Peer Pressure

School Library Journal

Gr 7-12-Focusing on the dangers of premarital sex, drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, this title is about learning to say ``no'' to those temptations despite peer pressure. Readers who have already made their choices will find it either wonderfully reassuring or incredibly righteous. The illustrations reflect both genders and many ethnic groups, but sexist comments appear throughout. The book includes chapters called ``Just for Girls'' and ``Just for Guys,'' but statements like ``Many a girl allows things to start too fast'' reflect an attitude that girls are more responsible for sex than boys. In fact, much of the premarital sex discussion is aimed specifically at females. Superscript numbers throughout the text lead readers to a two-page notes section and appear to lend credibility to the information presented. However, many of those citations are incomplete (no dates, no specific study names). One note says only ``Source Unknown.'' Teens will probably respond more readily to Denise Lang's But Everyone Else Looks So Sure of Themselves (Shoe Tree, 1991) or even Dee Snider and Philip Bashe's Dee Snider's Teenage Survival Guide (Doubleday, 1987).-Dona Weisman, Northeast Texas Library System, Garland