WE ARE MORE THAN BEAUTIFUL

This attractive book may stimulate discussion but ultimately lacks depth. Girls of varying shapes, sizes, ethnic backgrounds and personal interests contributed essays about what beauty means to them. Although the voices are authentic, the essays are not much more than a brief, often treacly overview of what each subject finds beautiful. As an example, one optimistic if unrealistic contributor tells the reader, “I am blind to race, religion, gender, shape, and size.” Nowhere are standards of beauty addressed in a separate essay or letter to the reader, so there are few comparison points that readers can use to see how the contributors formed their views of what is beautiful. The final pages are a glossary-style “ABCs of Feeling Beautiful,” which encourage girls to “focus on the positive” and use “media smarts.” The short length, colorful layout, different font styles and sizes and mix of black-and-white and color photography may entice reluctant readers to pick up this book. The question remains, however, whether they will engage in it intellectually and strive to make changes in how they view beauty, as the author seems to want them to do. (Nonfiction. YA)