Description:
You pick up the phone. Your heart begins to pound and your palms to sweat. You put the phone down. Deep breath. You pick up the phone again, and dial that number. Breathe, breathe, gasp... Sure, dating can be fun. But it can also be nerve-racking, especially that first call, first kiss, or first breakup! No need to feel like a complete idiot, though. With this valuable guide to dating, from the popular Complete Idiot's Guide series, teens will learn everything from conversation skills to dealing with rejection to making decisions about sex. Author Susan Rabens's upbeat yet sensitive tone makes these sometimes confusing topics a lot more approachable. Four sections ("The Playing Field," "The Dating Game," "Training for the Dating Game: Your Behavior Is You," and "Advanced Plays: Love and Sex") are divided into chapters, which in turn are broken down into subchapters. Sidebars with sporty titles (Time Out, Penalty Flag, Record Book, and Instant Replay) provide extra information, anecdotes, statistics, tips, and cautions for the teen dater. Readers can either browse or read the book from cover to cover. The emphasis is on confidence and having a sense of humor, but the guide is thorough in its coverage of anything and everything related to teens and dating, including some more serious issues--pregnancy, STDs, and birth control. Readers will be reassured by the embarrassing and the empowering real-life stories scattered throughout, and by Rabens's mantra: "Dating is relating, and relating is fun." (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter
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