May 26th, 2006
Let’s say you have this friend. She’s a smart, has-her-shit-together chick in every way but one: Her boyfriend is an ass. Maybe he’s just using her for sex. Maybe he’s cheating on her. Maybe he disrespects her in any one of a number of ways that jackass boyfriends abuse their girlfriends.
The point is, your dear friend is setting herself up for a devastating heartache. And what really sucks is how everyone can see it but her. You’ve tried to warn her, but he’s an irresistible force of a very carnal nature. Nothing can outmatch this boy’s libidinous pull.
Nothing, maybe, but this book: A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone.
This is a brave and beautiful novel-in-verse. It’s easily one of the most honest and nonjudgmental portrayals of the head-and-heart-stopping realities of hooking up with a horndog. In the end, this book is all about female empowerment, and that’s a message that deserves reading and repeating. Your friend needs this book. And maybe you do too.
And while I’m at it, Charmed Thirds is not only an ideal read for a holiday weekend, but makes a perfect gift for high school and college graduates.
Hey, I’m only trying to simplify your graduation gift-buying needs.
