The Real Truth About Teens and Sex: From Hooking Up to Friends With Benefits- What Teens Are Thinking, Doing, and Talking About And How to Help Them Make Smart Choices by Sabrina Weill [Penguin Book Publishers, 2005] may be a book with an extremely long title, but it’s a book worth reading for parents of teens.
Ever wonder what’s going on with your teenager sexually? Whether it is virginity, sexual orientation, oral sex, peer pressure, media exposure or other issues you are facing as a parent or educator of a teenager, this book gives the cold hard facts in a direct, no-nonsense manner.
Sabrina Weill: The Author
So just who are we trusting to tell us what’s going on with teens and sex? The book’s author, Sabrina Weill, is a former editor in chief of Seventeen, a founding executive editor of CosmoGirl! and editor of Scholastic’s teen health magazine Choices. Although she is young and not the parent of a teenager herself, she has perhaps a better perspective being closer to teens’ age and gaining their trust, and she has certainly worked among teens for a significant period of time. Also her book is based on the results of a survey of thousands of teens by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, as well as several other significant national surveys, thus supplying a steady stream of statistical information.
The Real Truth About Teens and Sex: Chapters
The table of contents is organized in a series of ten “Truths,” including “Teens Have Secrets About Sex & They Want Adults to Know Them,” “Parents Have A Say in When and How Teens Lose Their Virginity,” and “Sex Ed Is Not at All Like It Used to Be.” The style of the book is casual, yet organized, and relies heavily on teens’ actual comments and responses for information, rather than speculating on their behaviors. Direct quotes from teens help bring the statements in the book home. For example:
“I live in a city where sex is a very big part of everyday life,” says Valerie, 18, from Pennsylvania. “I can honestly say people are shocked to hear me declare my virginity so proudly.”
What Teens are Thinking About Sex: Other Reviews
The Real Truth About Teens and Sex has been well-received in the literary arena, with Time magazine calling it “an unabashed look at teen sexuality in America” [Time magazine September 2005 Bonus Section pg W8] and the Washington Post stating that Weill’s strength is “her lack of condescension to her subjects and her ability to get them to tell her which, of all the things their parents say to them about sex, actually sticks with them.” [Washington Post, October 30, 2005. pg BW05] These are in addition to a tremendous number and quality of other positive publication reviews as well.
If parents or educators are charged with handling the challenging issues surrounding teen sexuality, this book is unequivocally an excellent resource.
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