Review: Being A Boy - James Dawson

Being a boy is hard.

How can you possibly act cool and even think about pulling potential partners when your face is sprouting spots and you're hairy in places you didn't even know you could be hairy?

Luckily, former PSHCE teacher James Dawson provides an uncensored look at puberty, from the social food chain to sex, being a boyfriend and everything in between. With Hilarious illustrations by Spike Gerrell, Being A Boy gives guys everything they need to know to survive - brutal honesty included.

Visit James Dawson's website for more information

Review:
I think it's fairly obvious but I'll say it anyway, I'm not now and never have been a teenage boy, so I don't exactly fall into the target audience for this book. In fact I couldn't get much further from the target audience if I tried so you might wonder why I even picked up a copy of this book in the first place. To be honest the main reason was because I'm a huge fa of James Dawson but I have to admit I was also curious about it too.

Being A Boy is a book that guides teenage boys through the minefield that is puberty, it talks frankly about the changes that they will go through both physically and emotionally and James Dawson doesn't pull any punches. He talks openly and honestly about the good and bad and this is a brilliant resource for teenagers who have questions about everything from talking to girls, first dates, being a boyfriend and even sex. Yes, this book will give teenagers the low down on sex, real sex not just the kind they'll find out about by looking up porn on the internet.

I'm sure that there will be some people out there who are horrified by how detailed this book can be but I think it's a wonderful resource that should be given to every teenage boy you know. This book answers the questions that boys are probably too embarrassed to ask an adult about and dispels the myths that are probably flying around the classroom at school. It gives advice on protecting yourself from STIs or unwanted pregnancy but it does it in an incredibly humorous and non-judgemental way. The whole book is written in that manner and I love that it is so honest about things. The most important message of all is that there is no such thing as normal, it doesn't matter if you're a boy who likes girls, boys or even both. It doesn't matter if you go through puberty before or after your friends do, everyone is different and it's all natural.

Being A Boy aims to fill the gap between what teenagers are taught in school and what they'll discover for themselves using the internet. I dread to think of the kind of things that they uncover by spending five minutes on google and this is certainly a way of making sure they get a more realistic view of sex. That isn't the only topic covered though and I'd say the parts about being a decent human being are just as important, if not more so. The overriding message throughout the book is to treat others as you'd like to be treated yourself, it speaks out against bullying and sexism and is all for equality. As much as this is aimed at boys there is actually a lot of advice on the emotional side of dating that is equally relevant to girls as well and I'm sure most teenagers could learn something from this book.

Source: Purchased

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Paperback / Kindle: