You say you want a REBELUTION? Win a copy of DO HARD THINGS.

If you’re the parent of teenager, kidult, or adultescent, BUY this book. Buy several copies. Hand them out to anyone breathing who knows a teen, kidult, and/or adultescent. 

I’ve taught high school for over twenty years. This is, without a doubt, one of the single most important books I could place in the hands of every teen who passes through the doors of my classroom. In fact, money and public school notwithstanding, I would. This book is that powerful.

 This review is longer than most of those posted here.. Actually, it’s shorter than I’d want it to be, but I found myself wanting to duplicate everything on their site.

I encourage you, no–I URGE you–visit their blog. Scroll through their topics on the sidebar, issues like Modern Day chivalry, The Myth of Adolescence, Brothers & Sisters, Teens and Technology, The Modesty Survey. Click on the links. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, you’ll line up the family and the pets to do the wave. 

Enjoy.

BUY THE BOOK.

REVIEW FROM TORI L., A STUDENT IN MY ENGLISH II HONORS CLASS:

I didn’t ask for extra reading material; it was given to me when my teacher Mrs. Allan handed me the book. I was skeptical. I asked myself the question, “Why me and no one else?” I didn’t want to completely ignore my teacher’s wishes to read the book, so I skimmed the first few pages. Rebelutionary, a word that grasped my attention every time my eyes rolled over it. Rebelutionary is a word created by the authors of Do Hard Things. It’s a revolution they started for teens to rebels against laziness. This book was written not just to share two teen brothers’ experiences with a revolution they started, but also to motivate teens to join them. I won’t reveal every aspect of the book because it’s your treasure to find. I will tell you, however, it’s a treasure worth missing one or two episodes of American Idol to find. I encourage everyone to read Do Hard Things. It will change your outlook on teenage years.

 

The next generation stands on the brink of a “rebelution.”

With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to “do hard things” for the glory of God.

Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins’ revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

The next generation stands on the brink of a “rebelution.”

With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to “do hard things” for the glory of God.

Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins’ revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

ALEX AND BRETT HARRIS founded TheRebelution.com in August 2005 and today, at age 19, are among the most widely read teen writers on the Web. The twins are frequent contributors to Focus on the Family’s webzine Boundless, serve as the main speakers for The Rebelution Tour conferences, and have been featured nationally on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and The New York Times, as well as in publications like WORLD magazine, Breakaway, and Ignite Your Faith. Their first book, Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, will be released on April 15, 2008, by Multnomah Books.

Sons of homeschool pioneers Gregg and Sono Harris and younger brothers of best-selling author Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye), Alex and Brett have a passion for God and for their generation. Their personal interests include politics, filmmaking, music, basketball, and soccer. And food. They like food.

When they’re not traveling around doing conferences, Alex and Brett live with their parents and three younger siblings near Portland, Oregon, where they attend Household of Faith Community Church. They plan to enter college together in the fall of 2008 — and continue to write, speak, and blog.

CHAPTER ONE: EXCERPT

A Different Kind of Teen Book

Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last.

Well, we do.

This is a different kind of teen book. Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You’ll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it’s like being a teenager. You’ll find a lot of cheap, throwaway books for teens, because young people today aren’t supposed to care much about books, or see any reason to keep them around. And you’ll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice–because it’s been dumbed down. Like, just for you.

What you’re holding in your hands right now is a challenging, hardcover book for teens by two teens who believe our generation is ready for a change. Ready for something that doesn’t promise a whole new life if you’ll just buy the right pair of jeans or use the right kind of deodorant. We believe our generation is ready to rethink what teens are capable of doing and becoming. And we’ve noticed that once wrong ideas are debunked and cleared away, our generation is quick to choose a better way, even if it’s also more difficult.

We’re nineteen-year-old twin brothers, born and raised in Oregon, taught at home by our parents, and striving to follow Christ as best we can. We’ve made more than our share of mistakes. And although we don’t think “average teenagers” exist, there is nothing all that extraordinary about us personally.

Still, we’ve had some extraordinary experiences. At age sixteen we interned at the Supreme Court of Alabama. At seventeen, we served as grassroots directors for four statewide political campaigns. At eighteen, we authored the most popular Christian teen blog on the web. We’ve been able to speak to thousands of teens and their parents at conferences in the United States and internationally, and to reach millions online. But if our teen years have been different than most, it’s not because we are somehow better than other teens, but because we’ve been motivated by a simple but very big idea. It’s an idea you’re going to encounter for yourself in the pages ahead.

We’ve seen this idea transform “average” teenagers into world-changers able to accomplish incredible things. And they started by simply being willing to break the mold of what society thinks teens are capable of.

So even though the story starts with us, this book is really not about us, and we would never want it to be. It’s about something God is doing in the hearts and minds of our generation. It’s about an idea. It’s about rebelling against low expectations. It’s about a movement that is changing the attitudes and actions of teens around the world. And we want you to be part of it.

This book invites you to explore some radical questions:

• Is it possible that even though teens today have more freedom than any other generation in history, we’re actually missing out on some of the best years of our lives?
• Is it possible that what our culture says about the purpose and potential of the teen years is a lie, and that we are its victims?
• Is it possible that our teen years give us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for huge accomplishments–as individuals and as a generation?
• And finally, what would our lives look like if we set out on a different path entirely–a path that required more effort but promised a lot more reward?

We describe that alternative path with three simple words: “do hard things.”

Read the rest HERE.

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