Discovery Girls - Fab Girls Guide Book Series

We were very excited that our review team was approached by Discovery Girls to review their new book series titled, “Fab Girls Guide.” There were 4 guide books and we each took a look.

Discovery Girls already publishes a magazine created by girls, for girls ages 8 and up. For each issue they travel to a different state and work with 12 girls who act as the editorial board. Those girls get to make critical decisions regarding the magazine’s content, write articles and even appear in the issue.

As their readership has grown, they have developed this book series to tackle the situations every young girl will find themselves in as they mature. The “Fab Girls” guides sell for $9.95 each and are available for purchase on their site.

Guide to Getting Your Questions Answered

Discovery Girls compiled a lot of the letters they receive that are written to Ali, the magazines advice columnist, into a book called Getting Your Questions Answered. It is broken down into six chapters - friends, family, boys, school, body issues/growing up and self-esteem and tough stuff. The questions are pretty straight-forward but a little redundant in tone, which suggests they were written by the same person.

The way the questions are answered is fabulous! I love that they break down questions and acknowledge everything that is going on in the situation, not just specifically what is being asked. The content is wholesome and an easy read for this age group. They deal with everything from boy crazy friends to peer pressure to coping with the death of a parent. Each answer is positive and offers good advice that I believe parents would agree with if girls asked them the same thing.

Although their were plenty of letters regarding body image and self-esteem, I would like to see more on puberty and development, as this fuels many of the issues girls this age face.

by Emily

Guide to Friendship Hardship

It’s a small book with lots of graphics, exclamation points, and quizzes. Ever the skeptic on anything marketing towards pre-teen girls, I approached this book with caution. The Fab Girls Guide to Friendship Hardship totally won me over though. I wished I had been able to use it as a resource when I hit middle school with all the grace and finesse of a 300 pound ice skater.

My stepdaughter has entered middle school far more gracefully than I did. She is in the sixth grade and told me that cliques are starting to form, but they aren’t completely closed yet. I thought that even being able to realize that was pretty insightful for someone her age.

I shared the book with her, and in turn, she shared her thoughts with me. She noticed that the recommended age for the book was 8 and up. She disagreed with that and said that it really was more of a middle school book, so she recommended ages 11-14.

The examples they used were realistic, and she said that she liked the two characters that serve as the guides through this series were pretty cool. She also said that it was “good that it showed multiple perspectives,” meaning the book explained how to break up with a poisonous friend, but it also explained how to handle having a friend break up with you as well.

Both she and I agree that this is a really good book with valuable information on changing relationships as one moves into adolescence. She probably won’t be very surprised to find the other three books under the Christmas tree from me this year.

by Canape

Guide to Getting Through Tough Times

I was recently sent the Fab Girls Guide to Getting Through Tough Times to review. It is a compilation of stories written by girls for other girls, centering on the middle school ages and some of the typical situations that girls in that age bracket may face. The book is made up of excerpts from the magazine written by girls aged 8 and up and topics covered include: friendship issues, family hardship, loss and overcoming dark times.

I thought the book was a good overview of some of the situations a girl may find herself in, though by no means exhaustive. It demonstrated not only how to get through situations over which you have no control, but also how to take responsibility for your actions when it comes to things you might have done wrong yourself.

Not all the girls were pictured since some of the stories were anonymous, but of the 13 pictured one was Muslim with a head wrap, one was Asian and the rest were Caucasian. Not one African American girl was pictured (unless the Muslim girl was, but it was not apparent from her picture), and none of the girls appeared to be Latina in any way. Both of the Fab Girls, who introduce the book and provide occasional commentary, are also Caucasian.

Fab Girls Guide to Getting Through Tough Times has some valuable information about weathering the storm when life gets difficult, particularly when dealing with friendship issues, but it may not be reachable to some of its intended audience.

by Mary

Guide to Sticky Situations

I loved it the Guide to Sticky Situations! Actually, I should say my almost 7 year old loved it, or I guess she did because she begged me to read it every night after dinner. In high court fashion I would read about the girl who didn’t get invited to the birthday party, or the girl who farted in class, or the girl who had chocolate that looked like poop on her shorts. Then we would read the fairly solid and hip advice of the Fab Girls Guide. The whole family would chime in on what they would do and if they knew someone who had faced a similar situation.

My daughter is highly suspicious of commercialism (wonder where she got that?) and upon initial inspection the book looked too American Girl for her taste. Surprisingly it was a big hit. If nothing else Fab Girls Guide to Sticky Situation was a great conversation started and provided a few evenings of fun family time.

by Bitsy