Being a Girl

Great book for teen girls. Full review to come on Goodreads/Amazon. Thanks for the ARC.

Very inclusive book for all types of girls, from all ranges of the spectrum. Gay, Straight, bi, jock, femmie, shy, and assertive. The author deals with the things you need to know about, and the whys, the most important being that this world is tilted towards the male side, and it is not fair. From there, she goes into all things teenage girls need to know from hair, to sex, to peer pressure in between.

Very good book for a teen girls that explains in an easy and funny way what being a girl means, answers the questions that may not be easy to answer and shows girls how to deal with any disadvantages of being a girl they will sadly face one day.

If only I've a book like this while I'm a teenager. Will definitely get a copy for my niece when she reach her teen years.

Frank and quirky look at all aspects of being a teenage girl. Covers all ins and outs from periods, to skin, clothes, friendship in a frank and informative way.
Links provided are for the USA market.

Where was this book when I was a teenager? As a woman in my mid-to-late 30’s with 2 teenage girls, I want this book in a hard copy! It should be required for all teenage girls. It was witty, wickedly humorous, and packed full of information that all girls (and daddy’s of teen girls) should know.

This tell-all book of the hits and misses of life of ANY teenage girl covers many subjects, including sex, menstruation, crushes, body changes and development, bullying, hair and makeup, fashion, identity / gender, and so much more.

Being a girl is not easy business but this book helps young girls to smartly cope with the age and gender challenges. I've found the choice for an illustration book as a good one, as it adds more relevance to the text. It is easy to read, but not an easy reading, with many ideas and tips and wise guidance.

Teenage girls, listen up: This book is just for you (and not adults)!

Ever wish you could get the truth about something without having to ask adults? Do you have questions swirling around your head and keeping you up nights?

This book is your guidebook to life, boys, sex, health, who you are and what’s going on. Consider it the ultimate hack on life.

Have questions about gender identity?

Hayley’s got answers and she tells you the truth.

Wonder about whether you’re a boy or a girl (gender identity)?

Hayley can help.

Got questions about sex?

Hayley’s got you covered.

I’m a woman in my forties and I wish I had this book when I was a teenager. I was confused about so many things and I was so afraid to ask an adult. If I had Hayley in my corner, I sure wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.

The order of cat was my favorite and I’m determined to unleash my inner lioness.

A note to the adults: Have a teenage girl in your life? Get her this book! It’s brilliantly-written and an excellent resource for young women. Hayley is a former teacher and she strives to reach teens with the truth about all things physical/emotional but in a fun interactive way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for giving me a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.



Favorite Quote:

“Being a girl is something worth celebrating. It means you’re young and exciting and packed with possibilities.”



My Rating: 5+ stars

I clicked on this thinking of my 12 year old niece. Wow - where was this book when I was a pre-teen? My mother died when I was 10 and I had to navigate puberty by myself since I was only left with a middle aged dad and a baby brother. I got my period on a Saturday and had to wait until Monday to talk to a female. Puberty was hell to say the very least. This book would have given me an ally and the vocabulary to know what was happening. Kudos to the author of this book. She seems to genuinely understand teens and obviously cares about her students.

This book should be helpful to teen girls. I wish it had been around when I was a teen!

This is a super informative book/guide for teen and preteen girls. Its very funny and explains things in simple terms. Wish I had something like this when I was younger!

“Oceans are wet and deserts are dry and we are girls living in a world dominated by men.”

Guys, do not be scared. This is a boy-friendly book (kind of). I mean, you probably won’t care for the detailed explanation of a menstrual cycle, but this is in no way a “man-hating” book. It’s a book for people. And more importantly, it’s a guide for young girls to realize that just like everyone else, you are different but will face many, if not all of the same challenges.

In simple terms and a comedic voice that anyone can appreciate, Hayley Long discusses everything from gender roles and power imbalance to everyday sexism and empowerment. Not to mention peer pressure, puberty, and periods. And sex.

I was only a couple of pages in when I started laughing at this: “Male bodies are weird. I’m not being rude. I’m being factual.” Literally same. You know a book will be entertaining when a penis is described as a “peculiar apparatus”.

I also liked that there were hotline numbers and websites listed for further information/help regarding personal things.

In my opinion, the most important topics discussed were confidence and personal choices. Confidence because, let’s face it, we are all lionesses inside. I do not want to be that stray alley cat forever. Confidence really is key. And personal choices because sometimes we all forget that putting on makeup or removing our body hair should be done to please ourselves first. Not for the acceptance of others. And then we come back to the whole be-confident-in-yourself thing. It’s important, “because there are a thousand ways for being a girl”.

Where was this book when I was younger? Seriously. This should be mandatory reading material for all girls who are about to enter middle school or high school. I’d even go as far as elementary school, but we have to consider the explicit language and content being discussed. Actually, I’m pretty sure I would have totally loved this book at even 10-years-old. #GirlPower

This book is great for a younger audience :) It is informative about everything that is going on in their life, like getting a period and dealing with bullying. The drawings were cute and if you get her sense of humor, I bet it will be a very funny story too.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review:

Being a girl can be really neat and fun! But it’s not always perfect, because us girls have to put up with a lot, between periods, beauty expectations, and ultimately living in a man’s world. Still, that doesn’t mean we have to go through it alone!

This was honestly such a cute read. Being a Girl is a comprehensive guide for any girl in their teens--and even older!--that covers a wide range of topics, from beauty to peer pressure to dating and more. Hayley Long's voice is full of humor and all the girl-supporting vibes as she guides the reader through all of these different aspects of girlhood, while Gemma Correll provides charming and quirky illustrations. But there’s also an inner feminist strength in this book as Hayley frequently brings up the fact that society is so often to blame for the pressures and expectations placed on us...and she reminds us that we don’t have to put up with it if we really don’t want to! (*fist pump* Yeah!) She also encourages her readers to find their inner lioness to stand up and be a good example for women--that is, being a good person, showing confidence, and being above cattiness and being mean to other women. As a feminist myself, I really appreciated this, along with the section at the beginning of this book titled “Herstory,” which goes into more detail on women’s history and the not-so-great realities of living in a man’s world: AKA: the patriarchy. Also, I loved the chapter that lists different types of girls as different types of cats. Super amusing, and we definitely need more content like this.

While overall I found this such a fun read and I really appreciate that there's a graphic novel completely dedicated to girls, a lot of this book felt very much like a typical teen magazine/self-help guide to puberty. That’s what I get for being overly excited and not reading the full description, I guess! I was hoping this would be about celebrating girlhood overall, filled with lots of female empowerment and positivity. Not that it doesn’t still include some of that! Still, it wasn’t even just that this book was heavy on the girly-girl and puberty aspect. There were moments where I felt it was a bit too squeaky clean and lecture-y. It started on the talk about peer pressure when the author started laying on the anti-drugs and alcohol talk a little too thick, listing a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t smoke and how anyone who smokes is insane and how drinking until you puke isn’t cool. I don’t personally drink or smoke either, but this still made me feel like I was back in my 7th grade health class. It’s totally fine to try to dissuade teens from drinking and smoking as much as you can, to an extent, but it should also be said that that’s sometimes just a part of peoples’ lifestyle. Is it healthy or glamorous? No. But it is what it is, and it definitely does not make you the better person by putting down others who like to have fun and go out drinking. That’s the opposite of supporting women! With this, there are other times when the author passes judgement, like saying girls should't wear too-large clothing or shave their arms or have hickeys if they want to stay classy, and these seemed to turned me off a bit.

For the most part, Being a Girl is a fun, lighthearted read, filled with helpful information and advice, and complemented with adorable illustrations and flow charts to help its readers navigate the waters of being a girl. And maybe with the few concerns I've mentioned I'm just overly sensitive. Maybe I'm being too much of a feminist and this book is only meant to be a gentle beginner's guide for those just entering girlhood. Still, I think it's important to be aware of these criticisms and to not take necessarily everything in this book to heart. Because while the author makes disclaimers like, Of course, you can technically do what you want there are still moments where she seems to contradict herself, and judgements are passed. For all it's worth, I think this is a pretty swell guide to girlhood, but I still think it's worth saying that there is more than one way to be a girl: whether you're a girl who likes to go out for a drink and a smoke or a girl who likes staying inside reading; whether you're a girl who likes slim sweaters and leggings or a girl who rocks it out in sort skirts and crop tops. Whatever your style, whatever your grace, it's cool to be a girl, and we all gotta stick together!

Read this with your daughters. Share with friends. Gets conversations started. Liked the flow of the book and the insight to each topic. Recommend reading. Entertaining and insightful. Really like this book.

I wish I had had this book when I was 13. 13 years later this was more of a fun read, and there were things I laughed at because I remembered how I felt about them as a teen. I would recommend this to any girl just reaching their teen years as it is a fun yet very informative book about teen life. It even deals with quite heavy matters in a good and non-judgmental way. Well written and even fun for us that have survived our teen years.

Overall, I loved 'Being a Girl'. Gemma Correll's illustrations are adorable, and Hayley Long's witty quips make you laugh even when she's talking about very serious topics, and I loved learning about different female figures in history (such as Sybil Ludington, Carli Lloyd and Mary Edwards Walker) - it's so true that women's contribution to history is often overwritten!
I wish this book had been around when I was a teenager (saying that at the ripe old age of 20, alas!) because I genuinely think it would have imbued me with more confidence and diminished the sense of unconquerable dread that lasted throughout my secondary school experience.
If you are a teenage girl, read this book and pay attention to the advice Hayley gives you. There's no need to be mean to each other!

Being a girl is tough! I remember when I was a teenager my dad got me a book about teenage girls. I wish it would have been more like this one! it was so much reading this!

This is a great book. Good concept and something a lot of girls need.

This book has a lot of great and pragmatic advice for tween and younger teen girls. Advice about life, about puberty, about their body being theirs, advice about hygiene and about friends and boys and being straight or lesbian or unsure or embarrassed not to even know how to express some of their feelings about who they are. Hayley Long handles these subjects with panache. We can only hope that our daughters will read this book if it's given them. The graphic illustrations may appeal to girls who like comics and graphic novels. And a lot of this book is simply riotously funny. It's certainly a book I would have devoured at age thirteen.

It takes you down the memory lane and makes you remember all the things you went through in your teenage years.
I have got only one thing to say about the book: Its fun.

This book is great - witty, funny full of good and honest information that a girl really does need to hear at this time of their life - I wish I had a book like that when I was that age, it really is one of the toughest times you go through and this books shows you, you aren't alone, the other girls probably feel the same and it isn't all fashion and image that counts in the long run, every body is different and you are all going to go through the same thing - it covers everything from family relationships to sex and sexuality - 5 stars from me