School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10- Unfortunately, this exhaustively researched series is also exhausting to read, and teens hoping for a sympathetic explanation of adolescent issues will be disappointed with its clinical, textbook style. Combining first-person narratives, opinions from specialists, and myriad statistics, these titles seem to have been written specifically for reports. The narratives and professional opinions, which are often conveyed through primary source quotes sections, appear to be selected solely for their scare-tactic qualities, while the fact pages are so verbose that the data loses its impact. Many of the charts and graphs are inadequately labeled or visually busy and, thus, quite confusing. Each volume contains a few color photographs. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
More than 700,000 girls become pregnant each year; the U.S. teen birthrate is higher than in all other industrialized countries, and tens of thousands of young people have been infected by STDs. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources--from the Mayo Clinic and Yale University to Seventeen magazine and students' websites--this title in the Compact Research: Teenage Problems series confronts today's urgent, controversial issues; provides detailed information about both abstinence and contraception; and debates what should be taught in sex education, including the role of religious values. With lots of individual profiles, subheads, and feature boxes, the spacious book design will encourage browsers, who will find important facts as well as opposing viewpoints on issues such as the role of faith and religious counseling, the need for sex ed for nonheterosexual teens, and much more. With the current hot debates about access to contraception, this is a great title for group discussion, for adults, too. The detailed back pages include key advocacy groups.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
