Review by Booklist Review
Simmons' Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls (2002) made the New York Times best-seller list with its groundbreaking look at adolescent female bullies and victims (and the adults who look the other way). Teens got their say in the follow-up Odd Girl Speaks Out (2004), which collected young people's first-person accounts. In her latest title, Simmons switches focus from bullies to well-behaved kids in a study of what being a good girl means in contemporary society. With her usual blend of astute observation, well-integrated research, and compelling anecdotes, Simmons looks at how societal expectations for young women both guide and curtail their development. With sharp, direct insight, she show how perfectionism, distorted thinking, and fear of speaking out all erode girls' sense of themselves, and she offers plenty of practical tips for parents and other adults charged with helping girls grow up and into themselves. Pair this invaluable title with Liz Funk's Supergirls Speak Out: Inside the Secret Crisis of Overachieving Girls (2009).--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this volume for parents of middle-school daughters, the author of Odd Girl Out observes that girls today still pressure themselves to conform to the old, narrow paradigm of a nice, people-pleasing, rule-following, even-tempered, socially acceptable good girl, shunning the image of a rebellious, proud, socially outrE, in-charge, outspoken bad girl. To dispel the curse of the good girl, and despite using those familiar, easily misconstrued labels as a touchstone, Girls Leadership Institute founder Simmons offers instructive tales out of school and workshops, revealing that flawed communication rituals and fear of confrontation contribute equally to a girl's belief that it is more important to be liked than to be an individual. In order to become a successful, well-adjusted "real girl," she needs to know how to say no to peers, ask for what she needs and express what she thinks. In the second half of this book, parents will find concrete strategies and tools-confidence-building exercises that emphasize emotional intelligence, self-evaluations, q&a's, scripts and lots of first-person stories-to help guide a girl's growth into a young woman who can respect and listen to her inner voice, say what she feels and thinks, embrace her limits and present an authentic self to the world. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Simmons, the best-selling author of the acclaimed Odd Girl Out, offers another spot-on cultural critique, this time arguing that girls are developing external resumes but not conflict-resolution skills. As a result, they are ill-prepared in their personal relationships and for the workforce. Techniques such as crying and saying "sorry" to restore the status quo terminate meaningful conversation and become a substitute for honest conversation. "Good girls" grow into women who stagnate in middle management, doing the work of others to "be nice" or going the extra mile, but missing out on the out of office networking, where much professional advancement occurs. Buy in quantity; another huge contribution by Simmons.-Julianne J. Smith, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
