10 ULTIMATE TRUTHS GIRLS SHOULD KNOW

Expanding on the author's popular, titular blog comes this guidebook for teen girls.

Kampakis' book begins with an arresting assertion: “There are two things no one can prepare you for. One is how fun it is to be a girl. The other is how hard it is to be a girl.” The upside includes things like slumber parties with meaty talks, dancing in the kitchen, unfettered squealing with delight...but then there's the darker side: emotional wrestling with mean girls, cliques, teen sexual mores and dealing with social media debacles. While she covers a wide spectrum of teen-girl conundrums, Kampakis doesn't short shrift any, delving in deep with a firm but deftly sensitive resolve, illustrating her points with anecdotes and leavening her message with dashes of humor. She packs the pages with advice on building confidence, creating a “good reputation” (or restoring one), how to be and spot a true friend, creating healthy relationships with teen boys, and developing patience and fostering perseverance. The book reveals the author's strong religious bent, with frequent references to God, quotes from the Bible and invocations of Satan, leaving some passages sounding as if they're written by a hip Sunday school teacher. Miniquizzes and discussion questions invite readers to sort out their feelings and insecurities and home in on their aspirations.

A smart and solidly written guide to life as seen through stained-glass windows.