20 $Ecrets to Money & in

A guide to managing money and life for the ""Gen Y woman"" (ages 12-24) is a good idea, but Godfrey's contribution doesn't successfully blend the different elements it introduces. The principles--or, as they are annoyingly labeled throughout the text, ""$ecrets""--are about creating a good attitude: ""Accept Yourself,"" ""Uncover Yourself,"" ""Grow Your Money-Self,"" ""Get Out of Yourself"" and ""Take Care of Yourself."" Transmitting the message that if a young woman learns about herself and finds her voice, she will eventually be successful in her professional life, Godfrey's recommendations (girls should read the business section of the newspaper, learn about investing, create a budget and eventually contribute to charitable organizations) are empowering. Unfortunately, her didactic tone and lack of focus mars the delivery of this commonsense advice. Encouraging women to ""manage your money as carefully as you manage your love life,"" Godfrey suggests ways that young women can exploit their friends (organize a vacation with several girls, overcharge them and profit from the trip; arrange ""power lunches""). She also offers an unwieldy array of contradictory truisms: she admonishes girls to fight crass materialism, yet also to aim to be wealthy enough to buy whatever they desire; they should create a large, diverse community of friends, she says, yet shouldn't worry about being considered weird or unpopular. While the idea of being one of Godfrey's ""DollarDivas"" is appealing, her directives may be emotionally perplexing to the ""indie girls"" she seeks to reach. (Sept.)