From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-A collection of inspirational thoughts divided into topics such as friendship, love, and family. Each one-page narrative begins with an italicized quote and concludes with an italicized pithy thought. Voices heard in the opening quotes range from Aesop and Socrates to Oscar Wilde, E.B. White, Susan B. Anthony, Madonna, and Oprah Winfrey. There is no identification of these quotable notables, most of which are recognizable names, but some, such as Piet Hein, may by unknown to adolescent readers. The last eight pages, blank save for a short italicized quote at the bottom, are reserved for doodling or notes. This is not meant to be a cover-to-cover read, but a flip-and-search text (since there is no index) when looking for just the right words, inspiration, advice, or solace. Although the quotes and text speak to girls, some may find them cloying. However, the enticing cover, the page borders, and the brevity of the selections lend appeal. A supplemental purchase.
Marilyn Fairbanks, East Junior High School, Brockton, MACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Gr. 6-9. Weston, author of
Girltalk (1988) and
For Teens Only (2002), updates her 1998 book that gathered hundreds of quotes from sources as diverse as Socrates, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Oprah. Here, she adds quotes from current stars, including Tiny Fey and Mia Hamm. The passages reassure adolescent girls on familiar topics such as friendship, love, family, school, and work. Her one-page advice format, which begins with a famous quote and ends with a Weston one-sentence pearl, makes for easy, focused reading and discussion. Although the advice is traditional, this revision offers an appealing format for self-help and might be used to introduce quotation collecting to a new group of impressionable teens.
Frances BradburnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
