Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: Expanded Third Edition: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships [Paperback]

Ruth Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1998

"It seems like everyone else has the script. Everyone else knows what's happening and I look around and say, Duh."

Of course, the truth is that no one has the script because there is no script to follow. Chances are you'd find that almost everyone else has questions and worries a lot like yours, if you could get them to admit it. This brand-new, completely updated and revised edition of Changing Bodies, Changing Lives is full of honest, accurate, nonjudgmental information on everything teenagers need to know about today.

Am I the only one who

can't get up the nerve to ask someone out?
got my period so early?
doesn't even know the right way to kiss?
feels pressured to use drugs?
still hasn't hit puberty yet?
wants to avoid the gang scene?
worries when my mom doesn't come home at night?
is scared that I might have AIDS?
can't decide what form of birth control to use?
has no idea how to tell my friends I'm gay?
goes on eating binges?
has never had an orgasm?
is shut out of the popular crowd?

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives has helped hundreds of thousands of teenagers make informed decisions about their lives, from questions about sex, love, friendship, and how your body works to dealing with problems at school and home and figuring out who you are. It's packed with illustrations, checklists, and resources for the answers you really need. Best of all, it's filled with the voices, poems, and cartoons from hundreds of other teenagers, who tell you what makes them feel worried, angry, confused, sexy, happy, and, yes, even excited and hopeful about their lives. (Check out the first two pages for a sample of the quotes you'll find inside.)

Being a teenager is tough. With the information and the ideas inside this book, you'll have what you need to make these years the best they can be.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up A monumental, encyclopedic discussion of sexual and emotional change during the teen years, this book is a revision of an earlier edition which did not discuss the AIDS epidemic. Clearly written by the authors of Our Bodies, Ourselves (S. & S., 1976), it is illustrated with relevant cartoons, photographs, diagrams, and line drawings. Dozens of teenagers themselves were interviewed and are quoted in this book. This comprehensive book includes discussion of sexual technique, STDs and the danger of promiscuous sex, gay sex and sexual identity, and teenage pregnancy and its alternatives. (Although the section on AIDS notes the risk of the virus' transmission through oral sex, the earlier discussion of oral sex discusses individual preferences only, without mentioning the health risks.) A book that deserves a place in collections serving teenagers. Ann Scarpellino, Ramsey Public Library, N.J.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Written by members of the Teen Book Project and inspired by the classic Our Bodies, Ourselves, this third edition of a book first published in 1981 provides information about health and sexuality for teenagers. Presented here is the latest information on the physical and emotional aspects of puberty, sexuality, healthcare, sexually transmitted diseases, safer sex and birth control, living with violence, mental health, and eating disorders. Artwork by and quotations from teenagers about their experiences in these areas bring the content to life and set the book apart from more standard works such as Richard Walker's The Family Guide to Sex and Relationships (LJ 2/15/97). Each chapter has a list of associations and print and nonprint resources. An excellent, extremely useful source for young adults and educators; highly recommended for all collections.?Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L., CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 3 Revised edition (September 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081292990X
• ISBN-13: 978-0812929904
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Personal Health > Teen Health > Sexuality

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every teen and parent should own one, January 13, 2001

By 

"benny_boy" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: Expanded Third Edition: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships (Paperback)

This is the best book on being a teenager that I have ever read! And this should mean a lot to you coming from a teen (I'm a 15 year old male). It's different from other books in that it encourages teens to make their own decisions in life. It doesn't come out and say, "No! Sex is bad! You will rot in hell if you have sex before you are married!" Instead, it gives equal reasons of why to have sex and why not to and then describes all the means of birth control. But it doesn't just deal with sex, it also touches on emotions that you might have through adolecence, masturbation, what you can do if you do become pregnent, and even drugs.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read for ANYONE age 10 thru 100, September 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: Expanded Third Edition: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships (Paperback)

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives is a wonderfully open-minded book filled with diagrams, interviews, comics, and poems which focus on puberty, sexuality, relationships, family, and life in general presented in an appealing manner. Pre-teens will benefit from being able to prepare themselves for the important changes that await them. Teens will enjoy reading about other kids with the same concerns and worries. Parents who read this book will be better equipped to answer the inevitable "QUESTION". Ruth Bell and the Teen Book Project present a plethora of valuable information in an easy to understand format. Some may be put off by the explicit descriptions, but keep in mind that these scenarios are taken from real interviews with teens. The guide covers emotional and physical changes which accompany puberty as well as such important matters as gynecological exams, marriage, rape, sexually transmitted diseases, and self-esteem. If there is any one book that should be on every adolescent's bookshelf (and their parents' bookshelf for that matter) it is Changing Bodies, Changing Lives.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific for your teenager, January 29, 2005

By 

Cindy G - Book freak "Cindy G" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: Expanded Third Edition: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships (Paperback)

I bought this for my 15 year old son for reference and for his information.

His father won't talk to him about sex and he is too embarrassed to talk with me. In fact, I had to leave it in his room and he swore he wouldn't look at it. That he had learned everything he needed to know in 1 week of sex ed at school (!)

2 weeks later he thanked me for buying it. Still trying to keep the lines of communication open but at least now I know he is armed with knowledge.