What's Happening to My Body? BOOK FOR GIRLS: A Growing Up Guide for Parents and Daughters
by Lynda Madaras, with Area Madaras
Newmarket
ISBN: 1557044449
Age Level: 8-15
304 pages

You can be sure that Lynn Madaras knows what she's talking about: she taught sex and health education to boys and girls for more than 20 years in California schools. And when she wrote the first edition of this book back in 1983, her daughter Area was just 11 years old and had lots of questions about the changes in her own body.

This reassuring book provides thorough information on almost anything you would want to know about the way your body and emotions change as you begin puberty. It's very common to feel confused, weird or even scared when these changes occur, and the best way to put your mind at ease is to get the best, most-honest information about puberty you can.

In the nine chapters here, Madaras serves up straight-talk on sexual organs, menstruation, sexual intercourse and body development. But rather than just listing some scientific-sounding terms, she provides detailed information that addresses such real concerns as body image and dieting, what to expect when you first get your period, how to buy a bra that fits, how to control body odor, how to remove unwanted hair and how to handle romantic and sexual feelings you may be having. This latest edition also contains important information (appropriate for this age group) on eating disorders, AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and birth control.

And perhaps best of all, this book will show you that many people feel the same way you do. Most chapters contain letters from real girls who ask questions or share their personal experiences. A pronunciation guide for important words, and simple black-and-white line drawings will help you get an even clearer understanding of all the subject matter here. A section on Boys and Puberty explains some of the changes boys are going through at this same time, so you can compare and try to understand why they are feeling and acting the way they are.

An extensive, helpful resources section, which directs you to where you can get more information on some of the topics mentioned in the book, is also included.

-      --- Reviewed by Shannon Maughan