Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

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Summary: "A MUST BOOK FOR PARENTS OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS."
Review: I throughly enjoyed this book. I wish I had read this book years ago before my daughters became adolescents. I am sure it would have helped me tremendiously understand how my daughters felt about certain issues and how to deal with situations that arose during their adolescent years. I strongly advise reading this book to anyone who has a daughter or anyone that is involved in the teaching or counseling of young girls.

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Summary: Leaving Ophelia Alone: Selves don't always need to be saved!
Review: Hi! My name is Julia, and I'm 14 years old. The book "Reviving Ophelia" is not at all accurate and make a horrible genaralization about teenage girls. First of all, pre-pubescent girls don't all lose their "selves" in the entry of Junior High. Granted, their self may be swept away in the sudden rush of Junior High, but it's NEVER lost or dying, and rarely in need of saving. I am proud to say that I was not "lost", only confused for a bit. However, my father, who had recently been given the book "Reviving Ophelia" for some holiday, was convinced that as I became curious about my new life that included popularity and ::gasp:: guys, my self was ultimately being lost. This book convinced him that I was a "typical" girl who was completely lost in the process of growing up. When I became upset and depressed due to my sudden "wallflower" identity, he pressed the "Ophelia" steryotype on me because the book said that all girls were like that. I spent a year and a half fighting this disgusting idea and, ultimately, hating him. It saddens me but more importantly, repulses me to think that because of what this book taught, a daughter could be turned against her father. Well, although this book makes a horrible genaralization about teenage girls today, it does provide good reading material. If you look past the fact that if the author had included cases about NORMAL teenagers, then she wouldn't be able to sell many books because people wouldn't be interested in happy, confident girls. The public likes to hear about people being depressed and having problems with sex and drugs, and of wonderful savior therapists saving them. This is why the author included these stories, but these aren't the only stories out there. She uses girls-gone-wrong to explain girlkind today, which is bad judgement. If you buy this book, PLEASE pick up the counter-book, "Ophelia Speaks". "Reviving Ophelia" does tell a good story, granted... but it's nowhere near the whole story. Thanks for listening!

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Summary: Great Book To Read
Review: The book was very good. It showed how girls feel and act during their teen years. I'm 14 years old and I can relate very well to this book. It is hard to feel as if you fit in this world. I have many smart friends and they as if everyone hates them for being so smart. The book is very good to read when you're my age and need guildence. This book helped me realize how the other girls my age feel and that I'm not the only one. The book is very good to read if you want to know how other teen girls feel. We don't like to show too much emotion because that shows other kids that we are either trying to get attention or that we have some family problems. Maybe that is true but many other girls feel differently. I just hope that this does not continue and that girls like me can feel more better at school and at anywhere else.

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Summary: It's true...I never want to be 13 again!
Review: I'm sure every woman can relate to this book in some way, perhaps not as a candidate for a case study, but in some tiny way. I remember feeling the "trapped" sensation as a young adult, when my impression of the life I was "told" to lead by friends and society collided with the reality I "knew" existed. Anyone struggling with an identity crisis may find some answers in this book. This is ideal for young adults and adolesents, but the content is important and should be understood by mothers and fathers alike: don't let your little girl slip into societal obscurity. This book is about breaking a stereotype...the stereotype that has left women crippled in American culture for hundreds of years.

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Summary: This book helped save my daughter's life!
Review: During an extremely difficult time, when my daughter expressed her desire to end her life, we were introduced to this book. We read it together. It helped us to understand some of her feelings and to refocus on the things that were important to her, particularly horse riding. Almost three years later, we are reading it again. She is also reading the book with the stories from other teen girls. Crises seem to come in cycles and this book helps us get back on track. I recommend it for parents of teen and pre-teen girls, and anyone who works with them.

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Summary: What a resorce to use in rearing adolescent girls !
Review: There is so much to say about "Revivng Ophelia", Mary Pipher hits the nail on the head with many of the interviews from young girls. Just where are the girls to go for wisdom when the overwhelming feeling hoovers over their life, like doom. Without a hope there is no hope. Girls need parents to listen, this book gives a tool to advise girls on how to cope with their lost identity. It's time for girls to make a stand for female identity. Girls are a valuable treasure to this worlds success. My only regrets are, I didn't read this book sooner.

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Summary: An excellent resource for families of young girls
Review: I am an education major and have read "Reviving Ophelia" as part of my coursework. This book immediately cuts to the heart of why our young girls suffer the worst years of their lives during adolescence. American culture of the 90s tells them they must be beautiful and thin to be noticed. Mary Pipher, Ph.D., has summed up in 293 pages what I needed to hear back in the 70s when I was a young girl. This book is a true picture of the complex mind, soul and body of an adolescent. My daughter is now 18 years old! How I wish I'd had this book during her middle school years!

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Summary: good yet disappointing
Review: I chose to read this book off of a reading list from my high school psychology class. While I eagerly turned the pages during the first few chapters, I was less interested by the time I neared the end of the book. The author offers insight into the lives of adolescent girls, and she does an excellent job of showing how society, which she refers to as "girl-poisoning", can affect girls at this age. The summaries of her sessions with adolescent girls are informative, yet they become repetitive by the end of the book. Although I feel it is important to help teenage girls who are dealing with depression, eating disorders, a parent's divorce, abuse, harassment, etc, I feel that it is also important to remember that all adolescent girls are NOT like the ones described in this book.

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Summary: An inspiring, and helpful book.
Review: I read this book atthe beginning of my senior year in high school, and although it was one of my slower reads - due to an obvious lack of a storyline - it was nonetheless enjoyable, informative, and enlightening.

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Summary: Excellent and very well done.
Review: Naomi (Vicky) Lovett a Macon State student majoring in Education. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that has any type of connection with adolscent girls. I especially like the way it is set up. The case studies of girls in different situations is excellent. I also like the fact that Dr. Pipher also includes her own adolscent years, as well as her daughter's. I wish I could have read this book before my girls became teenagers. Maybe I would have been able to understand them better, as well as handle their problems differently. Dr. Pipher's accounts of girls dealing with everything from eating disorders, attempting sucides, sexual activities, drinking, taking drugs and even self-mutilations are expertly done. I never would have thought that a book that was assigned as a class project would have held my interest as much as this one did.