Anu Adebogun is the author of It’s a Brave Young World – a comprehensive guide to growing up which is shortlisted for this year’s Information Book Awards. Here, she explains what she wanted her readers to feel, and why sharing her own lived experience was essential.
Growing up today is vastly different from what many adults realise. After more than a decade working in the youth and community sector, I could see the need for something honest, inclusive and grounded in their reality. I wanted to create the book I wish I’d had, but more importantly, the book young people deserve now.
Blending memoir, research and evidence-based activities, It’s A Brave Young World is not a sanitised puberty guide. It’s a practical, compassionate toolkit designed to help young people feel seen, respected and equipped.
Young people are not problems to be fixed
As an author, youth practitioner and PhD researcher exploring gender, youth justice and crime, I want to create a world where young people can fulfil their potential with their safety and dignity secured. Over the past decade, I have worked with national organisations across the youth and community sector to deliver campaigns and workshops promoting safety and widening access to education.
A constant stream through all the expressions of my work is that young people are not problems to be fixed, but individuals to be championed. At its core, It’s a Brave Young World reflects these values and is an ode to the wonderfully complex lives young people lead. It weaves research, real-life stories and reflective exercises to help young people understand the systems around them, recognise unsafe dynamics, and advocate for themselves and others. When young people are trusted with truth and practical tools, they rise. This book is my contribution to that trust.
A problem shared
Adolescence can feel isolating, and sharing my own awkward, confusing and frightening experiences was intentional. Non-fiction can sometimes speak at young readers, and I knew that if It’s a Brave Young World was going to resonate, it couldn’t simply inform young people; it had to sit beside them. I shared personal stories of what it was like being the eldest daughter of working-class Nigerian immigrants and the challenge of growing up navigating layered identities as caretaker and child, insider and outsider. Growing up on a Clapton council estate in the early 2000s, during a time of postcode wars, meant that there were times I felt unsafe.
By sharing my story, I hope to model something powerful. Adults were once young too – we have felt unsure. We have wrestled with identity. We have experienced fear and doubt. Bravery is not the absence of those feelings – it is the courage to acknowledge them and keep going. If my vulnerability helps even one young person feel seen, supported, and better equipped to navigate their world, then including it was essential.
Taking up space
Growing up isn’t linear. Some seasons call for reflection on friendships, others on identity, confidence, or coping with difficult emotions. But one central theme through all the chapters is that the most important relationship you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. If there is one message I hope they carry, it is this: know who you are, and move through the world from that place.
When young people understand their values and recognise their inherent worth, everything shifts. Self-doubt loosens its grip. Confidence stops being performative and becomes grounded. Unsafe situations become easier to name. Boundaries become clearer. Relationships become healthier. I want young people to do more than survive growing up. They can step into their power, take up space and light up the world in ways that are authentic to them.
Feeling empowered
Every generation of young people wrestles with its own unique challenges, but today’s context is undeniably more complex. The world they are navigating is more interconnected, more visible, and in many ways more volatile. Social media has transformed the landscape of adolescence. Young people are not just managing playground politics but are navigating “virtual street corners” where comparison is constant, mistakes can be permanent, and curated perfection can intensify feelings of inadequacy, loneliness and isolation. Young people are absorbing global crises in real time, and the cumulative effect can heighten anxiety and isolation.
Young people are remarkably perceptive and socially aware, but they need tools. Rather than centring fear, the book centres empowerment. It equips readers with language to name what is safe or harmful, understanding of their rights, and practical tools to show them how to navigate physical and online spaces with critical awareness.
About Anu
Anu Adebogun is a British-Nigerian author, scholar and award-winning youth practitioner. With ten years' experience across the youth and community sector, Anu has partnered with leading national organisations to promote the safety and wellbeing of young people and improve their access to education. She authored the bestselling book 'Black and Brave History: 30 Sheroes Who Shook Britain' to celebrate the revolutionary impact of Black female presence through colourful, inspiring biography. Anu holds a first-class Law degree and completed an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Oxford. Presently, she continues her PhD studies at Oxford where she explores parent-child relationships and safety at home.
This article is based on an interview that originally appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of The School Librarian.
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