Developmental psychologist Engel (The End of the Rainbow) and her son Levin explore radical ideas about secondary education in this intriguing analysis, which focuses on an innovative program Levin initiated at his own high school in Massachusetts called the Independent Project. Launched in 2011, when Levin was a junior, the Independent Project developed from a single question: "Is there an inherent reason why teenagers in our culture must spend the bulk of their time in settings that are confining, rigid, ugly and disconnect from their communities?" The answer, according to Levin and Engel, is no, and the proof is given in the successful implementation of the Independent Project. A defining feature of the school is its simple structure: half the day is designated for " an individual endeavor" and the other half for self-directed academics, divided again between the sciences and math and language arts. The book, aimed at school administrators as well as parents and students, recounts the students' many small victories as well as the many obstacles they faced while outlining the steps in the implementation process. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

This account of the first student-run high school in America is told in alternating passages by a high school junior and his mother. Levin, who went on to graduate from Oxford University, had already founded Project Sprout, a student-run farm that grew food used for school lunches. His mother, Engel, teaches psychology at Williams College, MA, and is the author of The End of the Rainbow, among other books. Levin, increasingly frustrated and bored in the classroom, came up with a plan to launch the Independent Project, a student-run school in western Massachusetts. Mother and son each provide accounts of the students involved and the successes and problems of the project, and readers are encouraged to think about creating their own programs. As in Angela Duckworth's Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Levin learned how fortitude, here composed of a passionate involvement in his own education, and the perseverance needed to sell administrators on his concept and try ideas and see what worked and what didn't, can bring about results, and in this case, revitalize high school curriculum. VERDICT Recommended for students, parents, teachers, and administrators, as well as anyone concerned about the current state of the U.S. educational system.-Elizabeth Safford, Boxford Town Lib., MA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.