Blog Tour Review: GirlForce

 

Title: GirlForce

Author:  Nikki Goldstein

About the Book:  Welcome to GirlForce, an exciting new lifestyle brand for tween and teen girls that is simply irresistible. At its core, Girl Force is based on an ancient science called Ayurveda that says our bodies are made of three elemental energies: Fire, Air, and Earth. And with just two quick quizzes about body and mind you can determine your Body Type. Air girls are outgoing and creative; Fire girls are born leaders and highly passionate; and Earth girls are easygoing and make loyal friends.

Guided by these principles, and using lush, high-end photography and gorgeously designed pages, GirlForce imparts the best food, exercise, makeup, yoga, stress relievers and more for your body type. But don't just read about your type...reading your friends' types can help you figure them out too! 

About the Author:  Nikki Goldstein has been a beauty and health editor for nearly 20 years and has written for magazines such as Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Vogue. Nikki has conducted one of the largest global surveys of teen and tween girls and the issues they face, and the results of which inform every aspect of GirlForce.
Nikki’s favorite things are yoga, chocolate and spending time with her family. She’s an Earth Body Type and is fond of extravagant lounging and watching old movies. Nikki lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband Rowan and daughter Liberty.

I had the chance to send Nikki some questions about the book.  Here's what she had to say...

Write For A Reader: Young girls today are inundated by images of "skinny girl" models in magazines and on tv.  This leads to self esteem/body image issues in many teen girls.  How do you, as a beauty editor/writer for such magazines try to combat this dilemma that sometimes leads to tragedy in our teens?

Nikki Goldstein: It's true that many teenage girls feel a huge pressure to conform to stereotypical images of beauty. It's also true that this causes a lot of pain and has been linked to everything from depression to eating disorders. As a journalist and beauty/health editor I have the power to change the way girls see themselves. GirlForce is all about teaching girls to celebrate themselves - just the way they are. By practicing daily affirmations such as, "I love and accept myself just the way I am", girls will find a path to self-acceptance. From that place they discover that the media can only exert a very superficial influence on them.

Write For A Reader: Can you talk about celebrating your unique beauty?

Nikki Goldstein:  I aim to get girls to accept themselves no matter what shape or size they are, what skin colour they have and what challenges they have in their lives. Learning to celebrate your unique beauty is a daily process - one that involves taking action in little ways every day. Every girl will find flaws with her face and body when she looks in the mirror. The challenge is to get beyond the mirror, and beyond comparing yourself to others. The only way to do this is to incorporate self-loving practices such as yoga, exercise and pampering into their daily lives. When girls learn to love themselves in an active and healthy way their self-esteem blossoms. In the GirlForce universe everything is beautiful - big butts, little butts, big boobs, small, boobs, straight noses, crooked noses....beauty is about loving yourself.

My Review:  This was a fun book to read!  By fun I mean, it wasn't just page after page of text.  There were great pictures, quizzes, fun captions, and lots of information.  This book is geared to tween and teen girls, and I think it should be read by them.

Goldstein gives girls insight into how to love themselves, be happy with their bodies, and learn how to celebrate the uniqueness of themselves.  Today, too many girls focus on what they're not or don't have.  Everyone is different, and they need to be able to recognize those differences and strengthen them.

I think this is a great book for girls!  It offers so many tips, tools and advice to help girls lead a healthy, I love myself life.  I recommend this one for middle school/high school libraries, classrooms, and households with tween/teen girls.  5/5 stars for GirlForce!!

By the way, I'm a Fire girl.  See what you are by taking the Body Type quiz and then check out the Awesome GirlForce Body Types.

This content is by, Nikki Goldstein, author of the GirlForce series. Nikki Goldstein has worked as a beauty editor and writer for Marie Claire, Vogue, Elle, InStyle and Cosmopolitan. She regularly blogs on her two websites - www.mygirlforce.com and www.gettoknowyourdaughter.com which give further information about the power of GirlForce, as well as fun quizzes, activities and forums. You can also visit Nikki at http://www.facebook.com/pages/GirlForce/76740694436 or http://twitter.com/MyGirlForce. Learn more about the book at http://www.amazon.com/GirlForce-Nikki-Goldstein/dp/1599903547.