Growing Up For Girls by Felicity Brooks (Children's, Non-Fiction, 9 years +, 9/10)

Funky cover!

June 2013, Usborne, 280 pages, Paperback, review copy

Themes: facts of life, physical and emotional sides to being a teenager, advice on how to stay safe in various situations

Summary from Usborne 

A straight-talking book to prepare girls for the exciting and sometimes daunting emotional, psychological and physical changes as they approach puberty.

Includes helpful tips and fact boxes, as well as quick quizzes and quirky illustrations throughout.

A safe and reliable way to explore all sorts of burning questions – a great comfort kept on a bedroom bookshelf to dip in and out of.

With a focus on staying happy and confident, this book covers all the topics that girls want to find out about, including moods and feelings, periods, what happens to boys as they grow up, diet, eating disorders, exercise, body image, sex and relationships, contraception, sexual health, self-confidence, drink and drugs, exam stress, cyberbullying, and staying safe – both out and about and online.

Nayuleska's thoughts   

I was intrigued about the slant on staying safe online and by phone, since cyberbullying etc wasn't around when I was younger. While a lot of time was well spent on emotions, self-confidence and physical changes, I felt the virtual side of life could have been a bit longer, considering how widespread its use is.

All the necessary facts were there, but unlike earlier topics I felt there could have been more emphasis on what happens on social network sites which are popular with teens. I liked all the internet links which provide an opportunity to explore topic further - when I was younger there was little info online, but predominantly research was book based. The style of illustrations were fun to look at, especially the end with the birds and the rainbow. The flower for each page number was a cute touch.

Available at bookstores including NRC affiliate Foyles.

Suggested read

This is the first non-fiction facts of life book that I've reviewed so I don't have a non-fiction

recommendation! A great series which examines emotions and what happens during various situations is the sweet hearts series by Jo Cotteril - they aren't all about romance either! Start with Sweet hearts: Star-Crossed.