Monday, October 21, 2013

Review and Giveaway: Best Friends and Mean Girls

I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to review a couple of really great books on the subject of helping your tween daughter(s) to navigate the friendship maze.

I grew up in neighborhoods where I was pretty much the only girl.  I was friends with all of my brother's friends (all boys) and if I wasn't out digging up worms or playing kickball, I was inside reading.

I had some girl friends.  But I always felt incredibly out of place in any "girl" situation.  I never understood the unspoken rules, and I would retreat to a cap gun battle in the neighborhood or to my books.

Having sons made sense to me.  I don't always understand the male mind, but I feel reasonably equipped to deal with things there.  My youngest child, however, threw me for a loop.  How in the world was I ever going to handle all the girly stuff involved in raising a daughter?  It terrified me, honestly.  Still does.

So these books were a welcome addition to my library, as I really hoped they would give me a bit more confidence in facing all this "girl" relationship stuff.  Although Trina isn't quite in the age range they target (girls ages 8-12), she is getting there fast. 

Let me tell you a bit about the author first:
Dannah Gresh has sold well-over one million copies of her books, making her one of the most successful Christian authors targeting teens and tweens today. She is the author and creator of Secret Keeper Girl, a line of mom/daughter connecting resources and live events aimed at tween girls and their moms.
And the books that I received:


A Girl’s Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls:
Gresh, and Secret Keeper Girl tour leader and youth educator Suzy Weibel, have written a book that is part self-help, part Bible study helping girls think through important issues such as what it looks like to be a friend and how to choose friends. It also teaches girls the importance of meditating on God’s Word on a daily basis. Their desire is to help girls see that Jesus is the ultimate friend and the perfect example to follow when it comes to understanding how to be a friend.
I have to say that I really, really appreciate a book targeted towards girls that is helping my daughter to think through issues like these.  Issues where I feel totally incompetent to lead at all.  This isn't something that Trina (age 7) is ready to tackle on her own though.

I think if she were in a regular classroom situation, this would be more applicable to her right now, but given her homeschool environment, she really isn't quite ready for this.  I'm guessing that in another two years, this book will be a perfect fit though.


Talking with Your Daughter about Best Friends and Mean Girls:
Gresh adds to the popular Secret Keeper Girl 8 Great Dates series by offering eight dates for moms and daughters focused on key relationships and true love. Each one and a half hour date has a different friendship focus but follows the same general format, including special audio messages, mom-daughter discussion time, and a fun challenge activity, including a sleepover, scrapbooking, shopping, and ding-dong-ditching neighbors. Dates can be done one-on-one or as part of a small group of moms and daughters. The first date looks at what true friendship looks like, based on the Bible, with the following dates focused on specific people or groups such as loving your neighbor, your best friend, and your parents.
This is such a fantastic concept!  I loved reading through these 8 Dates and thinking about how Trina and I could make this work!  One thing I truly loved about the ideas is that Gresh gives some 'budget options' for making the dates work out without spending a lot of money.  I always love when I don't have to be the one being creative to make an idea work for us when money IS an object.

Again, some of these ideas are a bit beyond Trina, but she is just under the target age for the book so that is to be expected.  There is great stuff in here though, and it feels like something even I can do.

Another aspect I really liked was that Gresh is challenging me, Mom, to analyze my friendships too.  This isn't just about my tween daughter learning how to be a good friend, it is about ME learning too. 

If your daughter is at the point of starting 'to navigate the friendship maze' I would highly recommend checking these books out.  I want to go looking for other Secret Keeper Girl 8 Great Date books.

So I have the opportunity to give away a set of these two books.  US and Canada only, please!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

1 comment:

Kayla Rice said...

Oh my, I feel ya. I am terrified. I have one son and two daughters. So many people say the boys are the ones to worry about but for me it is the opposite. The mean girl situation makes me really sad. There have been several times I have taken my daughters to the park, my daughter Emma is very outgoing. She is also very tall for her age. She will run right up to a group of girls eager to join. Most of the time it goes fine but sometimes they pull a mean girl on her and tell her she can not play with them. And then of course she comes running to me devastated. It is really sad that any girl would have that mean girl status and I pray that my daughters will never treat anyone like that.