Dear Big V

Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com

Courtney Condon is a junior who is suddenly facing a lot of issues. The school club she started a year ago for students committed to staying virgins until marriage is being taken over by a new girl who wants to ramp us their profile and be more confrontational. Her mother won't talk about sex, and she acts as though it's the cause of all evil. To make things worse, she finds her own resolve weakening as she becomes attracted to the cutest boy in school, who has a reputation as a "player."

As she navigates the minefields all around her she turns to the "Big V," her virginity, for advice, and she's surprised to find it sometimes answers back. Courtney's observations about the world around her are often laugh-out-loud funny. Reminiscent of Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging (Louise Rennison), Dear Big V by Ellen W. Leroe is for an older crowd who will appreciate the frank treatment of conflict between hormones and values.

The issues are definitely in your face, but the book provides a great forum for moms to talk with their high school daughters about important issues: premarital sex, appropriate behavior at school dances, sexual abuse, normal sexual feelings, dating, "good girls/bad girls," seeing issues in black and white, and family rules. Fiction is a great way to address topics that have the potential to embarrass moms and daughters and inhibit frank discussions. Group conversation about these topics is also a great way to take the pulse of your daughter's peers and other moms.