"The best book about the current state of girls and young women in America."—Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic
"Packed with advice and concrete suggestions for parents, Girls on the Edge is a treasure trove of rarely seen research on girls, offering families guidance on some of the most pressing issues facing girls today. Dr. Sax's commitment to girls' success comes through on every page."—Rachel Simmons, author of Odd Girl Out,The Curse of the Good Girl, and Enough As She Is
"Crucial. . . . Parents of tween and teen girls would do well to check this book."—The Chronicle of Higher Education
"Dr. Sax once again combines years of experience with compelling research and common sense to intelligently challenge the status quo of what it means to raise a healthy daughter. Girls on the Edge offers skills parents can incorporate to feel more competent with our girls and young women."—Florence Hilliard, director of the Gender Studies Project, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"The world is way different from what it was a couple of years ago; this is essential reading for parents and teachers, and one of the most thought-provoking books on teen development available."—Library Journal
"Fortunately, [Leonard] Sax is up to more here than pronouncing young women irrevocably doomed. . . . Girls on the Edge doesn't dramatize the self-destructive behavior it describes . . . [and it] speaks exclusively to parents and offers concrete ways to help their daughters cultivate stronger personal identities."—Slate.com/Double X
"In clear, accessible language, Sax deftly blends anecdotes, clinical research, and even lines of poetry in persuasive, often fascinating chapters that speak straight to parents. . . . Warning that 'a 1980s solution' won't help solve twenty-first-century problems, Sax offers a holistic, sobering call to help the current generation of young women develop the support and sense of self that will allow them to grow into resilient adults."—Booklist
"Turn off your cell phones and computers and read this book! You will connect with your daughter in new ways, and she will thank you."—Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, author of God's Paintbrush and In God's Name
"Leonard Sax brings together a rare combination of psychoanalytic training with a deep empathy for girls and their stories in this important book. His argument that girls are struggling to find their centers will resonate and his recommendations for how to locate them will inspire."—Courtney E. Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters
"Dr. Sax's deep commitment to girls developing a positive 'sense of self' is woven into the fabric of this book. Girls on the Edge is a must-read for every parent of a girl as well as for every adult who teaches girls."—Dr. Mary Seppala, head of school,Agnes Irwin School, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
"I made Girls on the Edge required reading for all administrators at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, and I strongly recommend the book to all of our parents. Leonard Sax explains to parents and educators of girls just what is going on in the cyberbubble of instant messaging, texting, and social networking sites. There is a way to help girls navigate this world and find their centers-centers of genuine humanness and authenticity and, yes, spirituality. Readers will find out much they don't know, and that is more than they might guess. A must-read."—Gerald J. Grossman, head of school, Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart,Lake Forest, Illinois
"Leonard Sax sounds a crucial warning to parents of teenage girls. No matter how attentive and savvy you are, the lives of girls today are like nothing you ever knew. The obsessions are worse, nastiness is rampant (especially on the web), drinking is up, and sexuality keeps creeping down the age ladder. 'Girls need girl-specific interventions,' Sax insists, and Girls on the Edge explains why-and also how to do it."—Mark Bauerlein, PhD, professor, Emory University
According to family physician/psychologist Sax (Boys Adrift; Why Gender Matters), when parents don't teach their daughters well, the marketplace fills the vacuum with what it thinks girls should look like, do, and be—and it's all wrong. Sax clarifies his four driving factors in this new crisis: sexual identity: the concept of lifelong commitment is almost unknown, and sexual confusion results when girls don't know what to expect from boyfriends; the cyberbubble: kids are constantly in touch via technology, and girls become microcelebrities, constantly living and acting as if in front of a crowd; obsessions: without realizing it, girls are obsessed with becoming ultra thin, perfecting their grades, and abusing "fun" (alcohol, drugs, sex); and environmental toxins: early puberty is related to chemicals in plastics and phthalates in skin creams. Sax supports single-sex high schools, gender-appropriate sports for girls, and nurturing girls' spirituality to provide orientation when a crisis occurs. VERDICT The world is way different from what it was a couple of years ago; this is essential reading for parents and teachers, and one of the most thought-provoking books on teen development available.—Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA
