There seem to be a lot of positive reviews of this book, so there are certainly aspects about it that must be good – but in my personal opinion I didn’t like it. This book reads as if the authors assumed I am two things that I’m not: rich and stupid. A lot of the wordy paragraphs seem to be filler information, over-explaining points that I understood 10 minutes of reading back. I think this might be intentional, so the book isn’t shooting facts at you like an adult financial book might read, but for me it was just annoying. And at the end of the book, it never really tied it all together…you won’t really know how to start investing even if you’ve read it cover-to-cover. And, on a side note, some of the examples rather annoyed me…describing teens who “scrimp and save” to put away $5,000 per year for retirement…let’s be real! I’m sure some teens have that to put away every year, but it’s not from diligently saving what they earn, it’s from their parents. Also, this book simply ignores the one huge financial problem all teens have – college! I could not believe that this book goes on without even mentioning the best ways to save for college. They do list example after example of what John or Jane will have saved up by the time of their retirement (if they “scrimp and save” $5,000 a year now – rrgh). I think for most teens, it’s unrealistic to have all your money stashed in an account worth thousands that you won’t touch until retirement. Not saying it’s too early to start thinking beyond college, but college is really the primary issue.
I think this book might be good for 12- or 13-year olds who would appreciate the reiteration and a style of book that’s aimed more for children than adults. I’m 17, so I think some older teens might be bored with the tone and wordiness of the book, I’d just go for an adult one. Gosh, this was a long review..sorry! Good luck with investing, everyone!