By Stephen H. Segal and Valya Dydycz Lupescu
Quirk, out now
A guide to raising a family, drawn from all forms of geek culture…
Want to know what lessons you can learn from Rose and Jackie Tyler’s relationship? Or what Connor and Angel teach about handling difficult teens? Well, this is the book for you – the sort of self-help guide that is taken seriously in America rather more than tends to happen in Britain, but which does pull out some good examples to make its points.
There’s little in here that is (hopefully) going to come as a shock to parents, in terms of the actions and advice that’s given. Some of it is common sense, some of it clearly comes from years of either receiving or giving advice.
What’s different from the normal approach is the examples that are used, and credit to the authors for turning to everything from Maleficent to Game of Thrones, Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book to The Walking Dead. Not all of the examples are from stories that the recipients of the advice are necessarily going to know – and this may open their eyes to some new literature, particularly, that will be of interest – but the authors give a cogent and brief precis of the elements that they’re using so even if something like A Wrinkle in Time or Luka and the Fire of Life aren’t familiar, you’re given enough to work with.
Verdict: It may take itself a little too seriously for UK readers at times, but it’s an entertaining alternate take on the self-help manual. 7/10
Paul Simpson
IF YOU HAVE COME HERE PLEASE REDIRECT YOUR BROWSER TO WWW.SCIFIBULLETIN.COM 