I wasn’t sure what this book really was about when I asked for it for Christmas, but I like reading books by strong independent women, and Mayim Bialik is one of those to me. Not afraid to speak her mind and to practice her religion (she’s Jewish) without fear of being judged. I just wanted to read what she’d written to see what it’s all about.

As it turns out, this book was a book about puberty and growing up as a girl (hence Girling Up), and was aimed at pre-teen and teenage girls. As such, it was most definitely not the right kind of book for me, and (thankfully) I didn’t learn anything from it, but I can see how it would be perfect for young girls.

The whole facts of puberty were laid out plain in a matter of fact way (no shying away from more sensitive subjects including sex), but written in a way that would be really accessible to someone young and inexperienced. As well as dealing with the physical changes, Bialik also talks about the emotional changes too and weaves her personal experience throughout the book to let you know that you’re not alone.

All I can say is, I really wish I’d had this book when I was 11, 12 or 13, it would have answered so many questions that I had which weren’t answered clearly for me for a long time after I should have known the answers!