The Notebook Girls

As four best friends start attending Stuyvesant high school in New York, they start recording the happenings of their daily life - their thoughts and feelings - in a notebook. The notebook is passed from girl to girl, and serves as a way for the girls to stay in touch with each other in the chaos of high school. At the time they were writing the notebook, the girls had no idea that they would go on to publish the chronicles of their high school years for girls across America to read. As far as they knew, the only people that ever read the notebook were the four of them. In this way, the notebook offers a true look into the minds and hearts of four teen girls from New York.

Its the truth and honesty of this notebook that really strikes me. From the silly doodles in the margin to the comments they leave on each others entries, I can really see their friendship grow and evolve over time. I love that through all the tough times they have, the four girls manage to stick together and help each other make it through.

In the beginning, before I really got to know each of the four girls, some of the entries were confusing. I had to keep flipping to the pictures of the four girls in the back to help keep them straight. But about a third of the way through the book, I began to see each of the girls really as their own person, and I almost felt like I was a part of their tight-knit group of friends.

Sometimes their entries center on controversial topics such as sex, drugs, and alcohol. But seeing the raw and uncut version of the notebook is what makes it great. The girls discuss these topics in the notebook like they would at a late night sleepover, posing questions and describing their thoughts in a way that most teens will be able to relate to. Sexual innuendoes abound, as well as descriptions of their experiences with various illegal substances at parties.

I highly recommend this book for teenagers, it will give you a sense that you are not alone. That so many girls are going through the same things that you are. The notebook girls talk about the kind of things you can only discuss with your closest friends.

And for parents, I also recommend reading this book if you want some true insight into the lives of teenagers today. I am by no means implying that the girls who wrote this notebook are representative of all teenagers in America, but their parents really have no idea what is going on in their lives sometimes. And I think thats the case for many parents. When parents read about these girls, they will see that while the girls sometimes made questionable decisions (from the eyes of a parent), the teenage years are all about defining yourself as a person.