Brave Girls

October 27, 2014
Psychologist Radin's vision for equipping young women with leadership skills amounts to an extended promotional brochure for Unleashed, her 12-week after-school program that teaches middle school girls "social justice via animal rights." Building on the central insight that cultivating bravery in preadolescents means teaching them to identify and voice their own values, opinions, and personal strengths, the book aims to alleviate the "psychological distress" accompanying a time of rapid emotional and physical maturation. Throughout the book, Radin provides short testimonials from former Unleashed members testifying to the program's success in "tapping into girls' passion at a formative age profoundly shape their experiences of power and leadership." The articulation of precisely how to achieve Radin's worthy goals, however, is diffused by broad generalizations about "gender norms and stereotypes" and language imbued with the cheerfully ambitious yet vague tone of the life coach and leadership consultant. Meanwhile, transferable advice for parents, teachers, and coaches appears only in the small "power boosts" concluding each chapter. Readers may be inspired by Radin's desire to aid women in "reshaping their world into one that is just, humane, and mindful," even if the suggestions she offers add up to only a partial solution. Agent: Laura Nolan, Paradigm Agency.

February 15, 2015

Psychologist and consultant Radin begins her book with some powerful sentiments: "Our society as a whole is lacking opportunities designed to help preadolescent girls feel confident, secure, and emotionally safe." While such statements are debatable, the author's effort to guide young girls of middle school age through the minefield of adolescence and come out empowered is certainly a worthy aim. Radin bases her work on her grassroots program called Unleashed, which taps into a common tween interest in animal rescue and expands on the skills of leadership, involvement, and communication, with the hope of leading toward greater confidence. VERDICT Each chapter ends with a "power boost" showing how to further empower young girls. These are, however, at times overwhelming ("You have the power to change our next generation of female change-makers!") or else unwieldy ("Cultivate budding un-bystanders by creating hypothetical ethical dilemmas and asking girls how they would respond.") This is an admirable work that could use refinement.

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