California School Counselor - Summer 2008 - (Page 14)

Book Review By Bruce Langedyke CASC Assistant Editor that matter, oﬀers a means to foster discussion and to oﬀer them an avenue to explore issues of importance and to, in fact, gain a unique strong voice. Although this marvelous book is written somewhat as a curriculum guide targeted to teachers complete with lesson plans, it certainly would be an excellent tool for middle school and high school counselors searching for eﬀective and pertinent guidance lesson material. At the least, counselors need to read this book to ﬁnd out about the realities of their clients’ lives. Wading into the ﬁrst chapter for this reviewer was an experience of culture shock. This is what life is like for girls 10-16 years of age? Girls, who at 11 or 12 speak up with honesty about their thoughts and feelings, but then learn to silence themselves and lose their sense of self? They may react to messages from adults and media by withdrawing, dismissing their passions “at great cost to themselves.” Some rebel and engage in risky behaviors; others respond to unrealistic expectations by becoming anorexic or by self-mutilation. Even those who do not engage in such acting out experience anguish, seething beneath the normal surface appearance. Reviewing the current literature, the authors conclude, “The writings conﬁrm Pipher’s portraits of girls as people who are undergoing tremendous pressures and traumatic experiences, rarely having the opportunity to talk about what is happening and terriﬁed of being reviled if they do.” [Pipher is the author of Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (1994).] What greater incentive would school counselors need to oﬀer to girls (or to boys for that matter)—an invitation to real, honest, safe conversation about actual experiences and pains? The approach described in this book may not be readily translated into a pattern that would work for counselors, although in conjunction with English teachers it could be a terriﬁc collaborative idea. What is striking and provocative about the message is that young people need opportunities to encounter adults with whom they can share qualitatively distinct and authentic communication of the sort that counselors should be able to deliver. Young people do not need counselors with whom they interact like ships passing in the night, who are part of the same media/adult world system of pressures that aﬄicts them in the ﬁrst place. In addition to the communication skills that counselors employ, they can set up structures and avenues inside the school and outside the box to provide for the opportunities students need. These English teachers have—in their use of young adult literature—one terriﬁc model to emulate. Some comments are called for on chapters two and three of this book. Chapter 2 is entitled “How to Use Literature to Explore Adolescent Girl’s Developmental Issues.” It contains valuable hints on how to select sources that feature the young female as the protagonist, that illustrate forces that limit a girl’s choices, that show the girl’s struggle against these forces, and that has the girl successful in deﬁ ning herself by the end of the book. Chapter 3 presents samples of young adult literature and how it can help girls to confront issues such as self-expression versus self-suppression, sexuality, substance abuse, self-mutilation, and sexual abuse. While reading this thoroughly fascinating book, one’s eyes are drawn repeatedly, of all things, to the cover. It is the photo of a young girl whose beautiful and feisty face is simply captivating. This photo captures the tone and mood of this book perfectly. The authors state at the end, “We hope that this book has provided ideas about how you can help. Our girls are worth the eﬀort.” They have produced a wonderful blueprint for one way to accomplish what parents and adults want for all of our daughters—to become fantastic females. ■ Discovering Their Voices: Engaging Adolescent Girls with Young Adult Literature (2007) Author: Marsha M. Sprague and Kara K. Keeling Publisher: International Reading Association “Adolescent girls suﬀer deeply.” This is the premise of a book written by two English teachers who share the view that girls in the United States are in danger. The pressures surrounding girls in this society work to suppress the development of an authentic, individual voice. They state, “These pressures include societal expectations, the role and inﬂuence of adults, inﬂuence of male and female peers, the pressure to look pretty, and physical and emotional changes that are a crucial part of adolescence.” These authors believe that the use of powerful young adult literature (YA) with girls, and with boys as well for 14 The California School Counselor | summer 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of California School Counselor - Summer 2008

California School Counselor - Summer 2008 Contents Presidential Perspectives Jackie’s Jottings Executive Director’s Report Cyberbullying and Equal Access Northern California Conference Highlights Book Review Making a Difference One Family at a Time An AB 1802 Success Story Legislative Update CASC Members Honor Assemblywoman Linda Sanchez Pics, Clicks and Technics Calendar Index to Advertisers

California School Counselor - Summer 2008

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