Parenting Book Review: Your New Playlist Should You Read It or Hand It to Your Teen?

If you’ve ever wished you could reach inside your teen’s brain and upgrade the thoughts that spin on repeat: this book might just be the closest thing.

Your New Playlist by Jon Acuff written with his daughters, L.E. and McRae Acuff, is a lighthearted, teen-friendly guide to rewiring the soundtrack inside our minds. Those thoughts that push us forward or hold us back. The big idea? Our thoughts play like music. And if the music isn’t helping, we can change it.

This book is fast, fun, relatable… and full of those “ugh, I wish someone had told me this at 13” moments.

What Kids (and Honestly, Most Adults) Don’t Know About Their Thoughts: The authors break down mindset into a simple 3-step system:

1. Retire broken soundtracks (the thoughts that play on repeat and tear us down)

2. Replace them with better ones

3. Repeat the new ones until they become automatic

They teach teens how to challenge their thoughts with three magic questions:

✨ Is it true?

✨ Is it helpful?

✨ Is it kind?

If a thought doesn’t pass all three, it doesn’t get to stay. For so many teens dealing with self-doubt, comparison, perfectionism, and anxiety, this alone is game-changing.

Helping Teens Turn Down the Noise. Literally

The book also introduces a concept every parent will love: the dial. Everything in life either turns our emotional dial up or down.

And when the dial is cranked to a 10? Well… that’s when small things feel huge, tempers explode, and logic leaves the room. (Sound familiar?)

The book gives teens 15 "Turn-Down Techniques" simple things they can do to shift their emotional state, like going for a walk, playing with a pet, listening to upbeat music, journaling, or calling a trusted friend. It reinforces that big emotions don’t mean something is wrong, they mean the dial is high, and there are tools to turn it down.

Seven “Soundtracks” Teens Can Put on Repeat

These core ideas show up throughout the book and if your teen walks away with nothing but these, it’s already a win:

1. Enough is a myth

2. I am capable of more than I think

3. Be brave enough to be bad at something new

4. Fear gets a voice, not a vote

5. I’m just getting started

6. People in the game always get criticized by people in the stands

7. Everyone feels like this

These are the kinds of internal statements that build resilient, confident kids the kind who can take risks, handle setbacks, and try again even after a rough day.

One of my favorite parts? The reality check for parents.

The book ends with a message I wish every teen could hear and every parent could say:

We’re all figuring this out as we go. 

You’ve never been a teenager before, and we’ve never been parents to you before.

Parenting isn’t perfect. Teenagers aren’t perfect. Everyone is learning.

And that’s okay.

Should you read this book or give it to your teen?

Here’s my honest take:

If you’re a mom who loves learning about mindset…	Read it with your teen or listen together in the car.
If your teen rolls their eyes at “self-help”…	This still might land because it’s written by teens, for teens.
If your teen is struggling with anxiety, perfectionism, self-criticism, or failure-avoidance…	Absolutely hand this to them.
If your home needs more emotional language and self-awareness…	This book gives simple vocabulary and structure.

It’s also quick, funny, conversational, and full of stories not lectures. (And yes, they make a running joke about bribing kids with $20 to listen to an adult’s advice. As a mom… relatable.)

Final Verdict

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for teens)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for parents)

Your New Playlist isn’t meant to be deep psychology, it’s meant to be practical, relatable, and empowering. And it succeeds.

If your teen needs tools to replace negative self-talk with confidence without feeling preached to this book is a win.

And if you’re on a journey to help your kids grow strong minds and emotional resilience? Add this to your list.