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 Solin Weill

Overview

A top editor at major teen magazines for more than a decade, Sabrina Weill has earned the trust of millions of teens across the country. Through thousands of letters, e-mails, and interviews, and now in an exclusive nationwide survey, teens have confided in her, voicing their questions, fears, and concerns-and providing front-line reports on what really goes on at parties, at school, before parents get home from work, online, and elsewhere.

For the first time, Weill reveals what teens have told her-and offers parents and other concerned adults insights into how to communicate with young people so they'll listen, open up, and think before they act.

Author Biography: Sabrina Weill has served as editor-in-chief, editor, and Sex and Body editor at Seventeen, as well as founding executive editor of CosmoGIRL! and editor of Scholastic's teen health magazine Choices. She is also the author of The Seventeen Guide to Sex and Your Body and We're Not Monsters: Teens Speak Out About Teens in Trouble.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399531989
Publisher:	Perigee Books
Publication date:	09/06/2005
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.36(w) x 9.24(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Editorial Reviews

Scary stories about the sex lives of America's teenagers seem to pop up everywhere. Former Seventeen magazine editor-in-chief Weill seeks to help adults separate fact from fiction and to communicate more effectively about sex with the teens in their lives. Weill stresses how teens need-and actually want-to talk about sex with their parents and other trusted adults. Weill argues that talking to teens about sex does not encourage them to have sex but explains how an ongoing, open, and honest dialogue with teens is the best way to help them make smart choices about sex. Of course, talking to teens about sex is extremely tough (and often embarrassing) for most adults. Throughout the book, Weill includes examples of how to tackle such challenging conversations. Unfortunately these suggested "scripts" are often too wordy and somewhat cheesy. Weill's book is based on the results of a national survey of 1,059 teens ages twelve to seventeen. Weill partnered with The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy to produce the survey. The book covers a wide range of topics including oral sex, sexually transmitted diseases, homosexuality, virginity, peer pressure, and mass media influence. Professionals and those more familiar with the topic will probably find the book most useful for its survey results and quotes from teens. Overall Weill's approach is honest and reassuring, and she offers a fast and informative read for busy parents.

VOYA - Amy Luedtke