Refreshing is one of those words I have yet to fully figure out the correct connotation of. Even so, according to the main quote on the front of the book by Chris Colin, author Jean M. Twenge is both "bold and refreshing" in her book, Generation Me, two words that really aren't, or shouldn't be used to describe this book. I mean sure the book is bold in it's writing, it blatantly states the way Generation Me "is", the way that Generation Me contrasts it's older generation and the physiological reasons why such a change has occured. Pretty big for some Ph.D that has written a mere two books. I credit her heroism, Twenge does some good in preserving the cultural shifts from old school to new hotness, however calling a generation that I roughly belong to "miserable" is a pretty big statement for one woman to say and not offend someone.

On the positive side of things, Twenge and her subtle humor do the GenMe persons a plus, it holds true to roughly 90% of what actually is, hardly any of this book is fiction. GenMe is smarter than the older generation and GenMe is wise enough not to cling to violence and religion for answers, futhermore she notes the obvious decline in social standards, pretty much public opinion is shot to shit nowadays according to her and i'm not one to complain with that note. Pre-marital sex is on a rise, can't complain there, and I'm glad to say that I'm very tolerable as a human being, equality certainly is on a rise, can't complain there either. However, it's the minor details that Twenge loves to add in there to make GenMe seem...on the brink of destruction, which it certainly is not. After looking up a quick photo of Jean M. Twenge, I started to see why she added in that dreaded adjective, "miserable". She is by far one of the most unattractive women I have ever seen in my entire life, so it's easy to see why she would want to add that miserable adjective in there. On a more serious note to do her some good, Twenge really does get most of the things she writes about correct, it's just the small details, like when she calls GenMe the "age on anxiety and depression", which is write for maybe 10% of GenMe, that really affect her personal rating.

Jean M. Twenge's Generation Me is nothing short of spectacular and by far one of the most enjoyable looks into the social patterns from 1950 to 2000. With a little less religious blabber, a little more happiness, this book could have been one of the most spectacular non-fiction reads of the decade, however that sadly won't be happening anytime soon. So when it comes down to describing a book, do I really want to pin a word that I use to describe my soda pop to a book that leaves me pensive, deep in-thought, contemplating just what Twenge is trying to say? Twenge leaves me still deep in-thought, but so far it seems she has taken a neutral stance in the name of social sciences, to convey the mere contrast between the ideals of the boomers with the ideals of the modern age.