Bronwen Pardes

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Bronwen Pardes, a sexual-health educator, has put together a truly informative book for teens--both male and female--on sex and sexuality. Using her years of teaching as a background, Ms. Pardes provides information that many teens want to know, but are too embarrassed to ask about.

Subjects include:
What is Sex?
The Lowdown on Down Below: Reproductive Anatomy
Puberty
Am I Ready?
No Glove, No Love: Protecting Against STDs
Planning, Not Parenthood: Birth Control
Doing It Right
Adam and Eve, or Adam and Steve?: Sexual Orientation
Boys Will Be Boys...or Will They?: Transgender and Intersex
DIY: Masturbation
Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
What the Heck Does That Mean?: Some Definitions
Oh is for Orgasm
Rape and Sexual Abuse
Where Can I Go for More Information?: A Resource Guide

This is an informative, highly intelligent look at a teen's changing body, sexuality, and actual physical intimacy. However, it's very frank in language and the information it gives, so parents may want to read DOING IT RIGHT themselves before discussing it with their teens. For fact-based information, though, this is a wonderful guide for those going through adolescence and wondering about what all the changes in their bodies means, and especially for those contemplating having sex for the first time.… (más)

FROM BOOKLIST:
Pardes is an HIV counselor who has led sex-ed classes in middle schools, high schools, and colleges, and she draws on her extensive experience instructing young people in this resource. An empowering, opening chapter sets the tone: "No matter what anyone tells you, what you do with your own body is up to you." Subsequent chapters, which often use a question-and-answer format based on teens' actual queries, delve into sexual anatomy, questions to consider before sex, contraception, safe-sex practices, homosexuality, masturbation, and sexual violence. Throughout, Pardes avoids a heterosexual bias, and her discussion of sexual activity is explicit and inclusive: dildos are briefly mentioned, for example. The facts are up-to-the-minute (there is a paragraph about the new vaccine against HPV), and the language is refreshingly clear, straightforward, and never judgmental. Pardes clearly defines the differences between emergency contraception (Plan B) and abortion pills as well as terms such as transvestite, transgender, and transsexual. Bolstered by excellent resource lists, this title stands out for its comprehensive, open coverage of teens' most urgent questions about sexuality. Gillian Engberg
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