Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
YouTuber's thoughtful poems, essays seek connection.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
NOTE TO SELF is a collection of essays, poems, and photographs that capture a range of author and popular YouTuber Connor Franta's thoughts, feelings, dreams, life lessons, and more. Together they weave a sort of story about coming out of the closet, having your heart broken, struggling with depression, and eventually learning to live with depression, or in spite of it. Franta hopes that looking back at his thoughts and feelings at particular moments will help him better understand himself and help him and his readers better understand the world and what we all have in common.
Is It Any Good?
Connor Franta's engaging collection of essays, poems, and photos will inspire fans and newcomers alike to look at themselves and how they'll face the challenges and joys of early adulthood. Mature teens and young adults will a lot to reflect on, as they're figuring out how to be true to themselves, how to cope with life's ups and downs, and how they have and will change during an important, formative time in their lives.
Connor Franta's a good writer. Whether sad, funny, exhilarated, depressed, or anything in between, his voice feels honest. The photos and poems that punctuate each essay add insight, interest, and deeper understanding of what Franta was experiencing in the moment. Readers will be encouraged to make connections to their own experiences and feelings and to make connections with others in turn.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the messages in Note to Self. Which ones resonate the most with you? How about making real connections, what it's like to be depressed, or how painful breakups are?
Does the profanity seem realistic to you? Does it put you off?
Have you ever been depressed, lived with mental illness, or know someone who has experienced either? If it was you, did you get help? How would you seek help if it happens again? How can you help a friend who's struggling?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Autobiography
- Topics : Friendship
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Keywords Press
- Publication date : April 18, 2017
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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