Clea Hantman

Reviewed by Katie Hayes for TeensReadToo.com

A breakup can seem like the end of the world to a teenage girl. Clea Hantman, author of the new book 30 DAYS TO GETTING OVER THE DORK YOU USED TO CALL YOUR BOYFRIEND, realizes this and treats her readers with sensitivity. But along with offering some advice and perspective, Hantman also offers a lot of fun.

When you're mourning the loss of a relationship, she writes, you go through the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The book is divided into parts based on these five stages, and for each of the thirty days, she offers an activity.

At first these activities include things like putting all reminders of “the dork” in a box and writing down all the things that were wrong with him, but eventually they move on to things like exercising, volunteering, even feng shui. Every day also has a song that's relevant to that day's activity and is, usually, pretty cool. (I made some additions to my iTunes after reading this book!)

The book is also sprinkled with pop culture references that teenagers can relate to and concludes with the lists, “Girls Who Have Dumped with Aplomb,” “Girls Who Have Been More Famously Dumped Than You (And Lived to Tell!),” “Movies About Being Dumped,” “More Break-Up Songs,” and “Books About the Ups, Downs, and In-Betweens of Relationships.”

I don't know how effective this book would be for getting over a serious relationship that lasted for years, but I think it provides a lot of guidance and sympathy for most teenage girls dealing with breakups. For everyone else it will, at the very least, provide a smile.… (más)

Reviewed by LaLeesha Haynes for TeensReadToo.com

Clea Hantman has created a short handbook that discusses the basics of being and finding great friends.

Although the information in the book is very useful, and could be a lifesaver for a young woman who is having difficulty understanding true friendship, it does read a bit like a textbook for friendship. I was hoping for more personal stories of friends found and lost, but the book focuses on rules and codes for friendship.

My favorite chapter discusses An Astute Amigo, the importance of surrounding yourself with people who may be smarter than you and talking about things that matter. This is sound advice, and young women sometimes need to hear the importance of surrounding yourself with good people who challenge you.

Two other aspects of this book are the songs of the day and activities that the writer suggests to help the readers with their quest to find a worthy BFF. I really enjoy the songs the writer suggests as a way to see another perspective of friendship, but I do worry that they are a little outdated for the intended audience - only because some of them are my favorites, too.

The activities that are included in the book are also a great idea. They suggest goal setting, soul searching, and creative crafting. All of these ideas are great ways to get young women to think about the future and express themselves in a new and different way.

If the reader can get past the strong how-to nature of this book, it can be a very good guide to friendship.… (más)