Am I Weird or Is This Normal? Advice and Info to Get Teens in the Know

Rating:
Summary: what teens already know - and how to talk to their folks
Review: Wow, is this book important! This book is an unusual mix of frank talk about what teens already know - from the media and their own experience - and advice on how to trust themselves to respect themselves and share their lives with their folks. Most books for teens assume kids' 'innocence' by suggesting they don't need to understand what's already going on with them. This book is the first one I've ever read that deals with the awful problem most teens have: the exposure to sex and drugs and more they can't escape (and their own growing hormones!), the desire to fit in with their friends and what they view to be 'normal' behavior, and the need to find themselves and be true to who they really are.
It encourages teens to talk with their parents and other adults, and sure gave my folks valuable insight into the things I'm wrestling with. When my folks 'borrowed' my copy, we started to have some important conversations about important stuff. Instead of lectures, or being to scared to talk about things, they're now getting a picture of what I'm going through and know I really do want their help.

Rating:
Summary: What moms need to know...
Review: Yes, it's difficult to face it, but my daughter's growing up. I don't want her to do drugs, have sex, develop an eating disorder. I'd rather she stay innocent and pure - and that the world would let her develop at her own, leisurely, sweet pace.
But in the meantime, there's the real world of Britney Spears getting more pumped up daily (and my daughter being fed pictures of her as if she's 'real'), assaults on her sense of trusting in her own timing when it comes to sex with tv shows and magazines acting as if she's backward if she doesn't 'hook up.' So my thinking is this: information is power. The more she knows, the less likely she is to be pushed into doing what she isn't ready for or doesn't want to do.
AND THIS BOOK REALLY GIVES THE FACTS SO SHE CAN MAKE HER OWN CHOICES!
I read it. She read it. Her guy friends read it. Her father read it. And we've been talking about it ever since. Not bad for a book. Not bad, indeed. I highly recommend this book - and an open-mind and open ears for listening - I surely learned a lot!