A Different Kind of Power

by Jacinda Ardern

Recommended Age/Interest Level: older YA readers (16+)

Lexile: unknown

Content Warning(s): descriptions about suicide, trauma

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Book Summary

"What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she commanded global respect for her empathetic leadership that put people first. This is the remarkable story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt made political history and changed our assumptions of what a global leader can be.

When Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister at age thirty-seven, the world took notice. But it was her compassionate yet powerful response to the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, resulting in swift and sweeping gun control laws, that demonstrated her remarkable leadership. She guided her country through unprecedented challenges—a volcanic eruption, a major biosecurity breach, and a global pandemic—while advancing visionary new policies to address climate change, reduce child poverty, and secure historic international trade deals. She did all this while juggling first-time motherhood in the public eye.

Ardern exemplifies a new kind of leadership—proving that leaders can be caring, empathetic, and effective. She has become a global icon, and now she is ready to share her story, from the struggles to the surprises, including for the first time the full details of her decision to step down during her sixth year as Prime Minister.

Through her personal experiences and reflections, Jacinda is a model for anyone who has ever doubted themselves, or has aspired to lead with compassion, conviction, and courage. A Different Kind of Power is more than a political memoir; it’s an insight into how it feels to lead, ultimately asking: What if you, too, are capable of more than you ever imagined?"

My Thoughts

I've always been fascinated to learn more about Jacinda Ardern—but not just in recent years, as I've become more aware of world politics. Nope. It started much earlier.

Back in 4th grade, I was assigned a presentation on someone I admired. When I went to my mom and told her about this project, she immediately suggested, "Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's prime minister." And off I went. Very truthfully, her name is what piqued my interest at first. What a cool name, I thought! But the more I learned, the more inspired I became by what she stood for and how she was changing the narrative of what a politician can represent. In her first few years in office, she had a baby—proving to the world that a politician, and especially a woman, can juggle both private and public life. And later, after the horrifying Christchurch attacks, I found her response to be so empathetic and humane, yet still effective. New Zealand banned firearms only six days after the attacks. That swift action showed that you don't have to sacrifice compassion to be a good leader.

Here's the presentation I made!

So when my mom told me she had bought Jacinda Ardern's memoir and reminded me of that presentation, I was fixated. Reading A Different Kind of Power felt like coming full circle, just with a much deeper lens this time.

This memoir shares things I hadn't known before: her childhood spent moving around New Zealand for her dad's job as a police officer, the Mormon church's influence on her value system, and how these experiences inspired the values we now commend her for.

I was highly impressed by her honesty. Yes, I know that that's the main point of writing a memoir, but it feels so new for a politician to be so forthcoming—especially when it comes to religion. I feel like religion is always something either politicians openly embrace or shy away from. This openness made her story feel so much more relatable and grounded.

I genuinely feel this book came at the perfect time—just when I needed this type of message the most. This one has stayed with me in such a lasting way that I feel I could recount every tidbit she shared—even though it’s been exactly a month since I finished it. In the memoir, she candidly shared her uncertain, zigzag path to politics. She reflected on how she always had an interest in politics but never imagined she could pursue it as a career—it all happened on its own.

I recently made a major change in my own plans for what I thought my future would look like, and it has made me pretty uncertain about what comes after the next five years. Reading her success story was proof positive that uncertainty doesn't mean failure and that success won't always come from a perfectly planned-out path. It was comforting to hear that even someone who successfully led an entire nation didn't have it all figured out at my age.

I don't want to give too much away because discovering these details for yourself is part of the joy of reading this book. However, I will say that this memoir isn't the typical politician's story. But then again, Jacinda Ardern isn't a typical politician. This memoir is the foundation for how she led with such quiet, unassuming strength and empathy. And for someone my age, it was a reassurance: in a world that insists we need a perfect plan to succeed, her journey proves otherwise.