Where do teens get their dating advice these days? Friends, parents, magazines, surfing the internet? I’m not sure. Would they like to get it from this book? I’m not sure about that either.BOYOLOGY is billed as a teen girl’s crash course in all things boy, but it’s really a crash course in dating. The tone and format is not unlike that of a teen magazine, with the advantage that it is able to go more in depth, but with the disadvantage that it is dated (especially in its references to pop culture) pretty much immediately.
Chronicle always has great art direction and the book is fun to browse through. There are quizzes and graphics, song lists for romancing your boy (point being: don’t play him girly music), and a list of movies to watch when you break up. Some of the content seems flippant (like a section that stereotypes boys into 8 “breeds”) but other content, like the chapter on setting sexual boundaries and preventing rape, is very, very serious (and important).
BOYOLOGY is out in paperback now. Find out more about it on the author’s website.
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7 comments:
Books like this are so hard to write, because they so easily become dated so quickly. At least this one has a nice serious section about how to prevent rape, etc. That's very important for a book like this, I think.
This would make a good gift in the basket I'm putting together for my step-neice.
brizmus - definitely!
Ladytink - I am passing my copy on to my god-niece who is 12.
PS. I wanted to mention that my husband Daniel fit the profile of the METROSEXUAL the best. Of course, most Europeans do.
I think I'm just a little too old for this one, but I do love the cover and title.
Agreed on the things getting dated idea. I've read some dating manuals/changing bodies stuff for girls. One of them from the seventies talked about alcohol/what to do if you're offered some, and said that saying, "I don't drink" makes you sound stuffy/boring and that the best thing to do is take a glass and just nurse it and dump the rest in a potted plant at some point. I remember hating that advice because it just made me think that if I didn't want to do something I wasn't ready for, people would think I was stupid and boring. TERRIBLE ADVICE for young girls who can be very insecure and vulnerable.
Sorry for the tangent. Good review, Lenore!
That is terrible advice! Fortunately, this book is very empowering for girls. It definitely gets that part right.
Looks like a fun read that my daughter would like. She's not really all that boy crazy just yet, but I am sure it's just a matter of time!
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