cover image The Seventeen Guide to Sex and Your Body

The Seventeen Guide to Sex and Your Body

Sabrina Solin, Sabrina Solin Weill. Aladdin Paperbacks, $17 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-689-80796-1

This witty, slang-filled guide to a girl's adolescence supplies answers to all the most perplexing questions. What are the 10 absolute worst reasons to have sex? Should a tampon be worn for intercourse during menstruation? And what's a good response when some obnoxious boy asks, ""Whatsa matter, you on the rag?"" Though packed with information on anatomy, birth control, menstruation and anorexia, the book is never dry. Each chapter begins with excerpts from letters written by Seventeen magazine readers, and the thoroughly practical explanations are punctuated with boxed text debunking common misconceptions: ""Myth: A guy can have such a large penis that it won't fit in a woman's vagina. Truth: He wishes!"" Also included are lists of resources for those with eating disorders and HIV, and a bibliography of books on growing up gay. Solin and Elbirt repeat crucial information several times in different ways to ensure that readers will understand the facts, but they also take time to give hints on hair removal and French kissing--stuff they never seem to cover in health class. Ages 11-up. (Sept.)