Rating: 
Summary: Awesome book for discovering yourself
Review: The book Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler is one of the best books I have ever read. The insight it gives to adolescent girls is one of a kind.
The book, written in small essays and poems, is a collection of the experiences and memories of adolescent girls. The topics they have written about vary wildly, from rape to crushes to believing in yourself.
It's refreshing to be able to open the book and relate to all the stories-with anything you are going through, this book lets you know that you are not alone in your struggles. You see not only yourself in the story, but all of the women you know as well. As I was reading it, I found myself saying, "Yeah, I know how that feels. I've been through that."
It's cool because the author has framed each section with her own thoughts and experiences, so she becomes like a friend to you throughout the whole book. This is definitely a book every girl has got to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good
Review: I haven't read Reviving Ophelia, so I can't compare the two, but I found Shandler's book, although disturbing at times, an excellent collection of memoirs written by the soon-to-be women of our society. I agree that at times the author's commentary could be distracting, but the stories stand and speak for themselves. I don't know any girl or woman that couldn't relate to at least one of the poignant essays. These girls poured their hearts out about topics ranging from death to poor self image to abuse to discovering their sexuality. One shouldn't be surprised to discovered that our children are often confused, angry, abused, sad and frightened after reading some of the scenarios some of these young girls have lived through. I'm 30 years old, and was raised in a middle class, suburban environment with two wonderful parents and a relatively happy childhood and I could relate to many of the stories told in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Ophelia Speaks:Stereotyping all female adolescents
Review: 'Ophelia Speaks' by Shandler is a poor attemp at writing on Shandler's part. I had to read this book for my SOC 204 class, but otherwise I would have never picked this book up to read. I found the book to be only a collection of letters, stories and poems that Shandler had collected from adolescent girls. Most of these entries did not capture the true life of adolescent girls but instead glamourized the stereotypes that society has about female adolescents. The author, at the time of collecting these reading, was only 17 and it seems as if she was just putting this book together to make a few extra bucks. As well, I believe that since she sent out a letter asking for submissions for the book, I feel that the girls that wrote the entries, were meerly looking for some sort of fame by having their entries in this book. I also cannot stand how the author's experiences never reflect the experiences of the writings; this further indicates that the writings are not accurate. The author also never comes to any conclusion after a chapter. She could have given some psychological/sociolgical/physiological reasoning behind some of the girls experiences.
I would not refer anyone to read this book. It was a waste of time and money.
Save your money and spend it on better things.
Rating:
Summary: A real review by a real teenage girl....
Review: When I read some of these reviews they really upset me, especially when I saw most of them were by adults. When adults give such a horrible reviews to such a wonderful book, it only backs up the saying from Will Smith's song: Parents Just DON'T Understand! Any teenager who has expierenced the pressures of high school whether it be tempted to have sex or do drugs, or just the pressures of trying to have a social life and still keep up your grades. I got this book for my 14th birthday and left it in the bag for a few days, but then on a boring summer day when I had nothing else to do I picked up the book and started reading. I couldn't put it down! I fell in love with this book. It was such a relief to know there are girls out there going through the same things I am, things that other people might not even know about. Things only teenage girls will understand. After reading the book and gave it to my friends to read. My best friend called me after reading it, in tears, because the book was so real to her. There are parts in there that are hard to read, especialy if you haven't expierenced it, but you should read it anyway, to try to understand fellow girls. Ophelia Speaks is such a wonderful book, a great gift for any teenage girl. When I see the 1 star reviews of the book, I feel hurt because you're saying that they thoughts and feelings of these girls aren't real, but they're very real to me and all my friends. And probably to every teenage girl across the country. So even if you're a parent, try to understand and buy this book for the teenage girl you love. They will thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Important to read
Review: Sara Shandler was in high school when she read Dr. Pipher's book, Reviving Ophelia. She found the book a link between her self and her sisters, other teen girls. It was a message to let her know that she wasn't alone. Sara felt, however, that Dr. Pipher's book was still too clinical, too adult and removed from the actual struggles of modern life for young women. At a young age, she decided to write, or at least edit, another book, allowing girls to speak for themselves.
What Ms. Shandler created was a collection of essays, submitted by middle school, high school and college age girls all over the country, from all areas, races, and social strata. The essays range over such subjects as physical appearance, eating disorders, parents, rape and molestation, sexuality, friends, feminism, school, and religion. Though the voices Ms. Shandler presents here are candid and outspoken, Ophelia Speaks, nonetheless, manages to present a more hopeful outlook on the lives and futures of young females in America today. The problems are real, but the hearts and minds are strong, not fragile or weak. The hardships are mostly spoken of matter-of-factly, from the pens of the girls who have all ready adapted to difficult circumstances. Rather than promoting change in society, Sara Shandler sends her book out as a letter to all adolescent girls, simply to let them know they are not alone. The only thing that this book asks for in return is that the reader listen without judgement, to the young females in America who simply want to be heard and understood.
Rating:
Summary: Telling it like it is
Review: In reading this book, I found it to be exactly like the life of a teenage girl. Anyone could read this book and get something out of it. In idea, it reminds me of the Chicken Soup series, but I enjoyed how it only focused on teenage girls and the struggles that they face. Excellent Read! Get it today!
Rating:
Summary: Widen The Search
Review: 'Ophelia Speaks : Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self' is an essential addition to the vital library focused on teenage personal development. I gave Sara Shandler's book to my daughter and suggested that while she was searching for self, she might also look for her homework sheets, the four overdue library books I've been ordered to pay for, the banana skin I'd seen in her closet two months ago, the family cat last heard meowing under a mountain of crumpled jeans on her floor and her best friend, Marsha Pippens, missing, presumed piled, since last Saturday's sleepover.
Rating:
Summary: The Help Teenage Girls Need
Review: Before I read this book I was convinced that no one else in the world felt like I did, which was unhappy and afraid. However after hearing the stories of girls whose lives were much more horrible than mine,I began to realize that things were not so bad and started to heal. Every mother or grandmother should give this book to her daughter.
Rating: 
Summary: Ophelia may have spoken, but what about the others?
Review: I read this book on a suggestion from a friend, before I read "Reviving Ophelia", because she wanted to see if I would be as dissapointed with it as she was. I was more so. While there are some outstanding essays in this collection, the bias of the editor clearly stands out. There is no one for the outcasts to relate to. There was no musician, nor was there anyone that dealt with an alternative religion. There were no essays from people who had a different relationship with their parents than she had. The sections are poorly named and divided. All in all, it is an unworthy book to be associated with the original. Some girls it may "make feel less alone", but for me it only accentuated the differences. Definately take out from the library before you buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Another Book for (mid-late) Teen Girls
Review: If you are looking for a book that will empower you as a young woman, try Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me proud to be a woman. I recommend this book to any woman who is sexual, wants to be sexual, or is just tired of getting crap for having a vagina.
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