Raising them right The untold story of America's ultraconservative youth movement and its plot for power

Review by Booklist Review

One of the persistent allegations made toward Democrats by those on the far right is that Democrats are intent on "grooming" young people into all sorts of allegedly unsavory lifestyles. Spencer turns her sharp eye onto the right wing regarding "grooming" young people; no one is more enthusiastic about "raising them right" than conservatives. Spencer looks at a few of the rising young stars of the conservative movement: where they're from, how they got started, what they're doing now--and how the conservative movement has embraced and is encouraging them. Among these young stars is Charlie Kirk, who is positioning himself as heir to Rush Limbaugh, who deifies teen shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, and who seeks to transform school curricula. Then there's Cliff Maloney, who spearheads his for-profit advocacy group, Mobilize the Message, while fighting off charges of rape from his college days. Spencer looks at how these and others are positioning themselves as the next generation of right-wing activists. From the lessons they have learned so far, none are interested in healing the country's rapidly expanding divide between left and right.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

---

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Journalist Spencer (the memoir She's Gone Country) draws a captivating and alarming portrait of the activists and donors spreading right-wing ideology to young voters. Tracking the rise of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, talk show host Candace Owens, and libertarian organizer Cliff Maloney, Spencer intersperses accounts of her subjects' political awakenings with vignettes of training conferences, activist gatherings, and campus dustups. Kirk, a precocious political misfit from a diversifying Chicago suburb, decided to forego college on the advice of a 71-year-old Tea Party activist and spent his senior summer fundraising across the Midwest. Maloney, a theater kid from a hardscrabble Philadelphia suburb, surveyed the down-and-out patrons of the seedy pool hall he managed and concluded that government dependency was the problem. Owens, who spent her childhood in a "cramped, cockroach-infested" Stamford housing development, chafed at her elevation to local cause célèbre when she reported receiving "a series of disturbing and searingly racist voice mails" to her high school teacher. Behind these and other activists is a network of donors who spend "hundreds of millions of dollars annually" on indoctrinating young conservatives, putting Republicans "ten steps ahead" of Democrats in youth outreach, according to Spencer. Marked by its impressive access and vivid prose, this superb political investigation offers a stark warning for the left. Agent: Larry Weissman, Larry Weissman Literary. (Oct.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

---

Review by Library Journal Review

Award-winning journalist Spencer contends that the rise of far-right voters is not a passing fad in this investigative work focused on the rise of celebrities such as Candace Owens who are at the forefront of a billionaire-funded movement designed to bring young people into the GOP fold. Spencer emerges as the authority on this movement by shedding light on the individuals and corporations funding the activist groups behind these celebrities. Her research centers around Owens, Charlie Kirk, and Cliff Maloney, and their mission to influence people of color and youth into becoming far-right voters. The author illuminates the motivations donors have for funding "re-education" college programs, aimed at indoctrinating them into the far-right fold. The one-on-one interviews with celebrities also give readers a better understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Readers will gain insight into the movement's objectives, tools, and social media prowess and how the development of a celebrity culture has helped grow its network. VERDICT A powerful investigative work that is likely to circulate well with patrons interested in political science and sociology titles.--Mattie Cook

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

---

Review by Kirkus Book Review

A close look at far-right activism among the younger electorate. Drawing on more than 200 interviews conducted between 2018 and 2022, journalist Spencer produces an eye-opening report on the rise of ultraconservatism among young people, focusing intensively on three figures: Cliff Maloney (b. 1991), who rose to become president of Young Americans for Liberty; Charlie Kirk (b. 1993), founder of Turning Point USA; and Candace Owens (b. 1989), celebrated as a "Black YouTube sensation" and often appearing on Fox News. The movement promotes the anti-government, free-market ideas common to the far right. While Young Americans for Liberty aligns with libertarianism, Turning Point USA focuses on culture wars issues: anti-abortion, pro--gun rights, and climate change denial. Owens, promoting a stance she calls BLEXIT, is "unapologetically dismissive when others claimed Black victimhood" and pointed out "systemic racism." Stop complaining about the impact of slavery, she has exhorted, and look to the future. After the election of Donald Trump, the movement's rhetoric became increasing infused with expressions of cruelty, homophobia, and ethnic stereotyping. Besides chronicling the spread of right-wing views among young people, Spencer underscores Republicans' enthusiastic support of strategic advice and significant amounts of money. Though ambitious, outspoken, and hardworking, the movements' leaders would not have been able to gain widespread influence and attract followers without funding by wealthy, powerful conservatives such as Charles Koch and Robert and Rebekah Mercer, among other billionaires. YAL's "Win the Door" campaign, aimed at electing ultraconservative candidates in state races, and TPUSA's savvy deployment of online outlets fed into Republicans' game plan--which, Spencer advises, could well serve as a model for Democrats, who historically have ignored young, progressive activists. Bringing just as much energy and determination as their conservative counterparts, these young people, writes Spencer, must be heard as well as supported wholeheartedly. A dispiriting picture of deepening political polarization. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

---