Random House Graphic LET'S TALK ABOUT IT

The ‘sex’ talk is more than just explaining about being safe and The book explains in detail information to my teenager that I couldn’t.

My son is 10 and has lots of questions. This book is definitely too old for him right now, but he is very good at reading and researching at the level that’s right for him.He knows I have the answers and if he doesn’t want to hear me say it, he now knows that this book covers it for him.It’s in his bedroom, he picks it up and puts it down. Last night he told me that he read a page he didn’t understand. It was about intersex and so we opened the pages and talked about it together. We talked about how one day one of his friends may feel like this. They may even confide in him. He said it would be a hard conversation but now he would be ready and would understand instead of feeling weird or laughing.Then he closed the book and talked about Sonic the hedgehog.This book delivers in a way that he understands and makes things matter of fact. I wish it had existed when I was young. I’m ashamed of how little I understood about people who were ‘different’ to me.

I bought this to get up to speed with talking to my kids about sex and healthy relationships. The Pandemic has truly destroyed kids ability to relate to one another face to face. So my primary reason was to start preparing them to face challenges of relationships with people they like and love. Halfway through the book I realise that none of the characters talk to an adult. In fact “adults are boring and preachy” It all seems to be older sisters bros and peers. This is good if you want to establish the dissemination of wrong info. The blasè almost glossing over of the act of sex being firstly not an act of love and just “for fun” is disturbing to me. This is reinforcing a hook up culture that we shouldn’t really be glorifiing. This book needed to start from discussing FAMILY and the different types of families (i am a single father for example.) and how that would impact your relationship both physical and emotional. I would recommend the authors take a page from the TV series Big Mouth, establish a family or two with teens and go from there. It reads very “fast” (because it’s really targeted to teens) and as such tries not to be preachy. I gave it 3 stars because even though I don’t really agree with the direction it does give some valid information. Until it doesn’t. Other reviewers have said this book encourages teens to seek info from the internet and while that may sound like a logical answer it’s erroneous. This book needs to be discussed WITH teens and not just given to them as a fire and forget missile of sorts. Not everything discussed in this book applies across the board to all teens. I certainly don’t believe that the section on gender is all that accurate and I certainly will not explain this as it stands to my kids as it’s laid out in the book. I know there will be many who don’t believe in religion or God, that’s fine, but this book truly erases the contribution of community you find with that idea. Teens need boundaries. They need to be taught that something’s are taboo and not ok for a reason for their own mental health. As you mature and get older you begin to realize that you need to take responsibility for your actions, bad or good. In the end the message this book seems to be trying to underscore is that “if it’s doable, it’s ok to do.” Yes BUT this needs to be tempered by logic and using your brain. I would recommend another book or better yet: Just talk to your teen about how they are feeling using this book as a rough guide and ONLY a guide.

This book has been banned from our Palm Beach County Florida Public Elementary School Libraries. I ordered and read it cover to cover because I was concerned that an educational book on sex with such great reviews and in an appealing graphic novel format was being banned. It is quite explicit, but the artwork (with detailed labels) is informative without being too realistic. It is helpful to know what the correct names of body parts are, as a child or adult. It is difficult to ask questions about body parts if you do not have words for them. There is nothing pornographic (intentionally arousing) about the content. Elementary School seems too young to me, but I believe children have become much more sexually aware and active much younger than when I was a child (b.1945). I am sending this book along to my daughter for her two children (ages 14 and 12) to share with them when she thinks they are ready. It is important for children to know FACTS, not just learn from other children. I can recall my college girlfriends believing that a bottle of Coca-Cola used as an after-sex douche was an effective contraceptive! As well as many other equally incorrect and potentially dangerous ideas about sexual practices.

This book is a "Just Say Know" book not a "Just Say No" book. If you're uncomfortable with queer and trans people's existence or frankness about sex and masturbation -- this is not the book for you. However, unless you're magically restricting your teens access to the internet and peers, they are getting info -- lots of it (a lot that is inaccurate.) Personally, I think this book does a great job imparting really important information about relationships, boundaries/consent, desire, and handling rejection. It also has section of porn and sexting because whether or not parents want to think about it, kids are familiar with both.So be forewarned.But I think this is a great book for some difficult and complex subjects that are definitely on young people's minds whether they themselves are actually particularly interested in sex and dating or not.