Hello friends!
It has been a while. I was away on business and vacation in my home state: sunny California. And sunny it was. I’m surprised I got any reading done but with a 5-6 hour flight both ways there is plenty of time for that. While I did cheat on Random House a bit, I also finished a few of our own titles:
THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES: The second in a new “paranormal” series from Carrie Ryan, this book is published by our kids group and was even better than the first. It picks up in the years following The Forest of Hands and Teeth (read my previous post about that one to get a synopsis) and follows Gabry as as she goes from living a quiet life to confronting the undead, the blossomings of love, and family secrets that change everything. If you haven’t read Forest yet, start there, as Dead-Tossed won’t be available until March 2010.
FACTORY GIRLS: FROM VILLAGE TO CITY IN A CHANGING CHINA: Wall Street Journal reporter Leslie T. Chang effectively drops her reader into the life of the “factory girls,” young Chinese women who leave their villages and families for the province of Dongguan – a city of factories where everything from Coach to Nike is made. Focusing on dating practices, job hunts, English classes, and other ways of life, this book gives readers a glimpse into the culture surrounding the world that has been created all in the name of our sneakers and electronics. As a young woman who “migrated” from the suburbs to the city myself, I was intrigued by the stories of the women Chang interviewed and befriended and our shared similarites. This book was named a New York Times Book Review “Notable Book” and it is easy to see why – approachable and illuminating, this is not one to miss.
THE TRIPLE BIND: SAVING OUR TEENAGE GIRLS FROM TODAY’S PRESSURES: Ever wonder why more adolescents suffer from troubling emotional problems today than in decades past? Dr. Stephen Hinshaw (chair of the Psychology Department at my alma mater!) points to what he calls “The Triple Bind.” Today’s young girls are feeling more and 
more pressure to “Be pretty, sweet, and nice” and at the same time “be athletic, competitive, and get straight A’s” and the clicher… “be impossibly perfect”. This is an interesting read for anyone who has a teen girl in his or her life – or ever was one.
To welcome myself back to the blog after my absense, I’ve procured a copy of The Triple Bind that I’d love to send to one lucky reader. Please comment for your chance to win!
– Marie
This sounds RIGHT up my alley. Thanks so much and welcome back!
Thanks, I will definitely have to check out Factory Girls. I have a daughter from China and I read a lot to try to understand the culture, both for my own interest and to be able to explain it to her as she gets older. Triple Bind also sounds useful as said daughter will be a teenager one day!
Welcome back! Triple Bind sounds like something we need in our school district’s libraries!
I am interested in having my daughter read triple bind – to see what she thinks and what we can do in high schools to help girls with these impossible expectations
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As a social worker, both of these books sound like they would be very interesting to read. Factory Girls sounds especially interesting because I love reading about the Chinese culture.
WB!
Loved The Forest of Hands and Teeth, can’t wait for The Dead Tossed Waves.
The Triple Bind sounds like something I need to read!