Growing up is hard. With puberty, school, and navigating the changing landscape of being a young adult, there’s a lot of pressure and stress to figure it all out. It can also be argued that young women feel this stress and pressure even more so than their counterparts. Luckily, in today’s society, there is a plethora of information and media available for young women seeking guidance. Written by a mother who has raised three girls and also volunteers with young girls from age five to eighteen, this book is full of kind advice on learning how to love oneself and appreciate this time of growth.

The author breaks her advice down into nine tenants: kindness, education, authenticity, unplugging, thankfulness and gratitude, resilience, faith, self-care, and love. Each chapter is framed as “growing into” a characteristic, demonstrating that the path towards self-confidence and happiness involves a journey of trial and error. The author doesn’t suggest that young girls should strive for perfection but rather focus on themselves and their feelings in a way that empowers them and makes them feel good.

The tone of the book is understanding and motherly but never clinical like some self-help guidance books. It reads like an intimate conversation between a mother and daughter, free of judgment. In addition to offering advice, the book also includes a few pages for journalling so that readers can take the author’s counsel and do some self-exploration. As the author writes, “You have to take time to get to know you.” It’s a reassuring message for younger girls that they don’t have to figure everything out immediately.

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