The Looks Book: A Whole New Approach to Beauty, Body Image, and Style

From the creators of the teen website gURL.com and the authors of the national bestseller Deal With It! comes this chirpily upbeat sophomore effort (""a three-part investigation into how looks affect our lives-and how we can take beauty into our own hands"") that will undoubtedly appeal to style- and looks-obsessed adolescents and tweens. An impressive amount of information is crammed into these whimsically art-directed and sometimes busy pages: there's history (fashion through the ages) anatomy (body types and body parts), psychology (body image) and even comedy (the plentiful cartoons that poke gentle fun at female body obsession). Everything from nose jobs to breast size to pubic hair gets discussed in a non-threatening and usually bubbly way (Christianity put the ""official kibosh"" on makeup; ""boobs are pretty great"" whatever their size). There are, of course, the requisite celebrity references; here they're most effectively used to illustrate different fashion types: there's Grace Kelly as Ice Queen, Jennifer Lopez as Diva, Mae West as Goddess and Venus and Serena Williams as Power Jocks (accompanying illustrations deconstruct their looks). While frothy fashion and beauty factoids abound, the basic message of empowerment-that girls should be happy with their inner and outer selves-is presented here with intelligence and humor.