The Notebook Girls

As a middle school teacher, I was very excited to read this book. Not only was it the real deal, but it's filled with all of the things that I hear inside the classroom, in the hallways, and outside the building from my students. If some parents want to know what most teens are really talking about, this is the book for you. This book is NOT for the faint of heart. If you are from the "not my child" school of thought, don't read this book. Yes, there is drug use, sexual references, and general bonding through mishaps and drunkeness. I still think that this book is a true insiders look at 4 intelligent teens finding their way through the tricky hallways of high school. I think it should be a mandatory read for any parent with teens if you want to know what is going on...take it from an urban middle school teacher, I've heard much worse than what I read on the pages of this book!

I am currently reading this book and I find it quite enjoyable. It is very real which is refreshing. I can't say that I think that smoking weed and getting drunk at 15 is very wise but so many teenagers are forced to make that choice that it needed to be brought to the attention of society. I don't think that people who smoke pot are bad, stupid, unintelligent people and you need to get over that before you read this book. I come from a very rural school and I am not the type of person to get involved with drugs/alcohol so personaly its always shocking reading about people who use drugs. I'm still trying to get over sterotypes I hold about people who use drugs. All is all this book is good. Its funny and sweet and makes you think about issues teens have to face. Read it with your teenager (you might have to get two copies) and talk about the issues these girls faced. Chances are your son/daughter will use (though they might not admit it) or know people who use drugs. P.S. Try not to be judgemental!!!

I really enjoyed this funny and down-to-earth high school diary. Contrary to some of the one-star posters, the girls are not jaded debauchees and the world is not coming to an end. The girls' experiences with pot, alcohol and sex are very normal and have been for decades, even in Jesusland . Could these posters be mad that no one gets pregnant, becomes an addict, drops out or finds Christ? To me, these are four intelligent high-spirited kids who took the trouble to write down all the stuff grownups forget -- from gym and the school play to crushes and debating politics and religion with your best friends. This would be a great gift for teenagers, to show them they are not alone. If it inspires them to keep a diary of their own, so much the better!

As I read this book I found myself with a bunch of almost random thoughts, and I'm going to put them down here in no particular order. As a hobby I run a small community theater. When we announce a play I am invariably asked if it is suitable for high school kids. I've never known how to answer. As this book clearly proves, the kids have all heard and said the famous 'F' word. But does this mommy (or daddy) want to admit it. If it's said by an actor, what does the kid think? What does the parent think? Would it be OK for each of them if they were by themselves but embarassing if they were together? I remember Martin Luther Kings 'I Have a Dream' speech where he said his dream was that 'little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and while girls and walk togeather as sisters and brothers.' Of the young authors of this book, one appears to be black, the others white, and no big deal is made of it. Dr. King's dream seems to have come to pass, at least here with these kids. I don't think that growing up has ever been easy. Certainly not as easy as we parents think it should be. I'm glad that these kids made it through high school, their experiments with sex, drugs, and alcohol formed part of their personality. Now they are all off to college. I think they all have survived what New York City could throw at them. They will do well in their future lives. Do I recommend this book. Yes. To parents, yes, it will give you some idea of what your kids are really going through. To kids, yes, it will let them know that they are not alone in experiencing their own problems. And while New York is different, here in small town Nevada we have drugs, underage drinking, teen pregnancies. New York may be different, but the people are about the same.

There are very few times in a boy's life when he feels like people actually get him... which is weird, because this book is about girls. But it's about teenagers mainly. And I'm one. And I love that these girls had the balls to go out there and write something this revealing and honest. God bless you girls.