Embedded Files
Teen Breathe
Teen Breathe
Bibliographic Information
Author: N/A
Editor: Undisclosed
Format: Periodical, Serial
Subjects: Well-being, health, creativity, fitness
Frequency: Bi-monthly
Edition: Issue 022
Publisher: The GMC Group
Website: Teen Breathe magazine - Mindfulness & Wellbeing
Note: In a correspondence with the publisher, I discovered they were unwilling or unable to disclose who the editors are.
Summary
Teen Breathe is a UK publication focused on enhancing the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of teens. Each issue offers a variety of entries: articles on wellness of every kind, quizzes to boost self-understanding, features on specific teens, recipes, directions for exercises and yoga poses, craft ideas (and space to try them out), and pages inviting readers to journal their way through a topic. The magazine is also colorful, but the beautiful artwork and spacious layout are consistent and easy on the eyes, in keeping with the overall purpose of the publication: to encourage mindfulness, kindness, happiness, and fulfillment.
For this review I read the most recent issue, 022, which includes the following features:
Make It Happen: Visualising what you want to achieve can complement your hard work to get results
Dream Team: Sometimes you might not see eye to eye with loved ones on what’s best for your future -- here’s how to get the conversation started
One Up Front: The advantage of exploring solo
Up for Debate: How to put together a well-thought-out argument
Birds of a Feather: The company you keep affects how others see you -- and even how you see yourself
One Big Ask: There really is no such thing as a silly question
Building Boundaries: Do you need to work on your emotional borders? Take our multiple choice quiz to find out
Growing Up With Grief … is tough -- and can be even more complicated when it’s a classmate who’s died
Autumn Flavors: Pumpkins aren’t just for carving -- they’re also deliciously flavorsome in these recipes
Sight Unseen: Teen Breathe explores the reality of growing up with an illness no one can see
Energy at Heart: Yoga’s Camel pose opens up the chest, while building and storing strength and flexibility
Bright Idea: Uncovering the colorful Mexican tradition of papel amate
Making a Splash: Fancy spending more time in the pool? Diving could be the sport for you, as Team GB’s Michelle Houlden found out
Fright Night: Why is it that things often seem worse as soon as the lights go out? Here are a few tips for calming bedtime anxiety
Celebrations of Life: Discovering some of the world’s greatest festivals
Happy and Healthy: Ways to look after both your mind and body
How to Change the World: While any real action is down to you, altering your thinking might just get the ball rolling
The Plot Thickens: Reading circles are great places to discuss books, while providing a space to socialise with like-minded people
Critical Evaluation
What stands out most about this wonderful magazine is how you feel when you are done perusing its contents. After reading through the articles, features, recipes, crafts, yoga instructions and self-help exercises and looking at the colorful illustrations and photographs, I felt more at ease and empowered. The magazine takes a gentle approach to the troubles of teen life. In the issue I read, there were articles on how to be on your own (as opposed to being constantly with friends) and the benefits that can come from solitude, how the people you spend time with can shape who you are, and what it is like to have a disease which others can’t see, such as diabetes or arthritis, and how to find support and still have a full, active life. The article on how those whom you spend time with can influence you encouraged this kind of self-reflection: “Putting aside how others might perceive you for a moment, what about who you spend time with affects your view of yourself? What impact might this have on how you behave, what you achieve, and who you become?” Reading the articles, I tried to imagine my wild and uncertain teen self reading this magazine, and I think it would have helped me tremendously. I never considered many of the issues the magazine raises, nor did I have the opportunity to engage in self-reflection exercises such as those offered in Teen Breathe. While at times the articles seemed a bit cursory in their treatment of some topics--such as the one about how to talk to your parents and guardians about your dreams and hopes for the future--and the UK focus means that many of resources offered were from the UK and some of the idioms are British--there was always, at the very least, food for thought and ideas for ways to search for help in this country, too.
Reader's Annotation
Find space for yourself--to think, reflect, and discover inspiration and empowerment. Find space between these pages to breathe.
About the Publisher
GMC Publications is a publisher and distributor of thousands of books and magazines. Subjects include photography, woodwork, art, DIY, mindfulness and all manner of craft -- from knitting to jewelry. Magazines include Breathe, Black and White Photography, Woodturning, Zen Colouring, and many others. (Source: the GMC group at DuckDuckGo)
Genres
Well-being magazines
Booktalking Ideas
I would bring a few issues of the magazine to share and highlight the artwork and article topics.
Reading Level
13+
Challenge Issues
An indirectly Buddhist focus
Why I Chose This Magazine
A magazine for teens, one that is inspired by Buddhist practices, seemed like it would be a balm, especially now, with so much information coming at us all day long.
The Teen Magazine
The Teen Magazine
Bibliographic Information
Title: The Teen Magazine
Author: Various
Editor: Mia Johannsson
Format: Online
Subjects: Student life, wellness, beauty and style, culture, relationships, lifestyle, Op-ed
Frequency: Daily
Publisher: The Teen Magazine
Website: https://www.theteenmagazine.com/
Summary
The Teen Magazine was created by Mia Johansson as a platform for aspiring teen journalists. Teen writers are invited to pitch article ideas to the magazine, which offers several categories of content: student life, well being, beauty & style, culture, relationships, lifestyle, and op-ed. According to the About Us page, the magazine features articles by 603 young writers from around the world, referred to as the magazine’s writer community.
For this review, I read the following articles:
Jemille Duncan, “A Reflection on Four Trumpian Years”
Lavanyaa Shrii Kumar, “This is How Teachers Should Be Teaching Online (From a Student)”
Kate Yeonjae Jeong (Teen Magazine’s Marketing Director and Photography Intern), “A Talk With National Association for Down Syndrome: This October’s Observation”
Tula Singer, “How I Learned to Love My Tiny Boobs (And the Rest of My Body)”
Lynn Cadet, How People Drink Their Coffee Around the World”
Critical Evaluation
My initial impression of the Teen Magazine corresponded with how the publication bills itself: it’s a good venue for aspiring teen bloggers and journalists to try their hands at writing features and op-eds. However, as an English teacher of teens, I soon grew to appreciate the magazine as more than that. In Teen Magazine, we get a front row seat to authentic teen voices and concerns and the mechanics and style of teen thinking and writing. While some are more proficient at Standard English than others, all have found the confidence to share information, ideas, advice, and opinions with other teens in a globally accessible publication. One article I especially appreciated was Tula Singer’s “How I Learned to Love My Tiny Boobs (And the Rest of My Body).” Singer shares a moment of insightful introspection in which she questions how she could call herself a feminist and advise her friends not to harshly criticize their own bodies when she herself was so hyper-focused on her own perceived physical flaws. This realization, I feel, is important not only for teens, but for grown women. In his op-ed piece, “A Reflection on Four Trumpian Years,” Jemille Duncan expresses his concerns about the unwillingness of social media political pundits to be civil to those with whom they disagree. There were some parts that were unclear in this article, but the author’s overall point was well-received. Teens, too, are concerned about the lack of civility we find online. Kate Yeonjae Jeong interviews the Executive Director of the National Association for Down Syndrome, Linda Smarto, and asks some really good questions, such as how the pandemic and quarantine have impacted the organization’s outreach efforts. I was disappointed to see that there was no action going on in the comments sections of these articles. But I think that with a librarian’s help, the magazine can grow beyond its current function as a place for young journalists to get published into a thriving community of public discourse for teens.
Reader’s Annotation
Find out what your fellow teens are saying about a host of topics and explore the possibility of publishing an article yourself in The Teen Magazine.
About the Authors
Jemille Q. Duncan was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is a high school junior. Currently, he's the Policy Manager of a non-profit education advocacy organization. He has articles published in several news outlets and is a Writer at Large here at The Teen Magazine. (Jemille Duncan | The Teen Magazine)
Lavanyaa is an aspiring journalist who loves the idea of clouds or stargazing. Though she may be an introvert, she promises that she is a very nice and fun person when you get to know her. During her free time, she prefers to Netflix; in other words free time, also refers to every time she decides to procrastinate. (Lavanyaa Shrii Kumar | The Teen Magazine)
Kate Jeong is the Marketing Director and Photography Intern of The Teen Magazine. She is passionate about creative writing, enjoys photography, and loves to stay active with tennis. (Kate-Yeonjae Jeong | The Teen Magazine)
Tula Singer is a 16 year-old Cuban-American currently living in Brooklyn after spending several years in Havana. She wants her pieces to be a slice of her life — filled with jazz, oceans, identiy crises, and chocolate. She writes because she cannot let it go. (https://www.theteenmagazine.com/writers/tula-singer)
Lynn Cadet is a recent graduate of the University of Florida. She is currently a freelance writer and a blogger at her personal Lifestyle and Travel Blog. Lynn enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and watching old TV shows for nostalgia. (Lynn Cadet | The Teen Magazine)
Genre
General interest magazines
Booktalking Ideas
A trip to the website and a poll to see which articles we should explore to start; then, a view of the magazine’s publishing and submission guidelines.
Reading Level
13+
Challenge Issues
Discussions of body image, politics
Why I Chose This Magazine
I was attracted to this magazine because it’s produced and written by teens and includes teen writers from all over the world.
The Voyage Journal
The Voyage Journal
Bibliographic Information
Authors: Various
Editors: Editor in Chief, Racquel Henry; Associate Editor, Kip Wilson; Guest Editor & Reader, Adrien Kade Sdao
Format: Online
Subjects: Fiction, creative nonfiction, reviews, news, writing craft, interviews
Frequency: Weekly
Edition: November 2020
Publisher: The Voyage Journal
Website: thevoyagejournal.com
Summary
Branding itself as “An online literary journal dedicated to young adult literature,” Voyage offers weekly entries of fiction, creative nonfiction, reviews, interviews, and advice on the craft of writing. From what I have been able to gather from the publication’s website, the journal was started in summer 2020 by its Editor-in-Chief, Raquel Henry, a writer, editor, and writing coach from Trinidad. The journal is focused on representing writers from a diversity of backgrounds, indicating in its About Us its core values: “We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation” and “Hate speech of any kind will not be tolerated and any work that violates our values will be immediately declined.”
For the purposes of this review, I read the following works:
“The Scent of Laila Thorinson,” by Jeune Ji
“If You’re Drowning,” by Zena Ubere
“Stuck With You,” by Angeli E. Dumatol
“Cutting Locks,” by Tina Sang
“On Bravery and Creativity: Starting the Writing Process,” by Trisha Santanam
“5 Questions for Angeli Dumatol,” and interview by Raquel Henry
Critical Evaluation
A cursory search for YA Fiction Journals in Bing may suggest the current state of affairs in this area of the literary landscape: there’s not all that much going on. That’s why Voyage stands out. With its alluring pink and orange logo and deep purple setting, its invitation to potential contributors stating that it is “Always Free. Always Open. Always Paid,” and the interesting fiction and creative nonfiction it has on offer, Voyage seems to hold out the promise that in the unexplored terrain of YA short fiction, this journal is starting to draw the map. What we find is still somewhat sparse, but not lacking in diversity or interest. Take, for example, Angeli E. Dumatol’s “Stuck With You,” a charmingly condensed YA romance narrative centered around a clever high school festival game in which the two players are “arrested” for committing the offense of wearing something red. As the protagonists are handcuffed together with toy plastic shackles while stuck together for seven minutes in “jail," they must must puzzle out the trivia questions they will be asked about each other from a set of clues. As it turns out, the guy that our protagonist/narrator is stuck with happens to be a handsome player of the Filipino martial art, arnis, and, as they work out the clues to the trivia questions together, turns out to be someone with whom she has a lot more in common than she realized. Of the three fiction pieces I read, this one was the most polished. The other works, including the creative nonfiction piece “Cutting Locks” by Tina Sang, were definitely right in the YA pocket and clearly written by experienced young authors, but still had a hint of the amateur about them. However, I chalk that up only to the fact that Voyage is a new publication venturing out into uncharted territory, and think that with time (and especially given the fact that it pays its authors) it will attract a higher caliber fare.
Reader’s Annotation
Jonesing to read some YA but don’t have the time or the wherewithal to plunge into a novel? Voyage has got you covered. Get your YA fiction fix by hooking into this new journal’s YA short fiction features.
About the Authors
Jeune Ji has worked in community service, arts administration, and high tech, but always found her way back to writing. When not penning her YA novel, she might be spotted with a trail map in hand or roaming her local library. She lives in Northern California with her husband and son. This story first appeared in Lunch Ticket. (The Scent of Laila Thorinson – Voyage (thevoyagejournal.com) )
Zenas Ubere is a Nigerian writer. His work appears or is forthcoming in Lolwe, Barren Magazine, Agbowo, Gordon Square Review, The Weight of Years – An AfroAnthology of Creative Nonfiction, and elsewhere. He writes from Owerri. (If You’re Drowning – Voyage (thevoyagejournal.com) )
Angeli E. Dumatol has always believed in the healing power of stories and smiles, so she tries to do her part in filling the world with both through her writing. Life has taught her about two types of bravery: being brave enough to stay and being brave enough to leave. She hopes to continue living life with courage and to inspire others to do the same. Her YA novella, Heartstruck, is a story about friendship and being true to one’s self, and features the Filipino martial art of arnis. Find Angeli on Instagram and Twitter: @angelidumatol. (Stuck with You – Voyage (thevoyagejournal.com) )
Tina Sang is currently a first-year at Oxford University, studying English. She wrote “Cutting Locks” when she was 17 and a sophomore at high school. Born in America and having attended secondary school in China, she often enjoys writing about multiculturalism and coming-of-age. She is currently working on a family saga novel. You can reach her on Instagram at @tinaasaang. (Cutting Locks – Voyage (thevoyagejournal.com) )
Trisha Santanam is a student from Greensboro, North Carolina. Her work has been included in Train River’s Summer 2020 poetry anthology as well as PANK, and is forthcoming in the Cardiff Review. (On Bravery and Creativity: Starting the Writing Process – Voyage (thevoyagejournal.com) )
Voyage Editor Racquel Henry is a Trinidadian writer, editor, and writing coach. She is the author of Holiday on Park and The Writer’s Atelier Little Book of Writing Affirmations (Writer’s Atelier Books, 2018). Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared in Lotus-Eater Magazine, Reaching Beyond the Saguaros: A Collaborative Prosimetric Travelogue (Serving House Books, 2017), We Can’t Help it if We’re From Florida (Burrow Press, 2017), and Moko Caribbean Arts & Letters, among others. She is represented by Leah Pierre at Ladderbird Literary Agency. (Welcome to Voyage! – Voyage (thevoyagejournal.com) )
Genres
Short fiction, creative nonfiction, reviews, interviews
Booktalking Ideas
Share the beautifully designed website.
Reading Level
13+
Challenge Issues
Some sexuality, violence
Why I Chose This Magazine
A literary journal seemed appropriate. It offers a way to satiate the YA fiction appetite without having to commit to a longer work and gives readers glimpses into emerging YA writers’ works.
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