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Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up
by
From Heather Corinna, founder and director of Scarleteen.com, and Isabella Rotman, cartoonist and sex educator, comes a graphic novel guide that covers essential topics for preteens and young teens about their changing bodies and feelings.
Join friends Malia, Rico, Max, Sam and Alexis as they talk about all the weird and exciting parts of growing up! This supportive group o ...more
Join friends Malia, Rico, Max, Sam and Alexis as they talk about all the weird and exciting parts of growing up! This supportive group o ...more
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Start your review of Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up
![destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1614916030p2/15335689.jpg)
This is a fantastic little graphic novel about sex, puberty, relationships, and growing up in general for teens. It's super diverse and inclusive, with an entire section dedicated to queerness and gender identity as well as loads of casual references throughout the book. I also appreciate that it offers some insight into being aro and/or ace and how not everyone is going to want to have sex, pursue romantic relationships, etc., so kids shouldn't feel "weird" if they aren't interested in those th
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This is a lovely, non-judgemental and inclusive book for teenagers, mostly written in comic book style. It has an open-minded and educational approach to sexuality and gender identity , which will be welcomed by many parents, although some may object to it. I had hoped to read this with my 12-year-old son but after a look at the contents page and a quick flick through, he felt he wasn’t ready for it yet. Hopefully we’ll find the right time, somewhere between ‘too much, too soon’ and ‘too little,
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A fun and informative introduction to puberty, gender, sex, and sexuality with lots of inclusivity and diversity. I like that emotional aspects of adolescence are given as much attention as the physical. It's too text heavy in many places, but puzzle and activity pages and topics like "weird genitals" help maintain a breezy quality.
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This is quite informative book for teens...it covers wide variety of topics like puberty, sex, masturbation, coming out, dating, crush etc. and lot more confusing things a normal teen would go through. Very helpful and supportive book for your teen to educate them on lots of topics considered "controversial" by society.
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I love this so much and even I as an adult have learned something new from this. This is definitely a book that I will purchase, I want a readily available resource at hand especially when any sort of sex education (and everything that word encompasses outside the act of sex) is not something that's available.
There are places in the world where people don't get to learn about sex-ed. Not even the bad kind of sex-ed or the ones we see in movies. Nothing. We get to learn the science bit about pube ...more
There are places in the world where people don't get to learn about sex-ed. Not even the bad kind of sex-ed or the ones we see in movies. Nothing. We get to learn the science bit about pube ...more
"Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up" is the book I wish we all had when we were in middle school. And if you have a middle school human in your life, you should get them this book.
One of the first pages, page 9 to be exact, sets the tone of the book. That humans develop in all ways at a different rate from each other. Some of us mature physically, some of us mature romantically earlier, and that's all ok.
Heather & Isabella take great care to talk about all ...more
One of the first pages, page 9 to be exact, sets the tone of the book. That humans develop in all ways at a different rate from each other. Some of us mature physically, some of us mature romantically earlier, and that's all ok.
Heather & Isabella take great care to talk about all ...more
This is an all encompassing take on puberty and sexuality for youth growing up today. There are five teens represented in this book, who runs the gamut on gender, sexuality and maturity. This makes for insightful comments on thoughts about gender fluidity, and on sexual desire.
They point out that we all mature at our own level and time.
And the sex is a mutual activity, and if it isn't mutual, it is not sex, but assault.
Well researched, and well represented. This will make a good reference book, ...more
They point out that we all mature at our own level and time.
And the sex is a mutual activity, and if it isn't mutual, it is not sex, but assault.
Well researched, and well represented. This will make a good reference book, ...more
This book is so good that it is making me angry, which is a reaction I don't even understand. I love it. As a former teenager, I love it and wish I'd had it then. As a mother of a daughter, I love it and can't wait to give it to my kid when she's old enough to need it. As a midwife who works in sexual and reproductive health, I LOVE IT AND WISH I WAS RICH ENOUGH TO HAND IT OUT LIKE CANDY. Every kid needs this book. Probably a lot of adults, too.
It's fun, it's straightforward, it's honest, it's n ...more
It's fun, it's straightforward, it's honest, it's n ...more
4.5 stars
Skimmed through this one at work to evaluate it for a sexual health resource list. The kids are going to be alright if this is the kind of sex ed they're getting. Completely inclusive of different genders and bodies, and it doesn't stigmatize or romanticize sex. I was really pleased with this one.
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This book (wait, what?) is all about relationships, puberty, sexual identity, growing up, gender identity, understanding their bodies and getting to know everything about it. This was an IMPORTANT book according to me. As, there are many questions & doubts in the mind of teenagers at the age of puberty which they sometimes feel bad for or are not aware of whom to discuss with. So, this book is perfect for them. This is a diverse and inclusive book and the author had done a fabulous job in making
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I seriously wish that I had this book when I was 10 years old as most of my education on this topic came from books or DIY. This is a great resource for all, but especially for those weird loner freak kids like my young self who didn't have any friends and their parents, mentors, coaches, leaders, & teachers never talked to them.
Anyways, it's free on NetGalley before the publication date as an e-book in case any librarians need to preview it for their J 612s. Yes, J not YA, because at least for ...more
Anyways, it's free on NetGalley before the publication date as an e-book in case any librarians need to preview it for their J 612s. Yes, J not YA, because at least for ...more
A very informative comic for teens which they can relate to and make sure they don't feel like they are alone in all of this. A very fun and clever way of helping your teen feel normal and accepted.
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What a fun book. Wow I wish when we were in school we had an awesome guide such as "Wait What", that explores every obstacles you face as a growing teen from, 1st kiss, masturbation, sex, puberty and coming out.
This book should be provided in every classroom across America for those who are too embarrassed to ask questions.
Highly recommend for that growing teen that you may have, thats curious.
This is my honest opinion.
Rating 5 ...more
This book should be provided in every classroom across America for those who are too embarrassed to ask questions.
Highly recommend for that growing teen that you may have, thats curious.
This is my honest opinion.
Rating 5 ...more
I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. I’ve been looking for a coming of age type of book that is queer friendly and this is that book! It’s great for my 11 year old but I think my older kids will like it too. Straightforward without more detail than necessary but also not shying away from the information. I literally cried when I saw that genitalia is not labeled M/F, this book is truly inclusive of trans, non-binary, and other gender expressions. I’m absolutely thrilled and I want to buy everyone a copy.
Wait, What? is an informative and up-to-date book on 'growing up'. The graphic novel style of this book and the characters sharing their experiences are a great way to get the interest and attention of younger people wanting more information about these things.
I requested this book to see what had changed from books when I was growing up to what they would be like now, and while there are a lot of things that are the same, there are new aspects. Wait, What? has more inclusion with various parts ...more
I requested this book to see what had changed from books when I was growing up to what they would be like now, and while there are a lot of things that are the same, there are new aspects. Wait, What? has more inclusion with various parts ...more
this was so so so so wonderful!!!!! A true gem. This is a book I wish I had read when I was younger - it has lovely illustrations, explains (very well) tons of things while not being condescending (think an adult talking to a baby). The amount of information in there is astonishing, but most importantly, i think it does a great job at making a point that not *everyone* is the same or should be/feel the same. This is truly a great book to have your teens read. Plus it’s very diverse!
While most t ...more
While most t ...more
Love a book for young folks that practices what it preaches and is amusing to boot. This collection of mini-essays / informative selections about bodies, growing up, sex, and consent for teens is a long way from the books I used to try to glean information out of as teenager myself. There's a lot that feels backward or under-developed (to me) in our culture around sexuality, sex, identity, and development so I'm very appreciative that much that has been talked about and studied since I was a you
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It’s a basic graphic novel that covers a little of everything that while covering a lot still seems a bit unfocused too. But it gets the job done and includes illustrated genitalia to boot, which was a phenomenal addition to demonstrate that nothing is too important to discuss and everything is open to the experiences to honor how we all come into ourselves be it relationships and masturbating.
It’s organized like a conversation between friends and includes some fun activities like a word find.
It’s organized like a conversation between friends and includes some fun activities like a word find.
Follow friends, Malia, Rico, Max, Sam, and Alexis as they talk about the weird and exciting parts of growing up! Included are topics such as gender, sexuality, puberty, building a support network, and more. Told with comic book-style and short text pieces, topics are presented in a simple, straightforward way that will be relatable for young teens. Included are crosswords and other activities for engagement. A good book for readers who are dealing with maturation. The author and founder of Scarl
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An easy way to teach your kids life and body lessons! I'm going to buy a copy for when my kids are a little bit older. I highly recommend! This book will help break the ice for these types of conversations!
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I loved this nonfiction guide to growing up. I think it should be mandatory reading for every middle schooler. Unfortunately in my Texas town there’s no way we could have it in our library, but I think they did an amazing job of explaining all areas of puberty, body changes and more.
Sex positive, queer-informed sex ed for teens & pre-teens! Buy this book!
This is a short, friendly, accessible guide to sex ed topics. The language is very inclusive of queer, trans and nonbinary people, and aims to entertain and destigmatize as well as educate. I love the playful artwork by Isabella Rotman and the bright colors by Luke Howard. Appropriate for middle schoolers up to young high schoolers.
This is a great comic book for teens, parents and teachers. It explains in a straightforward way many different aspects related to sex education such as puberty, maturity, gender, crushes & dating, sexual identity, etc.
All this information is presented with great illustrations, sense of humour and in an appealing way to teenagers (you can also find word search puzzles, crosswords, doodles, paper dolls…) without forgetting a glossary and some references to books and websites you can have a look a ...more
All this information is presented with great illustrations, sense of humour and in an appealing way to teenagers (you can also find word search puzzles, crosswords, doodles, paper dolls…) without forgetting a glossary and some references to books and websites you can have a look a ...more
A sex-positive comic-style look at puberty and sexuality for the junior high crowd. The kids will roll their eyes, but then devour every word.
Wait, What? by Heather Corinna and illustrated by Isabella Rotman is the growing up book about gender, sexuality, puberty, and just life in general that I wish I'd had access to as a kid. I think one thing that was massively difficult for me to recognize as an adult was just how little I actually knew about all of these things and how stunted my growth was in general as a result of it. I learned a lot of things late in my life.
With this book, however, I can safely say that those who read it will ...more
With this book, however, I can safely say that those who read it will ...more
I like what the book said. It's a good intro to sex positive sex ed. The information is basically correct (I say basically because some of the information is answers to inherently subjective questions like 'how do you know you're ready for sex'). They still answer questions like that fairly well by highlighting that it can be different for different people and offering some examples.
Where I do feel critical is also the open-ended answers. In my opinion, they're correct, but I also recall being a ...more
Where I do feel critical is also the open-ended answers. In my opinion, they're correct, but I also recall being a ...more
Wait, What?, will illicit giggles and start conversations but lacks the definitive answers I find students demand. It’s short and includes activities such as word searches. Wait deserves a spot on the library shelf. It just left me wanting more.
I capslock LOVE this book! It does such a great job of talking about puberty and relationships without getting into the weird essentialist weeds on "boy bodies" and "girl bodies" that you so often end up with in puberty books.
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Heather Corinna
(b. 1970) is a queer polymath best known for her role as publisher of the sex-positive online magazine
Scarleteen
, which she founded in 1998. She graduated from the Chicago Academy of the Arts and studied at Chicago's Shimer College, a Great Books college then located in Waukegan, Illinois. She has worked as an educator, activist and writer, and writes on sex education for
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