Private and Personal: Questions and Answers for Girls Only

I'm not popular and I don't get it because I do what all the cool girls do.

My best friend thinks she is fat...We think she might have an eating disorder.

My parents treat me like a baby.

My so-called best friend wrote me a letter and it really hurt my feelings.

My boyfriend really likes me but I don't like him that much anymore.

What's wrong with me?I don't have a boyfriend!

I'm afraid I'm growing up too fast!

Thousands of girls just like you have written to Carol Weston for advice about their bodies, boyfriends, periods, pimples, friendships, family matters and more.

Carol Weston, author of Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You and For Girls Only: Wise Words, Good Advice, and columnist for Girl's Life magazine, gets personal again with Private and Personal. The book is aptly dedicated to "every girl who thought she was alone"; Weston responds to hundreds of letters from girls who are struggling with questions they can't bear to ask anyone else.

"All my friends' breasts are developing faster than mine. I'm kind of jealous." "I'm not popular and I don't get it because I do what all the cool girls do." "I am totally in love with my best friend's boyfriend and I think he likes me, too." "I think I might be a lesbian." "I need help with my dad. It seems we hardly go a day without fighting." Weston's refreshingly upbeat, down-to-earth, sympathetic, and understanding answers are sure to satisfy even the most desperate of preteens and teens. She never veers off course in her effort to encourage kids to be healthy, smart, and true to themselves and others. Without a doubt, every 11- to 16-year-old girl should find answers to at least one question (if not 20 or 100) she has wondered about. The book is handily divided into categories: "Oh Me Oh My" (self-esteem, finding out who you are), "Let's Get Physical" (body image, periods, eating well, etc.), "Friendship Frustrations," "The Whole Boyfriend Thing," and "Family Matters." Start at the beginning or open up randomly--either way, just wade right in! (Ages 11 to 16) --Emilie Coulter