"What Your Mother Never Told You" by Richard M. Dudum

"What Your Mother Never Told You: A Survival Guide for Teenage Girls" by Richard M. Dudum is a novel reference book for young girls. It dives deep into many controversial issues centered around today's young women. Drugs, sex, friendships, relationships, self-esteem and more are discussed. The book is divided into several parts with sub-chapters that are quite short. This makes the book very un-intimidating. Also, there is a table of contents and logistics in the back for quick reference. The pages themselves are quite pretty with flowers and fancy title fonts. Conversely, in his candor, Dudum does use explicit language and leaves nothing unsaid. In terms of content, Dudum does give young girls important messages such as never to assume anything, always have a plan b, be aware of surroundings, and know what their words / actions / clothes say to the world, especially boys. In a few parts of the book, Dudum refers to the Bible in terms of being individualistic and savoring uniqueness (not conforming to society's pressures). However, there are some contradictions to the Bible. For one, Dudum does tell girls not to rush into sexual intercourse, but he is not so blunt as to reinforce abstinence before marriage. Also, he discusses talking with parents and thinking things over when it comes to emergency contraception--something that many conservative Christians consider abortion. In general, this book is candid and has some satisfactory lessons for girls. For the more conservative readers and parents, they should give this book a good once-over before placing it into a little girl's hands to fill her tabula rasa.