Gr 8 Up-Many outstanding books on sexuality have been published for teens recently, but these three titles are not among them. Both the emotional and physical aspects of sexuality are discussed in Readiness as are the necessity of sexual responsibility and the risks of sexual behavior. Pregnancy tells readers what to expect during and after pregnancy; examines the problems of being a teenage parent; and discusses the options of abortion, adoption, or motherhood. Various methods of contraception are also discussed, which seem out of place here. Sex covers some of the same material as the first two titles, such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, but it also discusses issues like abstinence and dating violence. Each book has the same formulaic, unimaginative format. The texts are informative, free of jargon, and have a nonjudgmental tone, but the prose is excruciatingly dry-similar to very dull health textbooks or pamphlets from the school nurse's office. An overview at the beginning and a list of points to consider at the end make the books even more like textbooks. Small, cropped color photos without captions do little to engage readers. Robie Harris's It's Perfectly Normal (Candlewick, 1994), Miriam Stoppard's Sex Ed (DK, 1997), and Sabrina Solin's The Seventeen Guide to Sex and Your Body (S & S, 1996) are all preferable choices.-Edward Sullivan, New York Public Library
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
