THE SEVENTEEN GUIDE TO SEX AND YOUR BODY

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THE SEVENTEEN GUIDE TO SEX AND YOUR BODY

Name: THE SEVENTEEN GUIDE TO SEX AND YOUR BODY
Author: Sabrina Solin
ISBN: 0-689-80796-1

by Sabrina Solin & Paula Elbirt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996

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From the editor of Seventeen magazine's ``Sex and Body'' column, a frank, accessible, information-packed guide to puberty and sexual involvement for teenage girls. Solin seeks to provide answers to the hundreds of questions girls ask Seventeen each month about their changing bodies and emerging sexuality. The first section deals with puberty, covering everything from pimples and body odor to eating disorders and yeast infections, including an informative chapter on the changes boys go through. The second section addresses sexuality with a strong emphasis on personal responsibility when making decisions about sexuality. Among the topics covered: crushes, dating, resisting sexual pressure, the influence of drugs and alcohol, sexual orientation, avoiding pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. Throughout, Solin maintains a breezy, nonjudgmental style, interspersed with questions from teens and myth-busting ``Do Not Believe'' sidebars, e.g., ``MYTH: A guy can't get a girl pregnant as a result of his first few ejaculations. FACT: Oh, yes, he can.'' This comprehensive and reassuring book should be available to every adolescent girl. (Nonfiction. 11+)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-689-80796-1

Page Count: 131

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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A YEAR DOWN YONDER

From the Grandma Dowdel series , Vol. 2

by Richard Peck ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000

Year-round fun.

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Set in 1937 during the so-called “Roosevelt recession,” tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn’t “even have a picture show.”

This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Peck’s slice-of-life novel doesn’t have much in the way of a sustained plot; it could almost be a series of short stories strung together, but the narrative never flags, and the book, populated with distinctive, soulful characters who run the gamut from crazy to conventional, holds the reader’s interest throughout. And the vignettes, some involving a persnickety Grandma acting nasty while accomplishing a kindness, others in which she deflates an overblown ego or deals with a petty rivalry, are original and wildly funny. The arena may be a small hick town, but the battle for domination over that tiny turf is fierce, and Grandma Dowdel is a canny player for whom losing isn’t an option. The first-person narration is infused with rich, colorful language—“She was skinnier than a toothpick with termites”—and Mary Alice’s shrewd, prickly observations: “Anybody who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.”

Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000

ISBN: 978-0-8037-2518-8

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE CLAY MARBLE

by Minfong Ho ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1991

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Drawing on her experience with a relief organization on the Thai border, Ho tells the story of a Cambodian family, fleeing the rival factions of the 80's while hoping to gather resources to return to farming in their homeland. Narrator Dara, 12, and the remnants of her family have arrived at a refugee camp soon after her father's summary execution. At first, the camp is a haven: food is plentiful, seed rice is available, and they form a bond with another family- -brother Sarun falls in love with Nea, and Dara makes friends with Nea's cousin, Jantu, who contrives marvelous toys from mud and bits of scrap; made wise by adversity, Jantu understands that the process of creation outweighs the value of things, and that dead loved ones may live on in memory. The respite is brief: Vietnamese bombing disrupts the camp, and the family is temporarily but terrifyingly separated. Later, Jantu is wounded by friendly fire and doesn't survive; but her tragic death empowers Dara to confront Sarun, who's caught up in mindless militarism instigated by a charismatic leader, and persuade him to travel home with the others—to plant rice and build a family instead of waging war. Again, Ho (Rice Without Rain, 1990) skillfully shapes her story to dramatize political and humanitarian issues. The easily swayed Sarun lacks dimension, but the girls are more subtly drawn—Dara's growing courage and assertiveness are especially convincing and admirable. Touching, authentic, carefully wrought- -and with an unusually appealing jacket. (Fiction. 11-15)