A Girl's Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls

Secret Keeper Girl

by Dannah Gresh, Suzy Weibel

Friends can make or break the life of a tween girl. That’s why bestselling author Dannah Gresh, popular speaker and creator of the Secret Keeper Girl events, and youth educator Suzy Weibel have developed this resource that targets the hearts of tween girls as they grow in and pursue friendships. A Girl's Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls springs from the life and example of Jesus, a tween girl’s true BFF. It helps her explore questions such as Christian moms and dads will be delighted with the biblical grounding and godly guidance that will help protect their daughters in friendships and help them understand what friendship really is.

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Dannah Gresh, a mother/daughter communication coach, has sold well over three quarters of a million copies of her books—including And the Bride Wore White and 2008's best-selling CBA youth book, Lies Young Women Believe (coauthored with Nancy Leigh DeMoss)—making her one of the most successful Christian authors targeting teens and preteens. With the belief that today's culture has been seeking to rob little girls of their innocence, Dannah has been fighting on the front lines to protect them. Her fun line of Secret Keeper Girl mom/preteen daughter connecting resources and live events that tour the country provide moms with just the right tools to fight back. She has long been at the forefront of the movement to encourage both tweens and teens to pursue purity and is often called upon to defend the conservative position of abstinence in national news media like USA Today, Time, Chicago Tribune, and Women's Wear Daily. She is also a frequent contributor to FamilyLife Today, Midday Connection, and Focus on the Family. Dannah lives in State College, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bob, and their children, Robby, Lexi, and Autumn, whom the family adopted from China in 2007. She and her husband founded Grace Prep, a new model in Christian high school education, which Bob administrates. She is shamelessly in love with her labradoodle, Stormie. (DannahGresh.com)

Reviews

[Lisa Faircloth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good mother-daughter discipleship book. It was a little on the young side for my 12-year-old, but I expected that. I do get peeved when books geared toward adolescents use trite language and slang in an effort to seem cool. That just just seems desperate and cheap to me, because such expressions never look good in literature or sound pleasant when read aloud. However, the heart behind this ministry is 100% and the work they do is wonderful. This book sparked great discussion between me and my daughter and I look forward to reading the others. I will probably do this study with my niece as well.

[Jennifer Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loved the book but thought some of these activities were a bit silly, but she’s turning 13 next month. Some of the concepts were great review. I think it's great to work together and discuss. Since we homeschool, these issues may not all come up as soon as kids who attend school. I want my girls to be prepared and I want them to handle it in a godly way. I want them to be salt and light and the example to friends. This book helps in practical ways. Great companion to the Mom's guide.

[Karen Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good resources for parents of teenage girls. It gives great ideas of how to explore topics of interest from mean girls to best friends.
Great gift for the holidays.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read before choosing to give as a gift to a grandchild. Some advice and some thinking about Jesus and what he would say or have done. The book has meditations, things to think about, references to Jesus and his followers, what the reader should think about before acting and doing. And puzzles and activities included to work through.

[Chelsea Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my 8 year old daughter. It had some great takeaways and I liked how it had practical, hands-on activities, but I edited it quite a bit while reading it to her because I didn’t agree with some of the things it confidently put forth.

[Viola Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Gresh's works with caution because I do disagree with her on some theological things. But I thought this was great for my 8-year-old daughter. We read it together so I could discuss things as they came up. The best thing this did for us was give us language - a way to talk about the things that my daughter is going through or will go through in the future. Good resource for us!

Full Review: https://momsmusings.substack.com/i/11...

[Taryn Raulston · Rating 4 out of 5]

The right friends can help a young girl excel and mature into the woman God wants her to be and the wrong friends can bring her down, ruin her family relationships and lead to a lifetime of hurt and bad choices.

As a mother of 3 girls - I want to encourage my daughters to not only choose good friends, but also know how to be a good friend.

The upcoming book, A Girl's Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls by Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel and the companion guide Talking with your Daughter about Best Friends and Mean Girls are wonderful resources for moms and daughters to have open communication about friendship.

A Girl's Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls is the next book in the Secret Keeper Girl Series and is an easy, fun read designed for girls ages 8-12. It's followed by a Bible study that is interactive, fun and perfect for personal or small group use. I especially liked how the book used examples from the life of Jesus when explaining how to deal with different friendship encounters, pointing to Jesus as the ultimate example for every area of life.
However, I do wish the gospel was more clearly explained. Pointing girls to the facts that we are all sinners and are saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ has to be the foundational relationship for understanding how to approach any other relationships.

Talking with Daughter about Best Friends and Mean Girls is a book designed for moms who want to be intentional in talking with their daughters about friendships.This mom companion guide, with 8 fun dates, is full of specifics for moms who are unsure of how/need a creative way to start the conversation. Although I can have candid conversations about anything with my girls without creating a whole event around it, I know lots of moms who would appreciate these suggestions on creating opportunities to get the point across.
Whether you use the date suggestions or not, make sure to take advantage of any opportunity to build trust and have open communication with your daughters about being a friend like Jesus.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read through it myself and am going to purchase a copy for my daughter. Would make a great group study!

[Bianca]

the book was ok and a good guide