Growing up Female

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up The process described by the title has never been more complex or more challenging. Unfortunately, although the facts presented here are accurate and current, Smith has opted for caution rather than confrontation. Following a brief historical survey of American womanhood is an outline of a number of contemporary concerns (lifestyle choices, coping with relationships). Discursive passages alternate with illustrative first-person profiles. Some of the subjects are celebrities such as Kim Carnes and Billie Jean King; others are less well known. Two questionnaires for self appraisal are also included. The problem with this book lies not in what is presented but in what is left out. Where, except for the celebrities, are the minority women? Women in trades? Older women? Handicapped women? Gay women? Smith's timidity on contraception (the text gives the impression that the choice of skirt length or eyeliner is as important as the choice of a contraceptive method) is startling after the horrifying statistics she presents on teen pregnancy. Equally startling is the complete omission of any reference to AIDS, drug abuse, or smoking, all important health decisions for contemporary young women. The black-and-white photographs are static, and the pink cover is a bit much. Laudable intent, but very incomplete follow-through, hampered by a textbookish appearance. Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Pub . Lib . , B.C., Can .