You Got This!

Everyone is talking about the entrepreneur, animator, eco-designer, and girls’ rights activist Maya Penn. Her TEDWomen Talk has been viewed over 1,200,000 million times (and is one of the top 15 TEDWomen Talks of all time). Now this amazing teenager has written an inspirational handbook for teens and young adults to help them discover their passions and maximize their full potential for a creative, successful life. Maya Penn is a remarkable teen entrepreneur who has given three TED Talks, created her own eco-friendly fashion line, developed animated films, and appeared on The View with Whoopi Goldberg. She has even been name-checked by bestselling authors Gabrielle Bernstein, Steve Harvey, and Eve Ensler. All while still in middle school! Although Maya is extraordinary in many ways, and her success is a testament to her own creativity, passion, and fearlessness—these are traits that can be cultivated in all of us. In You Got This! Maya shares her incredible journey to becoming an artist, designer, philanthropist, and business owner. She provides a creative blueprint for teens and young adults, along with the tools she used to build an authentic, exciting, and connected life, and offers creative prompts for cultivating success. So let your creativity and passion flow freely and watch as your world transforms—it all starts with you!From School Library JournalGr 4–9—Maya Penn is a 15-year-old entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, designer, and much more. Divided into three sections, this title shares her blueprint for success with an emphasis on self-esteem, ambition, and role models. The tone is fun and conversational as Penn identifies common modes of thinking (for example, the flip-flopper), with suggested activities for those feeling unfocused or overwhelmed (dream boards, idea books). The strength of this title is in the discussion of online safety and awareness of one's digital footprint and in Penn's interviews with other young go-getters at the end of the book. Each interview is prefaced with an introduction to the activist or entrepreneur, detailing relevant accomplishments. VERDICT A valuable title for young adults interested in examples of teen involvement in volunteer movements or looking for personal inspiration.—Cynde Suite, Bartow County Library System, Adairsville, GA Review“If Maya S. Penn and her book You Got This! are any indication, the future belongs to girls and will happen happen because of them. Passionate, heartfelt, practical, true. A girl to girl inspiration. May the life force that is Maya S. Penn usher in a new day!” (Eve Ensler )







Penn is an eco-friendly fashion designer, entrepreneur, artist, animator, coder, writer, philanthropist, and activist. She is also, as she puts it, just your average 15-year-old. She started her remarkable career when she was eight and having previously shared her insights through three TED talks and multiple television appearances (including The View), now offers tips to her middle- and high-school peers on how to realize their own ambitions. Her advice ranges from practical (how to start an online business) to motivational (ignore naysayers) and incorporates anecdotes about other remarkable teens. While no one can dispute Penn's impressive accomplishments, it is clear that she has had considerable support along the way (homeschooling, field trips to, among other places, the Museum of Modern Art, summer classes at the Savannah School of Design). While not all young adults have access to these types of resources, everyone needs a little encouragement now and then, and these accessible, breezy doses of positivity go down nice and easy. — Kathleen McBroom (Booklist April 15, 2016)