Rating: 
Summary: A GOOD BEGINNING¿
Review: In ODD GIRL OUT Rachel Simmons provides a good beginning of the examination of girl bullying. This book is long overdue as this type of bullying can often be more detrimental and hurtful than punches thrown in the playground by boys. Simmons' application of the concept of relational aggression is intriguing. There are indeed gender differences in bullying. Girl bullying is often hard to perceive from the outside and thus is difficult for schools and parents to identify and [hopefully] intervene. Most women have hurtful tales from childhood of being suddenly excluded from a group of friends or having rumors and gossip about them told behind their back. In Simmons' research she extracts tales from both her own personal history of bullying along with her original research to elaborate on her theory of relational aggression. The reader can certainly feel the pain of these girls as they recount their tales of female bullying. The deep scars often run into childhood. I, myself, have related back to my childhood to review my own experiences with female bullying while reading ODD GIRL OUT. But as I have stated above, ODD GIRL OUT provides a good beginning. While reading this book I couldn't help but say, "I agree, but what about this?" Her theory of relational aggression is good but there were many instances when her analysis fell short. Her reliance on qualitative data did not allow for a more abstract view of this phenomenon. I am interested in how prevalent female bullying is in schools? Do boys bully more than girls and why or why not? Also, I believe Simmons' concept of female bullying can be applied to women in adulthood. Simply substitute the classroom for the workplace and this phenomenon continues to thrive in women. At work I have witnessed acts of relational aggression in women. It's sad but true. Relations between girls and women are very complex and Simmons did a good job of exposing one piece of the pie. I applaud her efforts in exposing female bullying and all its negative consequences. Simmons alluded to her groundbreaking effort of exposure by stating that her intent is "to begin the process of naming and understanding [girl bullying]" (p. 231). There is no doubt that this book will help many girls and women in their own experiences and that alone makes reading this book highly worthwhile. My only wish is that other researchers will follow up on Simmons' research in the near future. This topic is so important that it deserves more attention from parents, educators, girls, and anyone concerned with the well being of girls.
Rating: 
Summary: The *truth* about girls
Review: Author Bio: Rachel Simmons, author of The New York Times best-seller Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, is a native of Washington, DC. Simmons graduated from Vassar College with a degree in women's studies and political science. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1997, Simmons went on to work for New York City mayor Rudolph Guliani and on NY Senator Charles E. Schumer's 1998 campaign. After the election, Simmons attended Oxford University, where she began studying female aggression. Rachel Simmons does an unbelievable job explaining the hidden nature of agression in girls. All girls will be able to relate to her interviews, whether they have been a part of it, or just watched it. She says things that have never been said but were much needed to be out in the open. Girls can be just as agressive as boys, but they hide it a lot better. This book is incredible and should really be read by every girl.
Rating:
Summary: Talk to Moms too
Review: Talking to the girls was a wonderful idea but talking to the moms might have created more doable guidelines. I have enjoyed the book and only suggest for authors to not only talk about stressful experiences in their studies - as their main goal in mind - but to branch out and ask other significant people what they think about the situation. For example, many of the moms in my daughter's volleyball group, act exactly like the sweet agressive bullies in question. I think it lends a hand and practice for the daughters to mimic their moms. So many people who do research often overlook really helping the reader with doable and practical remedies. It is not only devastating to kids but to moms as well as dads and other family members to deal with this type of behavior. Picking up the pieces is hard and it's not only scary to overcome such overwhelming and life draining experiences but it's also critical to bounce back for the sake of your child. Also recommended: The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander, 2003 by Barbara Coloroso, (the book leaves no question unanswered and is awesome), and Mommy-CEO, 2001 book, by syndicated family columnist, Jodie Lynn (the book is on various family issues and how to get kids to respect others as well as themselves).
Rating:
Summary: I liked the book and her ideas are important but.....
Review: I liked the book and think her ideas are important but I find that I must agree with some of the other posters and say that she included way too many case studies and and I was disappointed to find that she spent too little time on solutions to the problems she addresses. It would have been great to read some success stories based on the advice she gives at the end of the book. I think the author also forgets that there usually is some middle ground in female hierarchies. Unless things have radically changed since I was in school, there usually is a group of girls in any given class that aren't swayed much by the popular crowd. Yes, they might not make the popular groups "cut" but they aren't shunned either. And even if these girls made the "cut" they don't like the popular group and don't want to be a part of it anyway. When you read "Odd Girl Out" you get the feeling that girls are either fated to be popular or outcasts. For most women, I think our friendships are a patchwork quilt that contains both loyal and enduring friendships along with episodes of betrayal in our less successful friendships. That said....I would recommend this book to anyone I know raising daughters. I don't understand why feminist groups would deny these undercurrents in female behavior. Any woman knows that they exsist and endure throughout our lives. I've seen some junior high antics prevail amongst supposed professionals in the workplace. I can't wait to see someone write "Odd Women Out".
Rating:
Summary: Growing pains
Review: This book is a must read for all public school teachers and parents of preadolescent and teenage girls. I was the "odd girl out" in fifth grade. There were two girls in my class who were best friends , "Miss Prefect" and her "Sidekick". The two girls had a disagreement at a birthday party which I did not attend. The two girls were not on speaking terms. I become Sidekick's playmate. We played together at recess and lunch. One day Miss Prefect's mother showed up at the school and had a meeting with our teacher. Suddenly Sidekick no longer was speaking to me and everyone avoided me. I had always been an outsider in the class because I was the smallest, shiest and poorest child in the class. From the point on I was either in the group or the outcast depending on who was talking to whom. It was not until I was in college that I find another girl group to belong to. But that experience thirty-two years ago left me with a mistruth of other females. Since that incidence in fifth grade I have encountered other sweet female aggressors. I used to work two sweet women who constantly complained about me to my supervisors. One day I just could not see myself being the "right" employee so I quit. I have seen other women quit jobs because they happened to be the outcast.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, but. . .
Review: I liked a lot of what Rachel Simmons had to say in this book. It's a relief to see someone finally treating the dark world of teenage social competition seriously-- recognizing it for the soul-crushing experience it is for many, many girls. But the book could have been a *lot* shorter. Much of what comes out in her exhaustive (and exhausting) interviews is already perfectly obvious to anybody who's been through the pubescent social wringer once or twice, and after the first couple of chapters it gets *very* repetitive. I also question her tendency to blame girls' underhanded aggression on the clash between the "empowered woman" ideal we actively teach and the ingrained traditional ideal of the compliant, "nice" girl. Somehow I think girls were doing these things long before the idea of female empowerment came into vogue, but Simmons doesn't even try to give it a historical context. She has excellent advice in the last couple of chapters for parents and girls. I'm not so sure about the suggestions for schools and teachers: she argues so well earlier in the book that teachers are pretty much helpless, and that when they do get involved they are likely to make the situation worse. It's kind of far-fetched to believe that a week of teacher inservice is going to change that.
Rating:
Summary: Growing pains
Review: This book is a must read for every teacher in America. I was a victim of the "isolation treatment" in fifth grade and have never forgotten it. I was the smallest, shiest girl in the class who was always on the outer fringe of the cliques. I also came from a poor family and did not socialize with the other classmates. One day the most popular girl in class and her best friend had a disagreement. Everybody but me sided with the most popular girl. I suddenly had a best friend. We played together a recess. Then one day the mother of the most popular girl showed up at school and talked to the teacher. The two girls made-up. But I no longer had a best friend and everyone was "mad" at me. From then on I never knew who would speak to me or play with me. I do not have another "best friend" until I was in college.
Unfortunately I have since women verbally abuse either other in the workplace. I know women who were fired because their coworkers ganged up on them and constantly complained about them to higher management. Evenually the higher management fired the "wrong women".
Rating:
Summary: A must read for girls and parents
Review: I saw this book at my local bookstore and decided to pick up a copy for a friend whose daughter is just entering this stage. I ended up reading the whole book myself overnight, before passing it along. As someone who was both a perpetrator and a victim of social aggression in my middle school years, it was a comfort and a long-needed explanation for what I had been through (and what I had put others through). These memories, though disjointed, are still a very vivid and real part of my reality as an adult. I still see these methods of aggression in people my own age (mid-twenties) and older, who act out in the same ways as described in this book. Lucky for me, I have been able to recognize and avoid these types of relationships for a long time now. Simmons offers some valuable insight into the social games of young girls, and puts into words the misery that so many of us could only sum up to the "evilness" of girls. Her solution to the problem is a bit simplistic and unrealistic, but the very fact that the book opens up discourse on this subject is a very definite step in the right direction.
Rating:
Summary: You aren't alone!
Review: If you or your daughter has ever experienced the cold shoulder, the icy glare or the table that has no more room - this book is for you! Know that you - or your daughter - are not alone. Simmons gives credibility to this sociological phenonenon - the common struggle of girls and friendships - and given the painful experience a voice! No longer should we sweep the evil behavior of some girls under the rug or shrug it off as a phase...it should be identified as bullying, labeled as such...and NOT TOLERATED! Aside from sharing stories in which to relate, Simmons offers practical advice on how to cope with the experiences. I recommend this book highly.
Rating:
Summary: This book is fabulous.
Review: I read this in a night- I'd recommend to any female, of any age. I'm 32 & some of this stuff I still hadn't pieced together- I used to be one of those for whom meanness did not compute. As far as being clinical, it's largely in the introduction & is probably necessary for Simmons to establish credibility among her peers- skip it if you don't like it & get right to the case studies- you will see yourself.
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