Customer Reviews

Am I Weird or Is This Normal? Advice and Info to Get Teens in the Know

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Well, I didn't finish my back-to-school reading because I stayed up all night reading this book. I thought I knew it all (I'll admit that to you guys, but I never said that, ok?), but I just loved this book! IT starts with a bunch of what they call Lifelist points that are sprinkled throughout the book that really speak to a lot of things that bug me about my life these days, kind of like pointers on how to deal.I learned a lot of really specific tips about communicating with your parents that I definitely plan on trying. But what I really liked best about this book is that it doesn't talk down to teenagers or assume we're all alike. It gives in depth information (the sex section is especially incredible), and the advice is usually from both a teenager and a psychologist point of view. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is a teenager or wants to understand the pressures teenagers are under. This is one fantastic book!

What Dr. Spock was to babies, Dr. Potash and her daughter are to teenagers. Their book, Am I Weird or Is This Normal, recounts the joys (there were at least two) and the problems (I dont think the number has yet been discovered by mathematicians) of owning a teenager. I found myself alternately cringing and rocking with laughter as I made my way, with some trepidation, through this enlightening and entertaining narrative. Warning to parents: the sexual escapades of the teens who were interviewed may not be suitable for your delicate sensibilities. Warning to teenagers: all your secrets are revealed, so beware the fully informed parent. If youre a parent who has teenagers or children on the verge of teendom, this book may cause you to put your kids up for sale on e-bay. However, if youre at the stage where youre merely contemplating having children, this book will give you ample time to prepare yourselves. And, if youre a teenager, youll not only find examples of your own escapades, but of a few you only dreamed about. And theyre all for real. And yes, believe it or not, this is all normal. So hold on to your hair, dudes and dudettes, because youre in for a wild read.

Yes, it's difficult to face it, but my daughter's growing up. I don't want her to do drugs, have sex, develop an eating disorder. I'd rather she stay innocent and pure - and that the world would let her develop at her own, leisurely, sweet pace.
But in the meantime, there's the real world of Britney Spears getting more pumped up daily (and my daughter being fed pictures of her as if she's 'real'), assaults on her sense of trusting in her own timing when it comes to sex with tv shows and magazines acting as if she's backward if she doesn't 'hook up.' So my thinking is this: information is power. The more she knows, the less likely she is to be pushed into doing what she isn't ready for or doesn't want to do.
AND THIS BOOK REALLY GIVES THE FACTS SO SHE CAN MAKE HER OWN CHOICES!
I read it. She read it. Her guy friends read it. Her father read it. And we've been talking about it ever since. Not bad for a book. Not bad, indeed. I highly recommend this book - and an open-mind and open ears for listening - I surely learned a lot!

Wow! Finally a well written user friendly guide to deal with those tough question. I can now speak with my teenage step daughters and have the right words at hand. So if I get any flack I can show my source. I am impressed with the style and ease of accessing specific topics. This is not a novel -- A Great book if you need to know & talk as a teen, parent or grandparent.

Wow, is this book important! This book is an unusual mix of frank talk about what teens already know - from the media and their own experience - and advice on how to trust themselves to respect themselves and share their lives with their folks. Most books for teens assume kids' 'innocence' by suggesting they don't need to understand what's already going on with them. This book is the first one I've ever read that deals with the awful problem most teens have: the exposure to sex and drugs and more they can't escape (and their own growing hormones!), the desire to fit in with their friends and what they view to be 'normal' behavior, and the need to find themselves and be true to who they really are.
It encourages teens to talk with their parents and other adults, and sure gave my folks valuable insight into the things I'm wrestling with. When my folks 'borrowed' my copy, we started to have some important conversations about important stuff. Instead of lectures, or being to scared to talk about things, they're now getting a picture of what I'm going through and know I really do want their help.

This book is so great! My mother bought it for me, and I thought that I wouldn't use it like all that other junk she gets me, but it was actually really cool. The stuff on guys and sex and stuff was really good, and my friends have all had fun looking at it with me (I brought it to my friend's sleepover party!) All you girls should definitely get this.

In this book, the authors take great pains to talk about how to avoid pregnancy....but if you do get pregnant, they really steer you toward abortion. There isn't even a Q&A for 'but I don't want an abortion, what about adoption'? No mention, no resources. Nada. Yes, yes, everybody knows that adoption is an option, but that's not the same as providing resources, and the authors took pains to explain how & where to get an abortion. Not everybody wants one. And not wanting one doesn't automatically mean one has support or even a clue where to turn.

"Pro-Choice" means *all* choices are equally supported...right?

I was frankly also uncomfortable with the "good reasons to have sex", which amounted to "If you want to, if you think you're in love, if you're making sure he wears a condom." If I had sex every time I thought I was in love as a teenager, I probably would have wound up pregnant. If teenaged boys had sex every time they wanted to, they'd never do anything else. There was no mention of "If you're really ready for a step that could change your life, if you trust him not to push you away if you wind up pregnant with his baby, if you are willing to risk getting an STD from him, even with a condom, because it happens sometimes...."

Her handling of the subjects of rape and body changes were good. But my daughters will not be reading this book unless they find it for themselves some day. There are better books out there. The American Girl books about body changes is a good one, for a start.

Just happened to open this book up at library & could not believe my eyes. The cover indicates that it could be good for adolescent children. The page I opened up to read like something out of a porn magazine. Unbelievable. I am liberal-minded and do not believe in censorship generally, but this is way off base to be recommended for children!!!!!!

This book shocked me when I found it on the shelf of our favorite local toy/book store. I was looking for a wholesome guide for my preadolescent daughter, and thumbed through this book, only find detailed instructions on how to perform oral sex! Shocked, I returned the book to the shelf and thought that perhaps I was just out of date. Now I am just outraged that the cover and blurb does not indicate the type of content. Parents could easily believe it is the kind of guide which honors a child's innocence, but it is not.

they gave tons of good advice, but the overall book was pretty boring and not something I will want to go threw again and again exept maybe once a year or evrey two years if thats what my life comes to, but most likely it wont.