Press

“Teen girls receive a constant barrage of messages telling them who they should be-and what they should look like. This essential book is every girl’s toolbox for navigating adolescence and covers such topics as sexuality, body image, media representations, ethnicity, self-esteem, feminism and many other topics of interest to young women.” -Feminist Bookstore News

“What a welcome relief from all the advice given to teen girls…Written specifically to counteract the former and vastly more engaging than the latter, Real Girl is lively, funny, true and has no agenda other than the one its subtitle suggests-helping girls figure out what they want for themselves, not what some marketing strategy tells them they should want. …With abundant quotes from young women and little “toolboxes” full of further resources and reading material, Real Girl is an indispensable trove of wisdom for young girls, and a read that’ll make you tear up with gratitude that it finally exists and sadness that it took this long.”  -Bitch Magazine

“This is a hip, up-to-the minute book of information for today’s teenage girls. …Each chapter is filled with good information, advice from many different points of view, resources available for further help and support and, most importantly, lengthy quotes from real girls.” -Kliatt

“A hip, informative, and frank resource. Adopting the premise that “there’s no one ‘right’ way to be,” the authors address topics including self-image, eating disorders, menstruation, sexual activity, and feminism. Peppered throughout the text are extensive personal narratives from girls who share their own experiences that support or illustrate the authors’ points. While similar titles don’t usually include a discussion about feminism, this book has an entire chapter devoted to the history and development of women’s rights and the current Grrrl movement. Extensive bibliographies and webliographies of recommended resources are included in each chapter and a complete, referenced bibliography is provided at the end. Resources vary from the sophisticated Camile Paglia to the standard The New Our Bodies, Ourselves (S & S, 1985) to the alternative ‘zine Femme Flicke. Written in an intimate, chatty style, this title is a useful personal guide for teens.” -School Library Journal

“This highly recommended resource book belongs in every young adult collection (if not in every public library). The authors take every societal message that a young girl gets and deal with them honestly and factually. Each chapter discusses an issue such as body image, eating disorders, safe sex, and feminism. The chapter on safe sex and the use of condoms alone is worth the price of the book; a more readable and clear discussion of this topic has not been found. Fun and readable, this is a highly accessible discussion of the issues.”  -Voice of the Youth Advocate

“… an excellent resource for the body, beauty and sexuality issues that come along with adolescence. Written in an easy-to-read conversational format, Real Girl, Real World features the voices of scores of girls speaking about everything from models to masturbation to feminism, complete with a section devoted to that ever lurking icon, Barbie.” -The Woman’s Review of Books