Girl Stuff 13+

by Kaz Cooke

With almost 600 pages and heaps of cartoons, Girl Stuff has everything girls need to know about: friends, body changes, shopping, clothes, make-up, pimples (arrghh), sizes, hair, earning money, guys, embarrassment, what to eat, moods, smoking, why diets suck, handling love and heartbreak, exercise, school stress, sex, beating bullies and mean girls, drugs, drinking, how to find new friends, cheering up, how to get on with your family, and confidence. Each chapter includes facts, hints, inspiring lists, hundreds of quotes from real girls, and details for over 350 websites, books and other information. This completely revised edition, written in extensive consultation with more than 70 medical and practical experts, provides the most up-to-date and useful information possible. Visit www. girlstuffbook. com. auAuthor BiographyKaz Cooke is the number one go-to advisor for Australian girls and women. Her best-selling books include Girl Stuff, Women's Stuff, Up the Duff, Kidwrangling, and a series of ebooks on women's health issues from sex to mental health and menopause. Kaz's funny, friendly style is backed by research and professional consultants- she's been a best friend to at least two generations. (Her children's book The Terrible Underpants is not quite autobiographical. - Girl Stuff By Kaz Cooke (Paperback)

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens, Psychology, Reference

576 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Amanda Thai · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars.
If you are a teenage girl, you need this book.

Somewhere between Grade 3 and Year 8, I’m pretty sure every girl I know received this book from their parents.
And to that I say those parents (including mine) deserve a pat on the back because this book is phenomenal.

Kaz Cooke has managed to write a book that is very informative, without being terrifying to young girls. She doesn’t censor anything, but instead introduces topics gradually, providing plenty of information. It’s incredibly comprehensive (and as such, I’ve never actually read the entire thing), but the sections and chapters are neatly organised and super easy to dip into as you require. Real talk: this book basically stood in for my ‘birds and the bees’ talk and it worked perfectly, allowing me to consolidate and comprehend the new information in privacy and time. Because processing personal information in the presence of other people, even if they are my parents, just stresses me out. And it’s not just body changes and sex that Girl Stuff covers: it also covers beauty, body image, self-care, drinking, drugs, mental health, confidence, love, school, work, family, friendships—the list goes on. I’m actually thinking of returning to this book, just for a refresher as I near the end of my teenage years (I’m not terrified, you’re imagining things).

But it’s not all sombre. Cooke strikes a great balance between seriousness and levity. She has included a plethora of hilarious cartoons, and all throughout the book, there is humour. Her views are empowering and progressive—you won’t find any backwards 19th century crap here.

Another reason too, why I so highly recommend this book to teenagers, particularly Australian teenagers, is because this book is tailored to the Australian teenage culture, and all its laws and customs. Kaz Cooke really understands the issues teenage girls face in Australia and she writes about them with earnest.

User-friendly, humorous and empowering, Girl Stuff is every teenage/pre-teen girl’s must-have. Parents, take note.

[Tanika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can use this book forever.

[Ximena · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 en realidad.
Es una guía ideal que todas las chicas deben de tener desde los 11 o 12 años aproximadamente, ya que trata diversos temas que abarcan desde los inicios de la pubertad hasta consejos académicos.
Aunque es buena, a veces se torna aburrida porque la autora suele repetir varias cosas que son realmente simples en varias ocaciones, así de ridiculo como un shampoo con instrucciones.
Dejando eso de lado, incluye información importante como cuánto alcohol contiene realmente cada bebida alcohólica o información básica pero que se debe tomar en cuenta sobre drogas, además incluye testimonios de personas que pasaron por los mismo o han oído sobre eso según el tema que se trate.
Como es una guía no debería de leerse de principio a fin, sino leer solo el o los temas en que se esta interesada en ese momento y buscar otros después (yo lo hice así, pero por eso tardé demasiado en leerlo, porque a veces no me apetecia los temas que se trataban, entonces lo dejaba para después, para cuando estuviera interesada en el tema siguiente).

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit to being a bit of a Kaz Cooke fan, Up The Duff, and Kidwrangling, sit amongst my favourite 'parenting' books. She has a great way of normalising those big events in your life when you're at the mercy of other things, be that hormones, little creatures growing inside you, or how to deal with the fact that when they come out they're really noisy and demanding and then they stop being quite as noisy, but only when they can follow you from room to room demanding stuff and rolling their eyes.... Anyway, I digress...

The teenage years is another event that Kaz Cooke handles beautifully, it covers pretty much everything, in a quite objective and informative way, from sex to drugs to school and the dramas of female friendships and, of course, body image. It's all here, and it's factual, it's lighthearted, it's humourous and I love all the quotes from other teenagers. There's no lecturing here. I also, from a totally biased perspective, enjoyed the subtle parts where it says be nice to your parents, and to do your bit so you keep parents onside, I think that's really important, and I may highlight before I give the book to my daughter...

My main issue with this book is I don't understand why eating fifty six tim tams when you're feeling down is listed as being a bad thing?? Surely learning to stash your own chocolate is an important skill in the transition to womanhood... after all you can't sanely parent without it...

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book the wrong side of puberty but loved it nonetheless. However I thought Kaz put a little too much of her ideals into the make-up & clothes section towards the end.

MOTHERS give this to your 'tweenage' daughters, instead of those awkward conversations...

[♥pAiGeRyAn♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has everything you need to know for the teen years

[Kireen]

awsum

[Yazmin Duran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sé que muchas de ustedes están pasando por una etapa muy dura llamada adolescencia, esa tediosa etapa en la que empezamos a descubrir todo, donde nos enamoramos cada 5 segundos, esa etapa de rebeldía; en fin, una etapa muy linda pero que en la cual estamos muy desinformadas.

Muchas veces sucede que tenemos alguna duda y no queremos compartirla con los amigos, y mucho menos con los padres, y es por eso que se creó esta guía (que quede claro que no sustituye la opinión de padres y profesionales, es como para comprender y darnos una idea). Es una guía bastante completa, abarca desde los cambios en el cuerpo hasta trabajo, moda, drogas, etc.

También está dotada de opiniones de chicas de distintas edades, y consejos bastante útiles (por no decir que también cuenta con bastantes dibujos que aportan consejos y ejemplos, dibujos bastante simpáticos por cierto).

A pesar de que tengo 19 años y ya voy de salida de esa hermosísima etapa, me ha servido bastante. Había cosas que desconocía o de las que tenía duda, y esta guía me ayudó demasiado (más que nada con lo de ahorrar y trabajo).

Esta guía está muy bien explicada, con un lenguaje sencillo y fácil de comprender, y muy ligero. Quisiera decirles los temas que trata pero son demasiados (drogas, relaciones de pareja, sexo y ETS, familia, etc.). Realmente saca de apuros cuando se está en una situación difícil.

[Mika · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I'm now 16, and already know a bunch of this stuff, it is still very interesting to learn what another woman says is right, not needed and helpful advice. I did start this book years ago but never finished it. I'm am proud to say that I finally finished it today. I'm going to keep this book for when I have my daughter, to help her, and I hope she passes it to your daughter and so on. :)

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well so far its helped with my eating habbits and got me eating brekkie again!

[Tem · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really helpful!

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book seriously explains a lot to me. If I have troubles with anything, I can just look into the book. Seriously girls, this is the ultimate guide!

[Bron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so helpful. Loved it ;)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My savior in my teen years.

[AllAboutBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girl Stuff: Latest Edition is a great book that has a lot of information for girls and it tells it like it is in a way that many other books really don't. Young girls will not only benefit from it but can also share it with their friends who may not have access to this information.

This children's book is especially helpful for young teens or even pre-teens in developing countries like India and Pakistan where some things are considered Taboo. www.chapters.pk bookstore is promoting this online in Pakistan.

Highly recommended as this book offers a fantastic overview of anything young girls could possibly want to know and a lot more. Kaz Cooke is a writer who has a remarkable way of presenting information in the most entertaining and lighthearted way.

[O O A · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book will teach sex ed to your kids. I read this when I was younger and it was the start of my journey towards masturbation addiction as it taught me to use it to deal with my problems. To be fair, if you don't have any strong morals, this book is fine. It teaches on many topics excellently, especially if your philosophy aligns with it. But I have learned from this book that I don't want to allow a stranger to educate and form my kids morals and beliefs, by all means. I would ask parents to read it first and see if it's what they want to teach their children. As a Christian, I would not recommend it as it doesn't align with biblical beliefs.

[Alice Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was SO helpful. I didn’t read it from cover to cover, just flicked through the parts that interested me, but I plan on returning to it whenever I need some relevant info on a topic addressed in the book. Her casual, funny style of writing and normalising otherwise “weird” things that teenagers go through is a joy to read, and I’m so glad I got given this book early in my teenage years.

[Mina Amoeba · Rating 4 out of 5]

the page where she says toner is bullshit and a waste of time was revolutionary and is still something the people are not willing to hear. this book actually felt properly feminist and not just liberal crap. don’t let boys pressure you into sex. don’t shave your legs—you’re twelve.

[Lauryn Oviedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This shit got me through high school, fam.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend needed this book thanks Kaz cookie

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything a girl needs to know about growing up

[Hoĺly Szwedyc]

This book is amazing it is the best for teens.

[Châu Nguyễn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is Awesome.

I have read through plenty of teen self-guides, but none can compare to this book (and neither do online articles). It answers numerous questions that other girls seem to have known the answer to (or not care) while I couldn't figure out, like: Why am I so moody? Is there something wrong with me? What are the signs of a "bad" boy? Should I have sex, when and how? Is it normal to think about sex?
Besides those, Kaz Cooke also discusses more general, non-puberty-related topics like How to be healthy, What to eat, Skincare, Education and Jobs. Her book helps with my confidence, because she actually Understands! (unlike people who don't get us but still try to say nice things; it doesn't help much)

Edit: there are some points I don't like about it much, actually. Overall, it's a nice book.

[Ana Laura De Romero · Rating 2 out of 5]

No fue de mi agrado. Es verdad que trae cuanta información puedan necesitar las adolescentes, sin duda verdadera y quizá hasta con 'bases científicas', más creo que no solo hay que darles información sino formación y en este libro siento que se quedaron cortos en cuanto valores, sentí que promueve un feminismo mal planteado que siendo estrictos puede rayan en libertinaje.
Estoy de acuerdo que los valores y la formación se dan en casa, así que ¿para qué darles un libro que no coincide con lo que buscamos inculcar? ya leí otros libros similares y pienso que son más adecuados, quizá porque son desarrollados por mexicanos que saben en qué están o qué deben tratar con las adolescentes mexicanas. Pienso que la editorial debió proponer a la autora una adaptación a las necesidades del público al que va dirigido y no solo una traducción de un texto.
Busco por lo general las cosas buenas que se puedan tomar de un texto, más lo que pueda sacar de provecho de este libro ya lo había visto en otros anteriormente.

[Amy Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good it makes you feel a bit less "awkward" about growing up. It can seem a bit like "why am I reading this its so gross!" but its actually good and you only need to read the stuff you want to read. I recommend this book for girls 12+ {^_^}Girl Stuff: Your Full On Guide To The Teen Years

[Vale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo leí... Y a mi yo de 15 años le hubiera encantado. Pero en mi momento tuve mi biblia, Quiubole Con... Que es exactamente lo mismo. Es por eso que no le encontré lo maravilloso. Tengo 20 años y es como si hubiera releído el libro de Yordi y pues, no sé, siento que le hizo falta más para impresionarme :/

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this when I was 15 I think.
It's a rather FAT heavy book and with guides on every teen thing.

The illustrations are humourous and well suited to teenagers.
I quite liked this book!


The links at the back are suited ONLY to Australian readers, which is a disappointment

[Aneth Manía · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Cosas de chicas y no tan chicas” sin duda es una excelente y muy completa guía, con sabios consejos y explicaciones que ayudarán a las chavas a intentar aligerar un poco todos los problemas y dudas de la entrada y permanencia en la adolescencia.