The Girls' Guide to Guys

This is another book that should have been published years earlier...perhaps when I was in my teens. Ms. Taylor's guide offers helpful advice and tips with a no-nonsense (but fun!) attitude.

Julie Taylor has written about relationship issues for teens in magazines such as Girl, Sassy, Teen and YM. Her writing style is easily accessible and does not talk down to younger readers at all. The author herself is very accessible: E-mail any questions about guys directly to Julie at [email protected].

The book is nicely organized into logical sections, such as Flirt Alert, Getting Serious and Making the Break. All aspects of today's dating world are covered: from flirting to getting serious, from sex to abstinence, from cyber dating to long distance love.

Even though the book is written in a very lighthearted manner, it tackles very serious issues with both honesty and bluntness. Are you a parent worried about talking to your teen daughter about sex? Buy this book and discuss it with her. It doesn't pull any punches or glamorize sex. At times, it is brutally up front with the risks teens face in today's world.

Although most adults would like to believe that only older teens and women are sexually active, statistics show that many younger girls are experimenting with sex. However, even teens who practice abstinence will find much to recommend them to this book. The first half, in particular, covers the "non-sexual" aspects of dating.

Each chapter ends with a self-help type quiz (very reminiscent of the magazines that Ms. Taylor often writes for) that are a surefire way to get girls thinking about what they've just read. Guys may want to sneak a peek, just to see what's being said about them.