The Blurb On The Back:

Increase the confidence level of the most important person you will ever meet …

YOU

(And then see your self-esteem soar!)

Packed full of ideas and practical activities to increase confidence, plus explanations of the science behind how and why they work.

BE CONFIDENT BE YOU was released in the United Kingdom on 5th January 2023.  Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

You can order BE CONFIDENT, BE YOU by Becky Goddard-Hill from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

The Review (Cut For Spoilers):

Becky Goddard-Hill is a former social worker who’s now a member of the National Council of Psychotherapists.  This YA self-help book (illustrated by Josephine Dellow) is the type of thing I wish I’d had as a teenager as it’s aimed at building your confidence and self-esteem with plenty of tips, some scientific explanations and exercises and although I wasn’t struck on the graphic design the written content is very empathic and not patronising.

I picked this up because when I was a teenager I was very anxious and lacking in confidence but didn’t feel that I could speak to anyone about it and I think that if I’d had a book like this to help me process my emotions and look at my self-esteem, then it would have saved me a lot of heart break.

The book is divided into three sections:

– Confident Thoughts

– Confident Actions

– Confident Relationships

Each section is divided into a series of areas, e.g. Know Your Strengths, Being A Confident Student, and Assertive Communication.  There’s a total of 40 in the book, which give the reader a mix of advice, tips on ow to handle different situations and exercises.   Goddard-Hill writes in a way that’s not patronising and I liked how she incorporates the scientific explanations in a way that’s easy to follow without feeling like you’re getting baby talk.  Certainly I think this book is good at explaining how to process and make sense of your emotions and that’s definitely something I would have benefitted from at that end.  

If I had one criticism about the writing, then it’s that there is an assumption that teens will be able to talk to parents or other relatives, which I’m not convinced is always the case and it would have been good to have had some acknowledgement of that and how to find other supportive adults.  The other criticism I’d make about the book is that the publishers have gone for a yellow theme (which I understand because it is a bright, positive, confident colour) but it does make it difficult to distinguish between the various sections and graphically, it just doesn’t work for me.  Similarly, while Josephine Dellow’s illustrations are perfectly functional, for me they didn’t bring or add a huge amount to the text.

All in all though I thought this was a strong book and one that teens struggling with their confidence and self-esteem would absolutely benefit from reading.