We got this book as a Christmas gift for our nephew who would turn 13 during the following year (2010). My wife originally heard about the book. The author, Alec Greven, was only 8 or 9 when he wrote it a couple of years ago. It was originally an assignment for school that his teacher thought was so good she suggested trying to have it published. It went on to become a best seller and Greven appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show or one of those daytime talk shows. The reviews on Amazon.com were generally favorable and many of the negative reviewers seemed like they were just jealous of Greven.
The book is very short: less than 50 pages. It is roughly square-shaped and comes in an attractive red cover. The back says that the book can be helpful to all boys ages 8-80. Inside, the book has only 4-5 lines of text per page along with illustrations done by someone other than the author. They’re usually of little boys or girls. The book has 4-6 chapters covering different aspects of talking to girls including crushes, making a good impression, and giving gifts. I read the book on evening about a week or two before Christmas and it only took me 15 minutes to finish it. Since the book was to be a gift I couldn’t keep it with me and reference it while writing this review.
The book is about how to talk to girls who boys “like” as opposed to girls they just want to get to know as friends. Greven writes that boys should not start seriously dating until middle school or even high school. Still, he isn’t writing about just being friends. At one point he says to focus on just one girl. Personally, I think it’s better to just focus on friendships with both girls and boys at that age and that’s how I think I felt when I was that age. There’s less pressure. Greven mentions early on that his research is from his own experiences in elementary school.
Greven’s advice struck me as being very simple, based on some disputable generalizations, and presented a bit haphazardly. Though it’s organized into chapters there is some repetition of ideas such as “Don’t be a show-off.” There are many caveats such as “Don’t act wild unless you like a wild girl.” Much of the book is common sense such as don’t act too desperate, don’t be the class clown, and begin conversations with “hi” followed by questions such as “did you see the episode of (TV show).” Missing from the book is the equally common advice “be yourself”. Perhaps even Greven thought this was too obvious, or perhaps he doesn’t think it’s good advice.
Greven seems to categorize girls into groups: pretty girls, wild girls, talkative girls, and “regular” girls. The best girls in his view seem to be the regular girls who he soon says can also be considered “pretty.” I’m not sure it’s a good idea to categorize too much. Something I learned from my own experiences is that girls and women are all different individuals and what you learn about someone doesn’t always apply to someone else. Still, Greven is only eight when writing this and seems to feel that some superficial categorization is helpful. I guess a boy doesn’t have much more to go by when meeting a girl for the first time. That she appears pretty may indicate that she’s overly concerned about her appearance and therefore high-maintenance, though I’ve met pretty girls and women who were also very nice.
The book does contain some good advice. Crushes often don’t work out and it is better to just move on than to brood over them. Girls don’t like it when boys publically celebrate getting together with them. It’s better to celebrate privately and not go bragging to friends. Greven writes that the average “relationship” between a boy and a girl in elementary school only lasts 30 days. Some pages have a tip at the bottom of the page that sometimes repeats an earlier point. The illustrations are cute with many featuring a blond boy who is possibly a caricature of Greven. They portray the different points written on each page such as giving gifts and the consequences of going after many girls at once.
How to Talk to Girls is pretty good for a book written by an 8-year-old. I don’t believe, as some Amazon reviewers contend, that it was written by an adult ghostwriter, though I’m sure it went through adult and possibly child editors. It is good advice for kids in elementary, middle, and high school. Adult males can benefit a little from the book, though I think they would have to be completely clueless if they didn’t know most of the things already. I hope Greven’s early success leads to a long successful future and doesn’t ruin him with unreasonable expectations. From his book he seems fairly well grounded. I heard that he has written 2-3 other books: How to Talk to Mom, How to Talk to Dad, How to talk to Santa, and that he’s currently working on How to Talk to Grandparents. (Actual order may differ.)
We hope our nephew likes the book. His parents and the other relatives had fun watching him open the present. We also got him the book Hatchet that I had recently read and enjoyed (see earlier review). That’s a book I would have wanted to read at ages 12-13. I’m not sure I can say the same about How to Talk to Girls. As I mentioned in its review, Hatchet is listed as a manly book on the Art of Manliness website. It probably won’t help as much with talking to girls.
The book is very short: less than 50 pages. It is roughly square-shaped and comes in an attractive red cover. The back says that the book can be helpful to all boys ages 8-80. Inside, the book has only 4-5 lines of text per page along with illustrations done by someone other than the author. They’re usually of little boys or girls. The book has 4-6 chapters covering different aspects of talking to girls including crushes, making a good impression, and giving gifts. I read the book on evening about a week or two before Christmas and it only took me 15 minutes to finish it. Since the book was to be a gift I couldn’t keep it with me and reference it while writing this review.
The book is about how to talk to girls who boys “like” as opposed to girls they just want to get to know as friends. Greven writes that boys should not start seriously dating until middle school or even high school. Still, he isn’t writing about just being friends. At one point he says to focus on just one girl. Personally, I think it’s better to just focus on friendships with both girls and boys at that age and that’s how I think I felt when I was that age. There’s less pressure. Greven mentions early on that his research is from his own experiences in elementary school.
Greven’s advice struck me as being very simple, based on some disputable generalizations, and presented a bit haphazardly. Though it’s organized into chapters there is some repetition of ideas such as “Don’t be a show-off.” There are many caveats such as “Don’t act wild unless you like a wild girl.” Much of the book is common sense such as don’t act too desperate, don’t be the class clown, and begin conversations with “hi” followed by questions such as “did you see the episode of (TV show).” Missing from the book is the equally common advice “be yourself”. Perhaps even Greven thought this was too obvious, or perhaps he doesn’t think it’s good advice.
Greven seems to categorize girls into groups: pretty girls, wild girls, talkative girls, and “regular” girls. The best girls in his view seem to be the regular girls who he soon says can also be considered “pretty.” I’m not sure it’s a good idea to categorize too much. Something I learned from my own experiences is that girls and women are all different individuals and what you learn about someone doesn’t always apply to someone else. Still, Greven is only eight when writing this and seems to feel that some superficial categorization is helpful. I guess a boy doesn’t have much more to go by when meeting a girl for the first time. That she appears pretty may indicate that she’s overly concerned about her appearance and therefore high-maintenance, though I’ve met pretty girls and women who were also very nice.
The book does contain some good advice. Crushes often don’t work out and it is better to just move on than to brood over them. Girls don’t like it when boys publically celebrate getting together with them. It’s better to celebrate privately and not go bragging to friends. Greven writes that the average “relationship” between a boy and a girl in elementary school only lasts 30 days. Some pages have a tip at the bottom of the page that sometimes repeats an earlier point. The illustrations are cute with many featuring a blond boy who is possibly a caricature of Greven. They portray the different points written on each page such as giving gifts and the consequences of going after many girls at once.
How to Talk to Girls is pretty good for a book written by an 8-year-old. I don’t believe, as some Amazon reviewers contend, that it was written by an adult ghostwriter, though I’m sure it went through adult and possibly child editors. It is good advice for kids in elementary, middle, and high school. Adult males can benefit a little from the book, though I think they would have to be completely clueless if they didn’t know most of the things already. I hope Greven’s early success leads to a long successful future and doesn’t ruin him with unreasonable expectations. From his book he seems fairly well grounded. I heard that he has written 2-3 other books: How to Talk to Mom, How to Talk to Dad, How to talk to Santa, and that he’s currently working on How to Talk to Grandparents. (Actual order may differ.)
We hope our nephew likes the book. His parents and the other relatives had fun watching him open the present. We also got him the book Hatchet that I had recently read and enjoyed (see earlier review). That’s a book I would have wanted to read at ages 12-13. I’m not sure I can say the same about How to Talk to Girls. As I mentioned in its review, Hatchet is listed as a manly book on the Art of Manliness website. It probably won’t help as much with talking to girls.
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