is course offers an in-depth exploration of family decision-making processes for a wide range ofwants and needs. The five-step decision-making process includes recognizing existing needs,identifying alternatives to fulfill identified needs, evaluating identified alternatives to meet needs,implementing alternatives, and evaluating the alternatives selected. But how families identify, use,produce, and manage resources isn’t rigid – a range of historical, environmental, and culturalinfluences make family decision making processes, and family resource management, different foreveryone.

This book review offers an opportunity to explore family resource management issues by applyingcourse concepts to real experiences. Select one of the pre-approved books listed below to read forthis assignment. After reading the book, you will write a 5 page paper demonstrating your ability tointerpret, evaluate, compare, and critique the experiences of the characters highlighted in the story.This paper must be written using 12-point Times New Roman font with double-spaced lines andstandard one-inch margins on all sides. You must also format your paper using APA style andinclude the following: title page, running head, page numbers, headings (optional), and a referencepage.

Your paper must include the following information:

1-Summary of the book

What happened? Who was involved? Where and when did the events depicted take place?Identify the individual, family, and group memberships of the primary characters and socialinstitutions that are involved in the story.

2-Summary of the social issues presented

What are the individual, family, and larger social issues/problems being faced by theprimary characters and social institutions depicted in the book? What put the primarycharacters at risk for experiencing this social issue/problem? What historical,environmental, social, economic, and cultural contexts are influencing the primarycharacters and their experiences?

3-Analysis of the decision-making process and resolution planning

What steps in the decision-making process were depicted by the primary characters? Howdid the characters engage with each other and with other social institutions? Critique theneed, access, availability, and use of resources by the primary characters. What individual,family, and community barriers and supports to resolution of the social problems weredepicted? Were the issues resolved? If so, how?

4-Critical reflection

Select one of the primary characters depicted in this book; if given the opportunity, whatcould he or she have done differently?

Reading List for Book Assignment (pick one)

The Glass Castleby Jeannette Walls

Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magicby Martha Beck

Our Black Year: One Family’s Quest to Buy Black in America’s Racially Divided Economyby Maggie Anderson

The Bee Eater: Michelle Rhee Takes on the Nation’s Worst School Districtby Richard Whitmire

The Corner: A Year in the life of an Inner-City Neighborhoodby David Simon and Edward Burns

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacksby Rebecca Skloot

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fatesby Wes Moore

The Working Poor: Invisible in Americaby David Shipler

UnPoverty: Rich Lessons from the Working Poorby Mark Lutz

Innocent: Confessions of a Welfare MotherBy Barbara Morrison

The Hungry Planet: What the World Eatsby Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio