Debt Information for Teens

Gr 10 Up—Though drab and uninviting in appearance, these updates offer students facing college and/or independence a mind-boggling amount of financial advice and background information. The articles in Debt are culled mainly from government documents published or themselves updated over the past four years (through mid-2011). They provide coverage ranging from general and statistical overviews of U.S. coinage and monetary policy to more personally relevant procedures and best practices related to budgeting, checking and savings accounts, identity theft, borrowing, credit cards, and resolving various debt-related problems. Paying for a car and for college are discussed in individual chapters. The latter topic is treated in massively more detail in College, which likewise reprints or collects extracts from (mostly) government documents to offer guidance on preparing for and choosing an institution, educational alternatives such as study online or abroad, specialized savings accounts and programs, and applying for grants and loans. Both volumes close with lengthy lists of relevant organizations and online resources. Tamsen Butler's Complete Guide to Personal Finance: For Teenagers (Atlantic, 2010) takes a livelier, more readable approach to the subject, and College Financing is nowhere near as comprehensive a sourcebook as the latest edition of the classic Scholarships, Grants & Prizes (Peterson's, 2011). Still, both topics are of consuming importance to teens, and even the stodgiest treatments may be of help in taking that next, giant step.—John Peters, Children's Literature Consultant, New York City