Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed Laid: Young People's Experiences with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
Editor Shannon T. Boodram is a journalist who got her start as a sexual educator on Canadian National Network at the age of nineteen. Since that time, she's been busy creating podcasts, putting together LAID, and serving as an expert on different sexuality panels.
The basics of LAID are this: Young people ages 18-25 were asked to share a life-changing sexual experience that they had went through in their teens. The purpose was to present the information - the good, the bad, and the ugly - to teens everywhere in a non-threatening, non-judgmental, non-preachy way. In this respect, Ms. Boodram has definitely succeeded. You can tell from each story that the contributors had put thought into how to tell their story, so that readers would come away with a feeling of having learned something rather than being judged.
The book is broken up into five separate parts: Hookups that Fell Down (negative sexual experiences), And Then I Saw Stars (positive sexual experiences), Haven't Been Quite Right Since that Night (consequences of sex), When NO! Loses All Meaning (date rape and sexual abuse), and Save Your Cherry...Or Banana (abstinence and abstaining).
I'll be honest: Some of the stories included in LAID are hard to read. Some are downright heartbreaking. Others show the need to be fully informed before heading into a sexual relationship. I found the Q & A sections to be enlightening, with information on sex and sexuality given in a no-nonsense manner that older teens are sure to relate to. As sex in all its forms becomes more readily available to youth of all ages (television, radio, Internet), it's the perfect time to have a book such as this one.
Overall, a good read for those contemplating their sexuality or questioning whether it's time for them to have sex. Although there are no hard-and-fast answers in LAID, reading about the experiences of their peers is sure to be helpful to a lot of readers.
Editor Shannon T. Boodram is a journalist who got her start as a sexual educator on Canadian National Network at the age of nineteen. Since that time, she's been busy creating podcasts, putting together LAID, and serving as an expert on different sexuality panels.
The basics of LAID are this: Young people ages 18-25 were asked to share a life-changing sexual experience that they had went through in their teens. The purpose was to present the information - the good, the bad, and the ugly - to teens everywhere in a non-threatening, non-judgmental, non-preachy way. In this respect, Ms. Boodram has definitely succeeded. You can tell from each story that the contributors had put thought into how to tell their story, so that readers would come away with a feeling of having learned something rather than being judged.
The book is broken up into five separate parts: Hookups that Fell Down (negative sexual experiences), And Then I Saw Stars (positive sexual experiences), Haven't Been Quite Right Since that Night (consequences of sex), When NO! Loses All Meaning (date rape and sexual abuse), and Save Your Cherry...Or Banana (abstinence and abstaining).
I'll be honest: Some of the stories included in LAID are hard to read. Some are downright heartbreaking. Others show the need to be fully informed before heading into a sexual relationship. I found the Q & A sections to be enlightening, with information on sex and sexuality given in a no-nonsense manner that older teens are sure to relate to. As sex in all its forms becomes more readily available to youth of all ages (television, radio, Internet), it's the perfect time to have a book such as this one.
Overall, a good read for those contemplating their sexuality or questioning whether it's time for them to have sex. Although there are no hard-and-fast answers in LAID, reading about the experiences of their peers is sure to be helpful to a lot of readers.
