100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents

by Elisabeth Henderson, Nancy Armstrong

What does an orgasm feel like? How old do I have to be to buy condoms? Can I get HIV from oral sex? Does alcohol really kill brain cells? What is the G-spot?100 Questions You'd NEVER Ask Your PARENTS answers these and ninety-five other daunting questions that every teen wants answered, but few teens want to ask. In a real voice and a nonjudgmental manner, 100 Questions delivers the answers with an exciting and fun approach, intending to remove both the mystery and the stigma from such "unmentionable" topics."Frank, Informative, Accurate, Fun. This generation's must read book about teen issues."

Genres: Nonfiction, Teen, Self Help

222 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2007

Reviews

[Readersaurus]

Maybe 3.5 stars. Maybe 4.
Henderson was a teacher and these are questions kids hung back after class to ask her.

Excellent qualities of this book: small format, easy to stash unseen in a school bag, brief, one-page answers, emphases on 'you are normal' and 'you do not need to figure these things out alone,' as well as information regarding where to go to get deeper answers or help.

One drawback -- maybe a little fearmongering? Every answer comes around to STDs and life-altering consequences. (Of course, these are real considerations.) Also, too much repetition of the theme 'once you've given someone your virginity, you can't get it back.' It's a positive thing to encourage thoughtful decision making. But what about the concepts that 1) sex is something you experience for yourself, not something you give away and 2) if you decide afterwards that you really weren't ready, you don't have to do it again until you are.

Still and over all, an excellent addition to any library's YA section. Expect to buy more than one copy because it is definitely too embarrassing to bring this to the check out desk.

[Raven (devour-er of books)]

I guess this book is a good start. But there are quite a few issues with it, and most of them stem from being answered too quickly/too vaguely:

- it lacks any real organization, it was as if 100 questions were compiled in any order. It really could’ve benefited from being organized into sections that build off of each other.

- the title is pretty bad. Why wouldn’t you ask your parents some of these questions? Especially the one about eating disorders. I realize that not everyone has supportive and accepting families, but talking with your family (if they are supportive) is healthy, even if it feels weird talking about eating disorders, drugs, or sex

- there are no drawings. Look in a book like this that asks anatomical questions, the least that can be done is providing an image.

- the what are growth hormones question neglected use of hormones for people experiencing gender dysmorphia that would like to transition genders. That’s something that needed to be addressed

- I appreciated that the author discussed the different types of sex (oral, anal, vaginal) but really didn’t discuss mechanics or go into details of safe practices. What use is giving the information if it isn’t going to be a full answer. Furthermore at no point did the author emphasize that both parties should enjoy themselves?!

[Stacy]

Putting it in my middle school daughter’s room now. I like that there’s the contents page with they question for quick reference. Very straight forward and informative. Some questions should have been answered up front before others for clarity.

[Jessie Frith]

This is a useful and fun book to have on hand for health class. I’ve used it when we have spare time at the end of class. I’ll have someone chose a random number between 1-100 and we’ll turn to that question and talk about it. They look forward to it!

[Malia S]

VERY inappropriate

[Avery]

This seemed to be more directed to heterosexual teenage girls. Yes, there was some content directed towards boys, but not nearly as much as girls.

[KelanyLove]

Very informative. Parents should give this book to their teens.

[Pixel Queer]

This is a good book for teens, and young adults who really need answers to very awkward questions to ask to parents.

[Paul Sain]

This book book will answer just about any question when it comes to sex or sexuality. I'd recommend it to anybody who's curious about this sort of thing.

[Rachel]

The teens at my library love this book. So much information that young people need to know, but might feel uncomfortable bringing up to mom and dad.

[Collette]

A lot of info teens might be curious about and better to look it up in a book than the internet in case they are too embarrassed to ask their parents.

[Felix Ngugi]

Interesting book.

[Helen]

This is a very straightfoward and succinct Q & A book for middle-schoolers and teens. This is not meant to substitute for a trusted adult; it is merely a list of non-judgmental answers to teens' questions, mostly about sex. The sex and drug answers are short and to the point. The bullying answer seems a little too short and mostly refers kids to a trusted adult, but most adults fail miserably at addressing this issue anyway.

Kids will probably look up a lot of these questions on the Internet rather than searching for a book to answer their questions, but I'm sure a lot of unwanted images and misinformation will come up in addition to truthful information. As a librarian, I'd like to direct adolescents to this book, because the kids will get the answers they need without any images and additional nonsense. The terseness of the book is good for short attention spans and there are good references to hotlines and websites that can be more helpful. Despite its title, the book never tries to turn kids away from talking to their parents or a trusted adult about these important issues, but sometimes kids just cannot ask their parents these questions, and it's a good resource if that is the case.

[Jenni Frencham]

Henderson, Elisabeth. 100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents. Elisabeth Henderson, 2007.

This book covers questions that teens have that they are too embarrassed to ask their parents or might not be able to answer accurately using the internet. Most of the questions are about sex, but there are also questions about drugs and alcohol, self-harm, eating disorders, and other struggles teens face. The questions are honest and the answers don't disappoint. For teens who need a resource for getting honest answers to their questions, this is a great book. It's probably one that won't be checked out often but will, instead, be pulled off the shelf and read in the library.

Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: none, really. Sex and drugs and alcohol, etc., are discussed, but this is nonfiction.
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

[Darius Wilson]

My favorite thing about this book is hmm... every thing this book is every thing. This book is best info book for sex question that you will NEVER ask your parents. I felt that this book was going to be good because the title seemed interesting now I feel like this is the best book that I had ever read in years since I first read Cat in the Hat, that's how good this book is. I learned all sorts of things like what is the "G"spot? and do people born gay or do they become gay? I could talk to the author I would ask her were did you get this question from and how did you think of this book? I would recommend this book to people that are interested in questions about sex and other questions that your scared to ask anyone.

[Nerone]

This book was about questions that a child would never ask there parents. My favorite section of the book is all the question's because they really answered sum of the questions that you would never ask someone, especially your parents. if i could talk to the author i would ask him why did he make this book and what made if think about all these questions. I would recommend this book to whoever wants to ask there parents something and your not comfortable with asking them about certain subjects, then you should read this book.

[Charlos]

2.5 - Small enough to be discreet, but perhaps too small to have all the answers a person would want. I question whether a teen would even think to look for a book with these question rather than just searching online. I can't say as I would recommend to a parent either, as its answers are all over the place, and is without much depth in the answers. As we don't have a separate YA nonfiction section in my library (YA nonfic is interfiled with adult nonfic), I believe this book will get lost unless it's featured.

[Alison]

I wonder how many teens would actually seek out a book that they have to checkout or buy. But it does have a variety of resources on subjects that teens are more likely than not getting incorrect information on from the internet and what they hear from peers or partners. The format is straightforward and makes it easy for the reader to gather information for particular questions or concerns they might have.

[Donna Siebold]

There are certainly questions in this book that I would never have asked my parents - especially my mother! At least one page is devoted to each question. This is a smaller book - approximately 7 1/2 inches tall - so a page is not huge. The answers are frank and direct. The book should prove very useful.

[Cris]

Some of the questions I remember wanting answers to when I was a pre-teen. The answers are a mixed-bag. Henderson seems to be shooting for a no-nonsense tone that answers the question in a straight-forward way that'll appeal to teens and preteens. Sometimes she manages that. But frequently the answers sound condescending, and like they've been run by some sort of 'morality' police.

[annapi]

A little dry, but straightforward answers to the questions. There were a few answers that I felt were a little lacking, but I appreciated the no-nonsense approach this book took. I liked For Goodness Sex better, for the read as well as the information, but as a guidebook for teens this is a good reference, and I've given it to my teens to read.

[Magda]

This book is great! It covers a lot of the questions I thought of when I was a teen and others I've thought about as an adult. It's a quick read and a lot of the answers are comprehensive enough that you aren't left wanting. I would definitely recommend this resource.

[Jacob Duncan]

I'm not finished with this book yet but,I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts

[Thea]

Extremely informative. I learned a lot.

[Sarah Mae]

It was ok.

[Robin]

A succinct book for middle schoolers and high schoolers answering basic sex and drug questions. The underlying tone of the book isn't always sex positive, though, and tends to favor abstinence.

[Kathy N]

Great book for teens with questions. I would highly recommend it for any collection.

[Tianna Tyler]

Really help full

[Atlanta]

It was very interesting to see how naive and innocent some people are.

[Elizabeth]

Excellent, concise information presented in a strictly non-judgmental way. Even I, long past my teens, learned something from this book.