Generation V: The Complete Guide to Going, Being, and Staying Vegan as a Teenager

by Claire Askew

Going vegan is the single most important thing you can do if you want to get serious about animal rights. Yet, going vegan isn't always easy when you're young. You're living under your parents' roof, you probably don't buy your own groceries, and your friends, family, and teachers might look at you like you're nuts. So, how do you do it? In this essential guide for the curious, aspiring, and current teenage vegan, Claire Askew draws on her years of experience as a teenage vegan and provides the tools for going vegan and staying vegan as a teen. Full of advice, stories, tips, and resources, Claire covers topics how to go vegan and stay sane; how to tell your parents so they don't freak out; how to deal with friends who don't get it; how to eat and stay healthy as a vegan; how to get out of dissection assignments in school; and tons more. Whether you're a teenager who is thinking about going vegan or already vegan, this is the ultimate resource, written by someone like you, for you.

Genres: Vegan, Nonfiction, Food

164 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[Veronica Bartles]

Though I don't personally have any desire to become a vegan, I was curious about this "complete guide." I have to admit, I was disappointed. It reads more as a propoganda pamphlet than a true how-to book. A large portion of the guide focuses on converting readers who haven’t fully committed to the vegan lifestyle, and teaching teen vegans ways to share the vegan message with their unenlightened peers. With whole chapters full of book reviews and references to various vegan websites, as well as a handful of vegan recipes, this book is a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about where they can find information on how to be a vegan, though it is hardly a stand-alone “complete guide.”

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- More than materials directed toward any other age group, nonfiction for teenagers must be updated often and stay relevant. Several how-to guides to plant-based eating were published for teens in the 1990s, but that might as well have been eons ago to the average 16-year-old.

Generation V is a smartly written guide from an author barely out of her teens herself. Askew covers a variety of topics of interest to teens specifically--eating vegan at school, saying no to dissection, and dealing with skeptical parents and rude peers. Other material is helpful to veg*ns of any age--such as nutrition info and easy recipes.

Those who take a more pragmatic approach to dealing with the omnivorous world will probably roll their eyes a bit at Askew's repeated promotion of her abolitionist ideology. In other words--you've learned the facts and drastically changed your diet and now you think everyone else is just a vegan cookbook's away from making the same realization you have. Like you do when you're young. But, as Erik Marcus argues, adhering to a strict abolitionist philosophy is like fighting with one arm tied behind your back.

[Jake Kaplan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever had a droplet of curiosity about veganism- read this book.

[veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was super excited to start this book because ive been thinking about becoming vegan for awhile since im vegetarian now. it was awesome at first, but by the end i was kind of over it. so do i recommend this book? yes and no. it does have some pretty good info on becoming vegan, but it wasn't anything too special. if you're a teenager hoping to go vegan eventually, give this book a try. like i said, it has some good recommendations and tips on how to ease yourself into veganism, but may bore you by the end (like me).

[Elon Slootweg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical, informational and actually aimed at young people - love it! Written with intelligence and wit, well-researched and fairly thorough. My only issue is the part where the author advises you to lie in order to get a vegan meal. Not sure how to feel about that. But overall, really good!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up to see if there was any good advice on substitutes for milk/eggs that I--being a person with sensitivities to those foods--might be able to use in my own cooking. That info was there, but the book really focused more on how to become vegan when you are at an age where you don't have complete control over what you eat/buy. Skimmed.

[Sam Kroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a starter book than the in depth book i was expecting. Still good though