Customer Reviews

The Girls' Guide to Life: Take charge of your personal life, your school time, your social scene, and much more!

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This book is a great work, probably the best of the Century. OK, I'm a guy. But I do have four nieces that are growing up quite well. Better now because of this book. I wish I had a book like this for guys when I was their age. It well explains the complexities in life we adults usually learn the hard way. A more level coverage of such a complex topic I don't think is possible. What politics is, the prejudice girls are subjected to, and many other complex subjects clearly covered. I will always remember the passage about what we think when girls act up in class, that we consider them "bad" girls. But what happens when boys do it? "Boys will be boys," we say. My sister always "acted up" in class and now is a PhD and former NASA Project Scientist, and she still acts up, go figure. My other sister did straight A's in math until someone told her that "boys don't like smart girls," and she went straight to C's. I gave her daughter this book and have seen no sign of that problem arising.

It's magical to witness, over the course of a few years, girls blooming into young women. The spell is broken, however, when we also see sexism consume their self-esteem. Where once they were spunky and imaginative, they become self-conscious and afraid how their ideas will be seen by others. Where once they voiced their opinions, we see them swallowing ideas unvoiced--especially in front of boys. And where once they excelled in math or science, we see them play "dumb" or believe they aren't as smart as "the other gender."

The Girls' Guide to Life reclaims the strength and self-assurance for young women. With a fun, appealing style, The Guide addresses gender issues by providing exercises and activities so girls learn who they are and what their strengths are.... If you have a daughter, or care about a girl you know, share The Girls' Guide to Life with them. You may learn a lot you never knew. You also may be reminded of things you learned the hard way and never thought to share with her. Encourage sons to read it, too, so they'll learn it's all right for women to be strong, to be leaders.

In an interesting and friendly style, the author writes that typical feminine characteristics such as silence in the classroom, insecurity about appearance, and intimidation about sports or science are not the irrevocable fate of being female but simply the result of growing up in a society that maintains a deep-seated bias against girls and women. She uses teen-magazine-style chapters to illuminate these biases: what they are, how to recognize them, and how to change them. Each chapter explores the facts of a particular issue, such as sexism in the media, then personalizes that issue through boxed, multi-cultural, first-person narratives and poetry , comic strips, anecdotes, and quizzes. She provides extensive lists of related books, videos, pamphlets, and organizations that will help give girls their bearings. But one of the book's highlights is it's activist feature, "Things to Do," that shows how to respond with sample letters, organizations to join, and other ways to kick the passive stereotype good-bye.

Let me tell you this book is awesome! I have never felt so empowered! Not only does this book have real experiences and stories, it also unveils many myths about society and gives real ways to correct those myths. This book is for everyone, woman and man, who cares about the ways women are treated in our culture and worldwide. I highly recommend it! (Posted on Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana web site)

When my daughter read the first paragraph (not Chapter 1, just whatever page fell open while I was driving down the street), she immediately said, "Oh, wow, this is good! Well, I had her read it to me and this led to a very interesting conversation that was enlightening for both of us -- for me because I found out what her thoughts were about how girls should act around boys -- for her because she realized that I really had been her age once upon a time and had had similar feelings.

I was pleasantly surprised that she thought it was just fine to share her opinions with boys and not be afraid of what they might think. She said she had hoped they would like and respect her for her opinion but many times that was not what happened and she was considering changing her ways. She thought she was doing it all wrong but the book was confirming her thoughts and she liked that a lot! This opened some good dialogue between us so I could share my feelings and experiences with her and let her know that I agreed with the book. Had it not been for this book, we may not have had that conversation for some time (or maybe not at all), and she may have decided to lean toward being more of a follower than the little leader she seems to be growing into.

An added plus is that, so far, I agree with everything I've read, and when I can say something and she can then read it in a book, that gives more credence to what I've said. Sometimes reading it in a book makes it more real than if a parent says it!

The Girls' Guide to Life presents inspiring life stories, poems and empowering ideas. The format is fun and encouraging and women of any age will enjoy the quiz, fun facts about women throughout history and creative ideas for changing the world.

The celebratory nature of this book encourages participation. Catherine Dee's writing style is fresh and playful and she has a unique way of explaining life-changing issues like self-esteem and the role it plays in a woman's life.

I struggled with my own self-esteem for over thirty years and had to deal with everything from immature people making fun of my body to cruel sarcasm meant to disempower me. I had friends who were anorexic but I had no idea how serious it was. It wasn't until a guy friend encouraged me to address my self-esteem issues, that I truly started to blossom into who I am today and still I have moments where sentences from the past will arise to haunt me.

This book is essential reading for young girls because it will not only alert them to pertinent issues, it will save them years of heartache from low self-esteem and negative choices, not to mention having to deal with a negative body image due to the media's insistence on displaying unrealistic and enhanced images.

There are helpful topics that have practical applications. Girls can read about how to start a journal and can also find book recommendations like "The Diary of Anne Frank." There are many lists of books that will be of interest to women of all ages.

"The Story of Cinderella" had me laughing out loud and the "Phone Tree" idea is quite brilliant. Catherine Dee has really been paying attention to the main issues girls have to deal with as they "Grow up Female." This is a beautiful celebration of progress, empowerment and basically "respect for women." There are also self-defense tips and ideas for safe dating.

I loved the ideas about rock climbing and I think it is almost a metaphor for how women must face the challenges in their life and overcome not only their fears, but develop the confidence to scale the walls built by society. I once viewed a woman dancing across rocks and I thought it was one of the most beautiful images of the balance between securing your position in life and taking chances.

~The Rebecca Review
Has climbed rocks in Africa and sailed in a storm...

Girls should really be able to relate to the messages in this book, and the way they're presented.

It's a great gift for mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, anyone who knows a 9 to 15 year old girl.

The book highlights the more important issues every girl should be aware of to preserve her self-esteem as she grows up.

Companies should hand it out on Take Our Daughters to Work Day, and let's not forget the boys. They should read it also. They might learn something about girls and possibly about themselves.

... that's not been said already about this awesome, powerful, inspiring book? I can't recommend it highly enough. GET IT. READ IT. GIVE IT TO A GIRL YOU CARE ABOUT.

Catherine Dee's The Girls' Guide to Life: How to Take Charge of the Issues That Affect You tackles the many challenges that face young women and girls today. Let's face it, low self-esteem, lack of political representation and gender inequity in the classroom are a drag. The Girls' Guide is a positive and necessary blueprint for battling the gender bias blues. Young women and girls lend their own voices and experiences of enlightenment and encouragement on topics ranging from math clubs to rock climbing to political activism. The Girls' Guide is an excellent combination of true stories, self-help and resources that will spark any young woman or girl to "take charge of the issues that affect" her. But don't just take my word for it. I gave the book to my eleven year-old niece. "I love it!" she said, "It's fun to read and has lots of ideas for me and my friends to do to help make us active and strong, and love ourselves."

I facilitate a gender transitions group in a boarding program at an arts high school. I also present programs in our community on a variety of health education, wellness and women's issues for this population. I found this book to be excellent as a facilitation resource for my groups and presentations. As a group, the younger girls, 8th-10th grade responded most positively to the book. They thought we should continue to use it for their weekly reading and to promote discussions. My older students liked it too and gave it great reviews but felt it was aimed towards the younger girls. In response to their feedback, I used it with them as a training guide/tool for teaching and mentoring the younger girls. We trained the peer mentors in the group with some of the chapters of the book. They ended up responding positively to this approach and were very open to the issues covered in the book. They used it as a "teaching guide" and that approach to the text worked wonderfully for their leadership and allowed them the opportunity to really examine the issues more deeply. I am always glad to see good materials that are aimed at helping young women!