Restless Virgins: Love, Sex and Survival at a New England Prep School

Authors - Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley
3 out of 5 Stars
I'm constantly fascinated by how much (and yet at the same time how little) has changed since I was in high school in the early 90s. Sure, people had sex in high school but it almost always occured when people were in monogomous relationships. Of course we went to parties and experimented with alcohol and drugs. But random sex encounters were rare and were looked down on as something that occured between people who didn't respect themselves.

From what I understand, the stories in this book are not exclusive to Milton Academy. In schools nation wide girls as young as 12 are using sex as a means to 'have a boyfriend' and they mistakenly think that by having sex the guys will love and respect them. So what has changed since the early 90s? I think Candace Bushnell and Sex and the City had a bigger impact on America's youth than people realize. Young girls looked up to Carrie and Samantha, adult women who held prestigious jobs, were well educated and financially well off. Women who sterotypically had sex like men and were able to own their sexuality without the repercussions of losing respect or degrading themselves. But they were adults.

Girls in high school are not yet emotionally ready to have sex with no consequences. Giving blow jobs to five lacross guys at one time in order to be 'liked'? It breaks my heart. And I have no solutions to the problem.

I thought this book was an eye opening read. Definitely something I would encourage teenage girls to read and have conversations about. Knowledge is power.

The Overachievers

The Overachievers : The Secret Lives of Driven Kids
Alexandra Robbins
Unlike 'Restless Virgins' (which moderately shocked me and showed me how things have changed since I was in high school), 'The Overachievers' didn't tell me anything new. Even in high school in the early 90s we were college obsessed, over booked and stressed out. This book was almost an exact description of my high school experience what with the SAT prep, the honors and AP classes, the lack of sleep and the pressure. I was actually surprised that these kids remained so focused -- only a few pas...more Unlike 'Restless Virgins' (which moderately shocked me and showed me how things have changed since I was in high school), 'The Overachievers' didn't tell me anything new. Even in high school in the early 90s we were college obsessed, over booked and stressed out. This book was almost an exact description of my high school experience what with the SAT prep, the honors and AP classes, the lack of sleep and the pressure. I was actually surprised that these kids remained so focused -- only a few passages discussed drinking (not even anything about drug use). The students Robbins' profiled are good kids and they deserved to be accepted to prestigious schools. I wish she would have covered a more diverse crowd and focused a bit more on under privledged students who needed financial aid or scholarships. My favorite part of the book was her research on early childhood education and the competition (especially in Manhattan) to get into elite preschools. As an early childhood education teacher in Manhattan I spend a good portion of the Fall writing recommendations for my 2 year old students. Crazy, yes. But so true. I agree with Robbins' thesis -- children are forced (by their parents and caregivers) to compete with each other from the second they are born. But I'm not sure if that is true on all ends of the social spectrum. I also teach students in the lower middle class Bronx and the work mentality is much different than in Manhattan. Robbins' briefly mentioned one of the students working on a Native American reservation but her book focuses on one group -- upper middle class kids with college educated parents in Maryland.