The Amazing Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price Review: A Smart Tween Guide to Screen Freedom

The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World is a young readers' handbook co-written by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and award-winning health and science journalist Catherine Price, with illustrations by Cynthia Yuan Cheng, published by Rocky Pond Books on December 30, 2025. It grows directly out of Haidt's blockbuster adult book The Anxious Generation (2024), which sparked wide public debate about the effects of smartphones and social media on young people's development. Where that earlier book addressed parents, educators, and policymakers, The Amazing Generation takes the argument directly to the audience most affected — tweens — and reframes it as an empowering guide rather than a dire warning. Price, whose prior work includes How to Break Up with Your Phone and who is the founder of Screen/Life Balance, brings focused expertise in practical digital-wellness strategies to the collaboration.

The book's central case, as described by critical coverage, is a persuasive argument for disillusioned smartphone users to reject the hype in favor of "friendship, freedom, and fun." Rather than lecturing readers about what devices are doing to them, the book is structured to build the kind of self-awareness and decision-making skills that let young people navigate a world where, as critical coverage puts it, "technology is designed to promote impulsivity." The handbook is aimed at the 9–12 reading age and grades 4–7, a window when smartphone habits and social-media use are often just taking root — making the intervention particularly timely in developmental terms. The publisher describes it as a direct companion to The Anxious Generation, translating that book's research-grounded concerns into a format and voice accessible to the kids at the center of the conversation.

Published-source reception for the book is notably strong across a range of outlets. Kirkus awarded it a starred review, noting that "what makes this book stand out is its upbeat, encouraging approach" and that Haidt and Price "offer kid-friendly strategies" — a verdict that underscores the book's tone as distinctly motivational rather than alarmist. Oprah Daily described it as "an eye-roll–proof script for calmer boundaries and fewer power struggles," pointing to its utility not just for young readers working through these ideas independently, but for families navigating them together. The Boston Globe called it "an eye-opening book, designed for kids but also incredibly readable for parents who know that we need to do something, anything to proactively get them away from screens — but who aren't quite sure how to convince them." That cross-audience appeal — readable and relevant to both the tween holding the book and the adult who may have handed it to them — comes through as a consistent thread in critical commentary.

Both authors bring substantial public-facing credibility to the project. Haidt's work at NYU Stern and his writing on adolescent psychology and moral culture have made him one of the most widely discussed social scientists of his generation; The Anxious Generation is itself described by the publisher as having "inspired millions of parents, teachers, and leaders to take action." Price, dubbed "the Marie Kondo of Brains" by critical coverage*, is an established voice in the screen-wellness space whose previous books reached broad popular audiences. The decision to adapt this research and advocacy for middle-grade readers reflects a meaningful shift in the conversation: rather than relying solely on adults to implement change on behalf of children, the book treats tweens as capable agents who can understand the structural forces at play and make informed choices. That framing is itself part of what reviewers have identified as the book's distinctive contribution.

For tweens who are already skeptical of screens, or for families seeking a shared starting point for conversations about digital habits, The Amazing Generation is well-positioned as both a standalone guide and a complement to The Anxious Generation for parents reading alongside their children. The book is targeted at grades 4–7, meaning its strategies and voice are calibrated to that range. Readers outside that band — older teenagers already deep into social-media culture, or younger children — may find the pitch less precisely matched to where they are. More broadly, because the book's value lies in how its strategies are actually applied in a reader's life, the real test of its usefulness is inherently individual; the strong reception from Kirkus, The Boston Globe, and Oprah Daily speaks to its design and framing, but any reader's mileage will depend on their own relationship with their devices and their willingness to engage with the material.