Girl Wars [Kindle Edition]

Cheryl Dellasega (Author), Charisse Nixon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Stop the Hurting

Mary Pipher's bestselling Reviving Ophelia triggered widespread interest in the culture of preteen and teenage girls and the seeming epidemic of relational aggression (bullying) among them. Gossip, teasing, forming cliques, and other cruel behaviors are the basis of this bullying, which harms both victim and aggressor. Until now, no one has been able to offer practical and effective solutions that stop girls from hurting each other with words and actions. But in Girl Wars, two experts explain not only how to prevent such behavior but also how to intervene should it happen, as well as overcome the culture that breeds it.

Illustrated by compelling true stories from mothers and girls, the authors offer effective, easy-to-implement strategies that range from preventive to prescriptive, such as how to

• Adopt a "help, don't hurt" strategy

• Provide positive role models

• Teach communication skills online and off

• Stress assertiveness, not aggressiveness

• Learn conflict resolution skills

• Identify alternatives to bullying behavior

With their combined experience in offering and evaluating programs that combat bullying, the authors show that girls not only want to help rather than hurt each other, they can do so with guidance from concerned adults.

About the Author

Cheryl Dellasega, Ph.D., author of Surviving Ophelia, is a nurse-practitioner, the mother of a teenaged daughter, and founder of Camp Ophelia, Club Ophelia, and other dynamic programs for girls. She is on the faculty of the College of Medicine at Penn State University in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where she lives.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 669 KB
• Print Length: 260 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0743249879
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (November 1, 2007)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0018AKD3K
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,584 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Last 24 years=Mom
Last 23 years=wife
Last 20 years=Professor (Humanities and Women's Studies at Penn State University)
Last 5 years=author of NF books for women
Last 4 years=founder of Club and Camp Ophelia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, December 2, 2003

By 

Keith Ammann (Freeport, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Girl Wars: 12 Strategies That Will End Female Bullying (Paperback)

I picked this up after reading Rachel Simmons' "Odd Girl Out" (which was outstanding) and wanting to know how I could take action against social aggression as a teacher. This book did not supply the answers. First, it's aimed primarily at parents, with hardly any direct recommendations to teachers (in fact, it almost takes the view that teachers are not likely to be effective allies in the battle against social aggression). Second, it espouses a number of strategies that strike me as naive and counterproductive. In her book, Simmons took a much savvier tack, identifying approaches that are likely to convince picked-on kids that YOU JUST DON'T GET IT AT ALL. Dellasega and Nixon seem to me to overemphasize church communities as a retreat from aggression -- this strikes me as not only naive but dangerous, since so many social aggressors cloak their meanness behind a façade of impeccable niceness, and what better way to prove how nice you are than to belong to a church group? They also endorse an activity called "the PowHer Game," which sounded to me about as bright an idea as a Jumping to Conclusions Mat; to confirm my hunch, I ran it past my sister (whose own junior-high experiences prompted her interest in "Odd Girl Out" and, by extension, mine), and she said, yep, any kid would think that was hokey beyond belief, and not one would put an ounce of trust in it.

Somewhere, either in print or in someone's mind, there is a book that can help parents, teachers and kids resist social aggression effectively. I don't think this one is it.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally Advice for Dads, December 31, 2003

By 

Da Joed (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl Wars: 12 Strategies That Will End Female Bullying (Paperback)

As the dad of a teen girl who has gone through a lot of bullying I was nodding my head at the stories. Then I got to the chapter on Dads and Daughters and thought "At last!" This is the first concrete advice I've found on how to help my daughter. It's great to recognize that fathers play an important role too. One of my daughter's teachers read this, and is going to start a program at her school to stop relational aggression, so even more girls will benefit.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and inspiring!, December 31, 2003

By 

X. zhou "noodle lover" (State College, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Girl Wars: 12 Strategies That Will End Female Bullying (Paperback)

This book on female bullying is an absolutely wonderful. "Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can break your heart." That's what female bullying would hurt girls deeply. This book is worth reading and there are some great take-home points. I really enjoyed the book and found it helpful. Only if I read it earlier!