6/1/05 VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
Part of a series dealing with twenty-first-century wellness topics, at times Keeping a Journal blows the perfect breath to stoke a writer's fire, but the tone can become annoyingly affected: "Use your journal to take risks, set goals, and reach for your dreams." Excerpts from famous and typical journals add practicality to the writing prompts and lessons. The 1,000 Journals Project is a fascinating up-to-date inclusion. In Death and Dying, the focus is on "grief work," rather than the concept of death. Chapters outline ways to express grief, develop support, and commemorate the deceased. The chapter "Keeping Memories Alive" includes religious and cultural death rituals, such as the Jewish tradition of "sitting shiva," and Mexico's elaborate Day of the Dead celebration. A report researcher or casual nonfiction browser might look elsewhere as both titles speak directly to the reader assuming a keen personal interest in the topic. For Keeping a Journal, this approach is logical, but Death and Dying reads only as a griever's manual rather than as an informative text.

 
The series' contemporary topics and simple, intimate approach should attract its intended audience in most intermediate, secondary, and public libraries. Additional titles include Meditation, Reaching your Goals, Dyslexia, School Conflict, Healthy Sexuality, Schizophrenia, Date Violence, Emotional Intelligence, and Yoga.