Don't Cramp My Style: Stories about "That" Time of the Month

I may not be the target audience for this book (I'm an adult male, I suspect most of its readers will be adolescent females), but I thought this was a terrific anthology, and a great way to get a discussion started about "that time of month." For girls, it gives some perspective, and for boys (if you could get them to read it), it would go a long way toward demystifying the ways of women (!). I especially liked Dianne Ochiltree's "The Woman's House," and David Lubar's very funny "The Heroic Quest of Douglas McGawain" (a teenage boy goes out to buy tampons for his girlfriend!).

I just read the new book Don't Cramp My Style. The story "The Women's House" in it is awesome! Wow! I cried at the end. I became totally immersed in the story and felt that I was right there observing the young girl and her family. The story involves the behaviors and customs of young Native Americans girls as they reach puberty and begin their first blood. It was written through the eyes of Sparrow Song, a young Native American girl, which made it very realistic and extremely touching.

Of all the possible themes for a collection of short stories, this has to be one of the most unlikely...menstruation. While the topic may appear a bit unseemly, it ultimately works to create a wonderful celebration of womanhood. The book is a series of biological coming-of-age stories; it portraysmenstruation as both celebration and curse, as something welcomed and dreaded. Most of all, it shows that `periods' bond all women across time and culture.Several stories look at menstruation in a modern vein. Losing It is a wrenching look at losing one's virginity; an antidote to the Hollywood romanticism of the "first time." The Uterus Fairy is a cross-generational look at, well, uteruses. The mother is mourning an impending hysterectomy; her daughter is worrying about a possible pregnancy. The Heroic Quest of Douglas McGawain is one of the few comic tales and the only one told from a male's point of view (this "knight's" quest involvestampons!)Several stories look at menstruation from different cultural or historical perspectives. Getting one's period as a noblewoman in pre-revolutionary Russia meant being eligible for marriage to a politically-correct man. Instead, The Czarevna of Muscovy longs to be one of the dancing peasants she spies in the village courtyard; her pining has drastic consequences. Ritual Purity is a fascinating look at the Othrodox Jewish tradition of mikveh (monthly cleansing bath) and a troubled teen who seeks meaning in tradition and family. Moon Time Child is a look at a slave girl's dread of her "moon time" knowing that it will mark her as a "breeder" and mean a further loss of freedom.Several stories transcend time and place. Sleeping Beauty is a musing on fairytales and menarche. Transfusion is a dramatic story of a mentally-ill woman's blood infusing another woman's life with meaning and strength. In a second powerful story, Maroon, a young girl worships her older, `hipper' cousin only to discover that her "hero" has done the unforgivable: become pregnant out of wedlock.Some of the stories have violent themes although not graphically portrayed. There is also some adult language and sexual situations --again, not graphic. The very theme of the collection will be off-putting for some, titillating for others. The attractive cover and breezy fly ("Whether your cycle is regular or random, you prefer chocolate or chips, you break out or remain zit-free, you period is an indelible fact of life...") makes this book appear to be light-weight reading. But those who pick it up will be rewarded with uniformly high-quality writing. A great addition to high school collections,middle school (with caveats) and certainly a women's studies course.