This one is more for the women of the chamber...did anybody here read this book when they were a kid? Until a couple of years ago I had never even heard of it, and going by what I have heard, I seriously doubt as a kid I would've read it. And yet people say 'EVERY teenaged girl should read this' 'This is a book for EVERY girl', oh really?

As a child I wouldn't touch any books about girls with a 10 foot pole because I knew they were boring and not about anything I was interested in, and going by the reviews I've read on this one it's about an 11 year old who talks constantly about her period, obsesses about boys and having sex with them, and has 'I must I must I must increase my bust' as a mantra when she tries to get bigger breasts from exercising. That said, my mind is spinning from all these reviews of 'Oh as a teenager I LOVED this book, I could relate to this', seriously?

By the time I was a teenager I was alternating between finishing high school and starting college in the same semester and dealing with professors who threatened to kick me out because they didn't want a 13 year old girl for a student, I didn't have time to worry about my breasts, which in itself was never an issue because those puppies set up shop at age 9 before I knew what was going on, same with my period. People talk about girls 'dealing' with it, what's to deal with? By 9 I figured out you get this every month and you wear pads for a week, that's all that that meant, to me it was not a life changing event and really didn't mean anything, it was just something that happened.

So...for the ladies of the book chamber, your thoughts on this book if you've read it?

I've read it, I've read every Judy Blume book. She was one of my favorite authors as a kid. I don't know about it being a pertinent book for girls to read, but I did enjoy it. I will give it to me sister to read too.

I've heard of it, but I don't recall ever reading it. I liked quite a few Judy Blum books, but because that one was so girl-specific, it never made my reading list.

I read it and recall liking it. I think the draw is that it is geared toward the pre-teen crowd and at that age (at least back when I was that age) we didn't really talk to our friends about the personal stuff going on with our bodies. I suspect that is much different today as kids seem so much more open and less shy about all that stuff.