4.5 average rating Based on 50 reviews and a possible top score of 5

Hopeful and Inspiring, February 13, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from Venice, CA
I was in a school that was a failure in almost every way. Emotionanlly and physically abusive, the low achievement and education rates were hardly worth noting. The only thing that school taught was how to obey and accept abuse.

Dropping out at 16 to escape the violence, irresponsibility, and abuse dealt out by the faculty (supported by the principal), I discovered unschooling, and this book, from a woman that helped homeschooled kids. (Unschooling is a specific type of homeschooling, and different from what most people assume.) All the unschoolers that I met are light years ahead of people in the public schools that I once knew. My only regret is that I waited so long to do this!

Grace Llewellyn is an inspiring author filled with hope, enthusiasm, and inspiring thoughts for all who read her books, including this one. Even when she shares the problems she experienced as a teacher, there is an undercurrent of humor that is refreshing and inspiring. But this book is mostly about how to learn without school, not about condemning the school system. Even when she’s critical of the public schools, she remains positive. When she explains unschooling, she is inspirational!

Drawing on her experiences as a teacher and an educator, she vividly illustrates the difference between education and the currently outdated school system. Yes, there is a big difference. This book has restored my love for learning that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Grace Llewellyn, and this book, is inspiring and gives me hope for myself, and the education process as a whole for other kids stuck in the old school system.

I was outraged, June 3, 2002
Reviewer: Anthony C Valterra from Seattle, WA United States
I was a very fortunate person as I knew Grace Llewellyn personally and was privelaged to read a copy of the book when it first came out. When I she told me about the book I rolled my eyes and shrugged my shoulders, "that’s Grace" I thought. I felt certain that I would find the book well written but would disagree with it right down to the premise. I had an excellent High School experience and held a BA from a very good private college. I felt that schooling had been to my beneifit.

But when I read the book my reaction was one of sorrow and outrage that I had not had this book when I was a teenager. I gave it to my Mom to read and she is now a huge supporter of Ms. Llewellyn’s work as well. This is significant as my mother is a former community college administrator.

Reading this book is risky, dangerous, frightening. It will open your eyes to truths you don’t want to know and ideas you don’t want to think. It will make you question the systems we have set up for education. It might make you quit school, it might make you wish you had.

Awesome!, August 28, 2001
Reviewer: backpackerkid from Mt. Pleasant, SC United States
This is a great book for kids yound and old alike! I am currently in 7th grade and last year I started reading about homeschooling. I liked the idea of learning what you like and I strongly agree that traditional schooling isn’t schooling at all. This year I have been trying to get my mom to homeschool, with little success becasue of the usual reasons: I’m not a teacher, I couldn’t teach high school, I’m a single parent and I work, I can’t leeave you home alone, how would you make friends, etc. Well, I read this book to her and starting December I’m homeschooling. At first she thought, Oh great, it’s one of those books that teaches kids to rebel. But the stuff in there is great. It has a great section on persuading your parents and teaching yourself, as well as getting jobs and going to college. It also explains about why school isn’t schooling and legal issues. All in all, the best book on homeschooling/unschooling I’ve ever read, plus I love it becasue it’s the only book around aimed at kids!

I love this book. Should be required reading for all teens., December 20, 1998
Reviewer: armofpilot (see more about me) from New Jersey USA
This book helped me realize there was nothing wrong with me for hating school so much, even though I had been labeled an "intelligent child," and that all the damage done from it could be avoided. I am still stuck miserablly in school, but with a greater understanding and a stong will to convince my parents to let me out. I’m in the process of buying it for almost every person I know, adults with children and kids alike, to save them as much pain and valuable learning time as possible. A must read for anyone who would like a "real life" and education.

Well…, August 26, 2003
Reviewer: _ares_ (see more about me) from Alaska
One thing I can say for this book is that it definitely reaches its intended audience - that is, children and teenagers who are unhappy in school and want an alternative. It is inflammatory in its wordings and its ideals, and sometimes that’s exactly what a teenager needs to shift them into gear.

However, at fifteen, a year and a half after becoming an ‘autodidact’, I can definitely appreciate the pros and cons of both homeschooling and public schooling, something the author seems completely unable to do. In my case, there are several things that I miss from public school that, while not impossible, are hard to do in my particular homeschooling situation. Sports and Music being the most prominent examples. And while I can’t imagine giving up my academic freedom at this point, especially since I’m beginning college next year, there are details that Llewellyn either glosses over or doesn’t mention entirely while describing unschooling, and many of them are important.

Homeschooling, especially teaching yourself, takes a lot of dedication and hard work. This is not an easy ride. The nice thing about public school is that information is generally laid out in a orderly, understandable manner. You don’t have this when you’re searching through your library trying to figure out how to give yourself a comprehensive education on your own. And the internet, while a brilliant resource, is even more confusing.

Llewellyn talks about how you can go from homeschooling to college just as easy or easier than if you went to public school. This is only true if you study. I don’t care how much someone thinks that playing video games all day will help them when they’re a game designer, if you don’t have basic math and english enough to write an essay without dropping into webspeak, then you’re essentially screwed when it comes to college.

While I’d recommend this to any truly desperate-to-get-out-of-school teenager, especially if there is no chance of them graduating on time or even at all, I’d also recommend that they read more than just this one book and have a good idea of what they’re getting into before they make a commitment. And the more help you can get from learned adults, the better!

An important, engaging work, August 22, 2003
Reviewer: Linda Hessel from USA
There are no doubt going to be a lot of people threatened by what Grace Llewellyn has to say, because a lot of people have their entire identities and lives invested in believing that our school system fosters true learning and the confidence and self-knowledge necessary to creat a satisfying, fulfilling life. It quite frankly does nothing of the sort, and Llewellyn is very good at logically spelling out for us exactly why this is so.

Like Llewellyn, I attended compulsory school, was a good student, and went through college (a professional school) in preparation for a career, and also like her I now see the terrible limitations inherent in our school system. Had I had the opportunity of different and more choices, I could have avoided a lot of the tedium, mediocrity, and loss of freedom that such an educational path demanded, even had I eventually *chosen* to educate myself in a traditional way. As well, I have spent the last decade of my life unlearning bad habits that are directly a result of being coerced for years into doing things that are irrelevant to my life, and being subject to arbitrary authorities. Those things crowded out my spirit and my voice until I forgot I had them or how to use them. I am now remembering how, and books like Llewellyn’s have been invaluable to me in doing so.

"It is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiousity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty." — Albert Einstein…

Ditch school (or work) and read this book–now!, July 10, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from Texas, United States
I am 32-year-old recovering public school student. This book finally validated what I knew in my heart all along: education is not a one-size-fits-all deal. This book isn’t just for teens–adults cannot afford not to read this. Chances are, there are many bad lessons you learned in school that are still affecting the way you live your life today.

The personal anecdotes made this book a page-turner. And the resources and statistics are priceless. My husband and I are definitely exploring education alternatives when we have children.

This is an enlightening and liberating book for all ages!

Dangerous Anarchist Propaganda, July 4, 2003
Reviewer: markxvii from Portland, OR United States
I am disgusted by the book, and the fact that Ms. Llewellyn is preying upon teenagers, feeding them what they want to hear, and profiting from that. The whole book is thinly veiled anarchist propaganda aimed at "society as we know it". Scattered throughout the book you’ll find references to global warming, ozone depletion, and Big Brother government - you name it… All this is offered as well known facts to hardly prepared audience (even by her own admittance!), while even environmental scientists of all argue about it! While I have nothing against her expressing this point of view, I do believe that disguising political agenda as a help for teenagers is misleading and dangerous. She leaves no arguments for the other side, and doesn’t stop before labeling everybody who holds a different point of view as "wage slave", "brain freezed"… Again, no intelligent argument - just a bunch of big name quotations, and prophesizing. It doesn’t give teenagers arguments to explore, it tells them - "you are always right, and the society is always wrong". This brings to memory Luddites movement. Passages inviting to explore "deep things" through use of drugs, with assurances that "once out of school, your body will know its limits"!!! For all the parents whose hearts are broken: Shame on you.

slow down and read every word; it’s that important, March 26, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from East Coast, USA
It is frightening though to hear how bad life is for most high schoolers. I was looking for books on homeschooling in my local library when a teenaged bystander put this book in my hands and said "read it." I did, even though I had to carry it around with me for weeks to sneak in time to read it. I wish that it had been written before I spent 19 years in school, including graduate level. But who knows, maybe it will save some pain for others. Buy it new. You will want to read it over and over. It is only the second book of my life that I read carefully — every word. (the first was Catch-22). Find and read anything by this author. She writes from the heart.

THE COOLEST BOOK!!!, March 10, 2003
Reviewer: An Amazon.com Customer
First of all, the reason I gave this book 4 starz (rather than 5) is because Grace Llewellyn doesn’t seem very open-minded about any type of education besides unschooling. I definently don’t have anything against unschooling, it’s just that different types of school work for different people, so it’s not really fair to pound conventional school. Everything else was absolutely fantastic!!! I am surprised it is not NY Times bestseller by now. I know a lot of people who need to read this book. The Teenage Liberation Handbook is quite a masterpiece in my opinion, because it is written for teenagers without once being condescending!!!!!:) The purpose of the TLH is way more than the what the title professes: it not only tells you how to quit school and start learning, it also inspires you to actually get off your…an DO suff. Unlike school ’survival guides’ (that encourage you to stay IN school) the boost of happiness and confidence the TLH gives you remains mint fresh. Another thing: Has Grace Llewellyn written any novels? She is one of the wittiest and most entertaining writers I have ever read. She makes the TLH just plain fun to read. This book is not fantasy stuff. I totally encourage you to read it!!!!!!!!