Reviving Ophelia - Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls - Book Report/Review Example

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls The book reviving Ophelia is among the most amazing books that Mary Pipher has ever written. The book describes heartbreaking events that teenage American girls go through in their daily struggles with life. In this book, Mary Pipher talks about problems encountered by teenage girls due to social pressure and influence by the media. Mary Pipher starts by analyzing the issues that cause problems among teenage girls and concludes by recommending practical solution to these problems.

This paper will therefore give an objective book review on Mary Pipher’s work.The book was written and published in 1994. During this period, the crash between the older generations and teenagers was at its height due to the rapid changes that were being experienced in the American societies. The period was also characterized by an increase in technology and overdependence on the media among teenage. Many books deal with the challenges affecting teenage. However, few of these books specialize on the challenges facing the girl child.

The book by Mary Pipher therefore has a unique presentation of the problem affecting the youths. Some other books in this category include Sojourner truth: Ain’t I a woman by McKissak Pat. Other books in this chronicle include Levenkron, Steven (1978) The Best Little Girl in the World and Greenfield and Laura (2002) Girl Culture. These books talk about issues affecting a typical teenage girl in the US. The books also provide or demonstrate practical solution to different problems experienced by teenage girls.

Usage of case studies is also a common characteristic of these books.From the content of the book, it is evident that the book has a wide audience. This audience represents the different classes of people that will find the book useful for application in life and for scholastic purpose. Firstly, the book will be found useful for self-therapeutic purposes and for teaching purposes. Teenage girls will find the book to be a useful resource that will provide them with sensible answers to counter life problems.

Girls who are undergoing trauma resulting from problems such as abuse, unwanted pregnancies and sexual abuse will find the book to a be a useful source of consolation. The book is also a good read to parents particularly those with teenage girls and those preparing to raise their children through teenage. The audience of this book will therefore span from young children to adults.The main argument presented by Pipher in this book is that girls choose their friends from the class of people they wish or intend to belong.

The issue of association is common among teenagers. Most of them will want to be associated with a certain group of people and this is the major source of most of their problems. Pipher believes that the need to belong to a certain class is what determines the kind of life that a young girl will have. Challenges that are faced by teenagers are a common issue in most literature. However, most writers deal with the general issue without focusing on the issues that affect each gender. This is of particular interest since each gender has specific problems that affect it.

This indicates that problems affecting girls are not the same problems that affect the boy child. The author of this book has therefore not created a new topic but he has just refined an existing topic by concentrating on the problems that affect the girl child. Pipher has also introduced new factors that were not addressed by previous scholars such as the influence of the media and technology.The main strength of this book is that it is based on firsthand information. The author has given stories from different teenage girls with the aim of emphasizing or demonstrating the reality in the problems that are currently faced by teenage girls.

This factor strengthens the argument presented by the author and makes the different recommendations presented by the same author realistic and applicable. The book also makes use of specific examples particularly those involving celebrity figures. This makes the book unpopular to the intended audience since they uphold such personalities. The use of specific celebrity case studies is the main weakness of this book.The author over relies on case study to provide evidence that these problems are rife among teenage girls.

This type of evidence is insufficient since the different case studies do not cover all possible cases involving teenage girls. Case studies also do not provide accurate evidence as statistics would do. In addition, author has used five primary sources that give real life account of challenges and solution to problems affecting teenage girls. These primary sources have enabled the author to develop a high quality bibliography.In conclusion the book Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls by Mary Pipher addresses different issues that affect teenage girls.

The author bases his argument on the need to associate with a certain class of people by teenage girls. The book is useful to both adult and young readers. Work CitedPipher, Mary Reviving Ophelia: saving the selves of adolescent girls. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. Print.