Everything You Need to Know About Sexual Harassment

School Library Journal

These books have some strengths and some weaknesses. The format--brief texts with important points highlighted and summarized--is very approachable for reluctant readers. The factual information is correct, succinct, and relevant to teens. The books give information on often difficult-to-locate topics. When they stray from presenting uncontested facts into values, motivations, feelings, or any other psychological or emotional ground, however, they have serious problems. The contrived letters, conversations, and true-life situations are brief (to fit the format), so all nuances are ignored. Sensational actions are given no motivation, and readers' empathy is not engaged. In essence, they seem to be presented to shock, to prove a preconceived point, or to send a message. Birth Control and STD are generally strong. Popular forms of birth control (including abstinence) are covered with a chart detailing their effectiveness, safety, mechanics, side effects, and benefits. Lead-in chapters discuss reproductive systems, and concluding chapters mention forms of birth control not advised for teens, explaining that abortions do not prevent pregnancy and thus are not a form of birth control. Occasionally the narrative tone dips into the lecturing range, especially in STD . Teen Motherhood repeats much of the information presented in Hughes' Teen Pregnancy (Rosen, 1988), with a greater emphasis on expenses and the needs of the mother and child. However , the scanty information on child care is simplistic. Sexual Harassment is the most problematic. The real-life situations, which are important in presenting the problem, are too brief to explore the problem in enough depth and too black and white to allow for multifaceted conclusions. After each situation a ``You are the Expert'' test of true/false or multiple choice questions is given. This method of supplying information implies that there is one correct answer, which is not always so. Many important facts are surrounded and obscured by imprecise and cute titles, such as ``The Rambo Type'' or ``The Crowd Pleaser.'' Sexual harassment is too complex a topic to cover in 64 pages. --Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library