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Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens

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*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!*

In this young readers edition of her New York Times bestseller Professional Troublemaker , Luvvie Ajayi Jones uses her honesty and humor to inspire teens to be their bravest, boldest, truest selves, in order to create a world they would be proud to live in.

The world can feel like a dumpster fire, with endless things to be afraid of. It can make you feel powerless to ask for what you need, use your voice, and show up truly as your whole self. Add the fact that often, people might make you feel like your way of showing up is TOO MUCH.

BE TOO MUCH, and use it for good. That is what it means to be a troublemaker. In this book, Luvvie Ajayi Jones - bestseller of books, sorceress of side-eyes and critic of culture - gives you the permission you might need to be the troublemaker you are, or wish to be. This is the book she needed when she was the kid who got in trouble for her mouth when she spoke up about what she felt was not fair. This is the book she needed when kids made fun of her Nigerian accent. This is the book that she needed when it was time to call herself a writer, but she was too scared.

As a Rising Troublemaker, you need to know that the beautiful, audacious life you want is on the other side of doing the things that will scare you. This book will help you face and fight your fear and start living that life ASAP.

272 pages, Hardcover

Published May 17, 2022

38 people are currently reading
2345 people want to read

About the author

Luvvie Ajayi Jones

10 books1,434 followers
Luvvie Ajayi Jones is a 4-time NYT bestselling author, speaker and entrepreneur who thrives at the intersection of culture, business and leadership. She's CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Awe Luv Media, and founder of The Book Academy.

She has written 4 critically acclaimed bestselling books (including her banner book Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual and her children’s book Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess), establishing her as a literary force with a powerful pen.

With a passion and proven track record of creating and launching successful books, Luvvie founded The Book Academy (TBA), as a platform to help others do the same. TBA is a masterclass and coaching suite designed to guide students from the initial idea to the final reality of a published book. http://thebookacademy.com

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5 stars
49 (43%)
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47 (41%)
3 stars
15 (13%)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for Megan Houde.
1,032 reviews5 followers
May 15, 2022
My girls are still young but I worry for the state of the world they’re growing up in. This book had some insightful ways of approaching topics. As stated the world today is a dumpster fire that’s heavily divided on politics and race. I can only hope to learn, teach, and pray they can understand and become part of a society that doesn’t keep destroying this world.
Profile Image for Sally Shadrach.
184 reviews1 follower
May 6, 2025
Read this for work to lead a book club for girls. This genre has never been my favorite, so it just didn’t work for me. I have lots of thoughts!
Profile Image for Kirstyn (readwithkirstyn).
858 reviews21 followers
May 20, 2022
Honestly, this may be a book for parents of teens to read as well. There are so many tough and difficult things going on around the world that this will be an essential guide to give guidance and support.
4 reviews
August 20, 2023
"To know thyself is to not take all the praise to head or take all the shaming to heart. To know ourselves is to write our values in cement even if our goals are in sand.
To know thyself is to know your core, and for me, to know my core is to feel rooted in something outside myself. It is to know not only who I am but whose I am."

wonderful
386 reviews4 followers
May 12, 2023
As a teacher, I am alway looking for novels that I can use to inspire my students that aren't coming out of my own mouth. If I don't end up buying this book for my class, I most certainly hope to use excerpts from some of her chapters. I especially appreciate how she talks about fear and the concept of how it is both helpful and can hold us back from being who we are truly meant to be. From there it stems into the importance of failing loudly and that perfectionism is not attainable or useful that it in fact hinders us. Lastly, I love her notions of Being TOO much and seeking to be the Truth sayers of our own generations. Honestly, I just thought there was so many quote worth tings in this novel and since I talk alot about identity as a 9th grade teacher, I think I can incorporate it in to my teaching so well.
4 reviews
January 4, 2023
This should be required reading for high school students! It’s an affirmation of how amazing each reader or listener is and solid advice for how the reader or listener can spread and help the world benefit from that amazing-ness. I listened to the audio version with my teenage daughter in mind. I now plan to gift her a hard copy and recommend she read it while listening to it. Hearing the message from Luvvie’s voice is inspiring and reassuring. As a man in my 40’s there were even takeaways for me to apply to my life, and because of her voice I feel as if Luvvie is on my team as I push forward!
1 review
February 24, 2023
To new readers reading this book, I would recommend it to the population of people who think outside the box. This book is filled with stories of the author and how she learned lessons through her life on how to not care what other people think and to show your true self. This book is somewhat of an autobiography since it has so many stories of her life, It's probably the one judgment about this book that I dislike.
Profile Image for Heather Smith.
50 reviews6 followers
March 18, 2025
I enjoyed IM JUDGING YOU and PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER, so I bought this one to listen to on audio in the car with my teenage daughter. The content is great…because it’s about 98% the same as PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER. Would I recommend either one to any of my friends? Yes. Am I a little salty that I spend an Audible credit on the second book. Also Yes.
Profile Image for Kitty Stryker.
Author 9 books117 followers
October 7, 2025
I’m a big fan of using personal stories to ground advice and guidance, and this book does that really well! I think it is a good book to have in a collection of books to encourage teenagers to think about critical thinking, activism, and their relationship to authority. I appreciated that I didn’t feel like it talked down to teenagers.
Profile Image for Ava.
67 reviews1 follower
December 29, 2023
3.75, I thought the book was really cute with some good advice. I liked how Luvvie incorporated her personality and her family into the book. I wish there were more action items like there were in the first part, like writing the Oriki! Overall, fun read!
34 reviews1 follower
August 20, 2022
Every parent, grandparent, and teen should read this book!
Profile Image for Domo.
147 reviews18 followers
March 20, 2023
This is a great book for teens and young adults. It talks about the struggles or difficulties you might face. And that it's okay to be difficult or not know what to do.
124 reviews3 followers
August 26, 2024
I teach and reading this book gave me insight into how to talk about today's reality and issues with my students.
Profile Image for Great Books.
3,034 reviews60 followers
July 11, 2022
This book is a rallying cry for teens to quit letting their fears and the expectations of others get in the way of being their authentic selves. Reviewer 10.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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