Flight Plan, your mission to become a man

I was given Flight Plan as a review opportunity; it is written for middle school and high school age boys. When it arrived, I handed it off to my middle schooler (my 11½ year old son). He read the whole book. Here's what he had to say about it:

Flight Plan Your Mission to Becoming a Man, is a great book. This book gives the reader great info that they will need in the long run. This book is also great to read with a dad/leader/trusted mentor. Lastly, this book helps the reader know what to do in life when bad, or scary things happen to them. This book covers a wide selection of things and what to do when it happens like drugs and sex. This book is great for a boy becoming a man.

A peek inside Flight Plan is available here.

Flight Plan, your mission to become a man, by Lee Burns and Braxton Brady, is a 194 page, 13 chapter paperback, priced around $15.

I'll start by saying I wish I'd read the book first and I wish my husband had gone through the book with my son. If you are buying this book for a young man in your family, I recommend purchasing two copies, one for parent, one for child.

Flight Plan comes from a Biblical, Christian perspective, uses multiple approaches, using scripture, anecdotes, quotes from movies and famous people, is part teacher, part Bible study, part self-help book...Flight Plan is a lot of information rolled into one paperback. It is written in a style that is easy to read without too much professional lingo, in a style that draws in the reader and keeps his (and her) attention.

Flight Plan covers friendships, sex (a lot more info about sex than I thought it would), drugs, girls, dating, mentors, peer pressure, making choices, stress - all of the topics my middle schooler had been asking me about. At the end of each chapter, authors Burns and Brady offer questions for thought and reflection.

Burns and Brady offer sons and their parents a gift by pre-viewing situations that could happen, allowing young men to think about them, rehearse in their minds, even role play, what they will do if a situation arises. It spotlights what to look for when choosing a wing-man (best friend).

I think that sometimes we parents warn our children to look out for this situation or that one, and our children become tone-deaf to our "preaching", and we get from our boy an attitude of "There she goes again!" with an eyeball roll. Flight Plan does the previewing, offers the caution, has the same concerns that I do, yet offers a "neutral" perspective because it doesn't come from Mom or Dad.

Flight Plan really opened up the lines of conversation between my son and me. He was able to use something he read in the book to come to me to ask more about it. I knew he had questions, even misconceptions. Talking to boys at school can create some interesting perceptions and misunderstandings, that's for sure! Flight Plan became a framework for the two of us, a place that created a base for him to feel safe sharing his questions with me. It continues to be a framework for our conversations as he continues to process information he read a couple of months ago and as he encounters new situations in his life. I suspect that Flight Plan will be a reference book of sorts for my son as he continues through middle and high school.

[Mom's note: I especially like Dr Tim Kimmel's list of ten ways to be a great member of their family on page 139; I think we'll post that on our refrigerator after we move (we are preparing to pack up and leave in less than a week as I type).]

I think that Flight Plan is a must have for young men and their parents. Parents, read the book first; order two copies and read/work through it with your boy.

B&B Media Group sent me a copy of Flight Plan for review purposes. I received no payment for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.