From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up—Alternately edgy, charming, funny, and sweet, these 15 stories address issues confronting adolescents. Integral to each selection is the complicated relationship between the girls and their mothers. In the hilarious "Faceless on the Farm," a spunky girl writes emails to a fashion consultant at a teen magazine asking for advice in her efforts to convince her mother to allow her to wear makeup. Conversely, in "Wax World," Amy resists her mother's idea of beauty and refuses to get her legs waxed, preferring to leave them as they are. In "The Giant Regina," Georgia copes with her mother's newfound lesbianism, while in "My So Not Ballerina Boobs," large-breasted Meghan deals with the mortifying prospect of bra shopping with her embarrassing mother. The selections touch on the multiple meanings of the word "cleavage," and together form an aptly named collection of stories about body image and mothers and daughters coming together and growing apart. A fresh, honest, and entertaining anthology.—
Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"The stories from
Cleavage will buoy [teenage girls] up and remind them that they, too, will survive...Highly recommended." (
CM Magazine 20081201)
"Smart and satisfying tales. The dialogue is sharp and believably teenaged, the content often embarassingly true to life, and the tone is never condescending...An eminently readable collection here, one that may be as enlightening and enjoyable for mothers as their teenage daughters." (
Quill & Quire 20081201)
"The stories send positive messages that girls of that age need." (
Resource Links 20090201)
"There is something for everyone in these fifteen original stories...a pleasing mix of humor and angst. Perhaps the most refreshing element of the book is the solid chorus of girls who push aside cultural stereotypes and maternal expectations to become their best selves." (
VOYA )
