Deal With It!

Subtitled 'a hot new approach to your body, brain and life as a girl' this large format paperback with its shocking pink, die cut double cover that opens to reveal a girl flashing you (although modestly wearing bra and pants), breaks new ground with its stunning, in your face design, and in its generous coverage of every aspect of female adolescence - from body changes and sexuality to issues of individuation and difference. Along the way, the book also takes in relationships, self destructive behaviours, drugs, family conflicts, depression and more. Neat design devices throughout the book help to make information accessible while the tone is direct, sensitive, unpatronising and often humorous.

This book has its genesis in the authors' website (gURL.com) which they began as a school project in 1996. Perhaps this helps to explain the directness and modernity of their approach. They include commentary from teenage girls on their site and this serves to normalise the diversity of experience girls have - the chat room comes to life on the page! American in origin, the book has been prepared for the UK market with listings of UK organisations and resources for further help. This is mostly well done if a bit thin in some sections. All in all, this is an excellent users' manual and one that is so invitingly put together I can even imagine girls buying it for themselves...