved have vastly different problems. A book for a pre-teen or a teenager is not the same book a college student would want to read. It may be the kind of book a parent would give to their teenager, but it's not a book for an adult.

There were moments in the book when I thought she was talking to me, then she would shift tone and begin speaking to the teenager. Another page over, she would talk to the college student navigating the college party scene. The shifts in tone were jarring. I don't think college students would be interested in the teenager-focused examples. I think they would put the book down.

The book has a lot of great advice. It's well-written, has good examples and clever artwork, but it needs to focus on one group and write directly to them. I wish it had been written directly to teenagers. Her voice is strongest when she is speaking to them. If she wanted to engage the parents, she could have included Discussion Questions at the end of each chapter. The questions would give a parent and their teenager a chance to talk about decision-making.

This book is a fantastic idea, but I think it could have been improved with a tight focus on the pre-teen or teenaged reader. ( )