Roy Petitfils wrote What Teens Want You to Know so that anyone who works with youth can better understand their needs. Petitfils compiled years of counseling experience into this book to show the underlying needs and wants of our youth. He uses many counseling stories and case studies to show how a person can minister to the most difficult students.
The book is broken down into 10 short chapters, each beginning with some quotes and a story about counseling a youth. He uses each story to expose the underlying needs and wants of our young people. In the 10 chapters, Petitfils writes about how students want relationships with adults, how adults must learn to listen well, some common types of resistance in relationships, being a safe place for students to confide, and how to counsel through grief. He concludes each chapter with “Points to Remember” and discussion questions.
This book is valuable to parents, youth workers, volunteer leaders, teachers or anyone who works with students. Petitfils definitely gives us a glimpse into the hearts, wants, needs and desires of our youths. He neither intended for his work to be exhaustive nor to be a biblical exegesis on teen discipleship. Rather, he wanted to share experiences from which he believes others would benefit greatly.
