Girl Confidentialtag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//202008-12-22T15:02:32ZMovable Type 3.33Tween Girls- Last Minute Giftstag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.19572008-12-22T12:56:36Z2008-12-22T15:02:32ZFind out about three of the hottest books amongst older tweens. Catherinehttp://alphamom.com
I was at the bookstore this past weekend with some tween girls (the girls are older tweens - they're 12-15 years old). In case you need some last minute gifts, here are the top 3 books that are on their "Gotta Read List" this week! Or if you're shopping after the holiday with their gift cards, show them what a cool mom you are and lead them to these books. I love it when they wonder, "How does she know about this?"
1. Girls who want to hang out with southern girls, are picking The Peaches Series. It's about three very different girls: Birdie would rather eat Thin Mints and sulk in the A/C. Leeds would prefer to sneak off with her boyfriend, Rex. Murphy would much rather cause a little mischief. Together these three girls discover the secret to finding the right boy (Hey, I have some friends that should read this!), making the truest of friends, and picking the perfect Georgia peach.
2. Girls who love the supernatural, went with Love is Hell. Reviews from the book's website: Sure, love is hell. But it,s totally worth it. In these supernatural stories by five of today's hottest writers—Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely), Scott Westerfeld (Specials), Justine Larbalestier (Magic or Madness), Gabrielle Zevin (Elsewhere), and Laurie Faria Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares)—love may be twisted and turned around, but it's more potent than ever on its quest to conquer all.
From two students who let the power of attraction guide them to break the hard-and-fast rules of their world to the girl who falls hard for a good-looking ghost with a score to settle, the clever, quirky characters in this exciting collection will break your heart, then leave you believing in love more than ever.
3. Ink Exchange is the sequel to one of their favorite books, Wicked Lovely (for girls 12+): This is a review from one of the girls: "After everything that happened to her friend Aislinn, Leslie is questioning the paranormal stuff that is happening around her. It started off as getting a simple tattoo, a tattoo that would be a part of her forever, and the one that she chose changed her life and she is sucked into a world full of fairies and hard decisions. If you read Wicked Lovely, you will devour the Ink Exchange, it's an amazing sequel."]]>
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Wizards Beat Vampires at bookstorestag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.19292008-12-17T14:13:59Z2008-12-17T15:55:56ZOur Favorite Wizard Scribe ReignsDenise RestauriTwilight was "the next Harry Potter" for a short time... until our fave wizard scribe released her spin-off, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
It has sold almost five times as many copies in its first few days after publication as its nearest rival, Guinness World Records 2008.
The success of the 109-page collection of short stories, which Rowling did not originally intend for publication, underlines the powerful hold she continues to exert over readers – and the book industry.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard – mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the latest book in wizard boy series – sold 367,625 copies in the first three days after publication on December 4.
Twentieth Century Fox has optioned rights to “How to Talk to Girls,” a newly published advice guide written by Alec Greven, a 9-year-old published-author on the subject.
The advice seems simple enough to follow: Greven’s tips range from the facts of life ("Sometimes, you get a girl to like you, then she ditches you. Life is hard, move on!”), to getting a girl’s attention (”Show off a skill, like playing soccer or anything else that you are good at.”) to talking to girls ("You also have to be aware that girls win most of the arguments.”) to dealing with crushes ("It can be very hard to get a girl to like you. Sometimes it takes years! Whatever happens, just don’t act desperate.”).
Full Story Here: Fox learns "How to Talk to Girls"]]>
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The All-American Tween-Teentag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.19252008-12-15T11:49:12Z2008-12-15T15:12:39ZFrom a California punk to a Georgia drag queen, the pride and passion of a generation coming of age in a new photo book.
Denise Restauri
From a California punk to a Georgia drag queen, the pride and passion of a generation coming of age.
More photos at MSNBC.com This photo and the others excerpted from It's Complicated: The American Teenager by Robert Bowman.]]>
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Tween Girls still love her: Britney's "Circus" is No. 1tag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.19242008-12-12T14:20:03Z2008-12-12T22:21:04ZWill Britney make a comeback? Denise RestauriTWEEN GIRLS are “flippin tired of all the junk ppl have been saying about her!!!”
"And she’s like old Britney with the long blond hair, toned-up body and making sexy videos, and that’s resonating with her old fans,” Davis says.
Weiss says the star deserves credit for knowing her audience well and changing with the times: “Despite all the craziness and paparazzi and people chasing her around, she’s not that dissimilar to a lot of the girls buying her records.”
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Will those Scary Santa photos embarass your tween?tag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.19232008-12-12T02:19:51Z2008-12-12T03:52:35ZScary Santa photos are now being memorialized in a book. Do you think your tween will love it or hate it?Denise Restauri
I read the following today and thought, "Wait til these kids become tweens... this book will be in their pile of "ways my mom embarrassed me!"
GMA Weekend will be featuring a new book entitled, Scared of Santa: Scenes of Terror in Toyland, authored by two writers from the Chicago Tribune.
Is Your Kid Scared of Santa? Send Us a Photo!
"GMA Weekend" wants to see your photos of terrified tots sitting on Santa's lap.
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Adventurous Holiday tag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.18842008-12-01T13:58:37Z2008-12-08T22:57:17ZLooking for adventure, fun and excitement? Denise Restauri
This week, we'll see this featured on the morning talk shows... but we're blogging about it on Alphamom now. Adventurous, fun and exciting things to DO with your daughter (or son or husband or BFF) this holiday (or anytime!).
1. Wolf watch experience (After Twilight who wouldn't want to do this?)
2. Feed sharks
3. Dig for dinosaur fossils
4. Be the girls on the flying trapeze
5. Ride in a dune buggy
6. Learn to snow kite
7. Train seals with a seal trainer
8. Go indoor rock climbing
Discovery Channel has a ton of Crazy cool experiences starting at $50.00.
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Tween Girl Gift Giveaways
Each day this week (starting December 8) you can enter to win an awesome prize at our partner site for tween girls, AllyKatzz.
Just head over there and enter your email address (and confirm that you are over 18).
If you are the lucky daily winner, they will contact you via email to get your mailing address to send you your prize. Simple! And since they are our BFF, we trust their word that they we will not give your email address to anyone. They are a SAFE site for tween girls. They NEVER share personal info.]]>
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Tween Girl Twilight Dissers? tag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.18482008-11-18T15:04:23Z2008-11-18T17:27:46ZTween Girls that do not love Twilight? How can that be? The great tween debate is here. Denise Restauri
Here's a quote from a tween girl on the Twilight book series:
After reading Twilight, I got hooked and read the next two novels, but got sad again when I had nothing to read, so I reread Twilight. When I reread it, I started to really hate it.
Twilight Debate Continued Here. ]]>
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Get It! Target Tween 2-Fer.tag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.18392008-11-17T13:46:24Z2008-11-17T14:38:16ZTween Girls Want Gift Cards and Cameras. Target nailed it with this perfect tween 2-Fer.Denise Restauri
Found this on Gizmodo:
Is it a gift card with a digital camera, or a digital camera with a gift card? We're not quite sure, but this holiday season, Target will begin selling a combo gift card/digital camera, giving customers something to do with their gift certificate other than just spending it while being insulted that a loved one didn't put a little more thought into the present.
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Science Class or Sex in the Bathroom?tag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.18382008-11-14T13:35:50Z2008-11-14T15:19:24ZWhen the survey results say that 52% of teen girls have unprotected sex and 1 in 5 girls wants to be a teen mom, The Tyra Show does more than report the findings. Denise Restauri
This summer, when the Tyra Show posted a survey on sex, drugs and violence, more than 10,000 teen girls and young women were shockingly honest about what is really happening in their lives. And what they said will blow you away. What did the Young Women in Crisis survey results show?
More girls than ever are kissing other girls, becoming sexually active and actually trying to become teen mothers! What's the result of all that risky business? The survey found that the average girl loses her virginity at 15 -- and more than half of the teens having sex are doing so without protection! Many of them are even having sex at school. All that activity might explain why one in three girls said they were afraid they have an STD!
Delivering the survey results on the Tyra Banks Show today is a “real” 15-year-old girl who tells her story: she lost her virginity when she was 13 and has had 9 sexual partners since then. This girl will get to school and her locker will be covered with “slut” and that 9 partner count will quickly grow. Instead of putting her on TV, Tyra should get her and her parents some professional help.
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Too Sexy Halloweentag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.18032008-10-30T16:00:02Z2008-10-30T19:57:41ZSexy Girls and Scary Boys. What's wrong with this picture? Denise Restauri
By Denise Restauri
I went to a Halloween social the other night, and the top 3 costumes were a French maid who was wearing a size 6X kids top as a dress and the neckline and shoulders were past her bra! The other 2 were an army dress that was so short you could see her underwear and the third was a nurse’s outfit with handcuffs that was worse than the French maid outfit.
What makes this really scary is that it’s from a 13-year-old girl.
It doesn’t stop there. Add Playboy bunny, sexy devil, Victoria’s Secret model and a butt revealing Alice in Wonderland.
If you’re thinking, “Where’s the scary police officer when you need her?” Look in the boy department. That’s where the scary costumes are. Sexy is for girls only. Imagine that.
What’s really frightening is that girls are not making these costumes. Adults are responsible: manufacturers make them, retailers push them and parents buy them. Girls are not spending their own money on these getups - parents are paying for them. Parents need to say “NO!” for many reasons including this one: studies show that the over sexualization of girls correlates with eating disorders, depression and early sex. Ok, so one Halloween costume isn’t going to make your daughter depressed, anorexic and sexually active. But if your daughter needs to send a sexual message on Halloween, you need to find out what why she wants to be young and sexy.
See how tween girls answer this question: “Has Halloween Become Way Too Sexy For You?” They also give some great non-sexy costume tips.
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No Wonder HSM3 Rocks the Chartstag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.17892008-10-28T15:20:42Z2008-10-28T17:05:31ZTween girls escape and HSM 3 rocks and rolls into 1st place. Denise Restauri
High School Musical 3: Senior Year rolled into first place: best opening ever for a movie musical. $42 million. HSM3 keeps reality at a safe distance and tween girls are responding with votes of "love it!" and "gotta see it again." That's because tween girls want to escape. Sometimes from themselves. Sometimes from their mothers. Here are 2 blogs by 2 girls. The girls who are raving about HSM 3. Could one of these girls be your daughter?
From a 12-year-old girl:
"Okay so, I was staring in the mirror earlier checking for any bumps and of course I have one on my nose, and all on my hairline. which most people get bumps on their hairline, but thats not the reason I'm writing this blog. I know this may sound weird, but behind those bumps I found a message. I mean life was so much easier whenever we were 7 and 8 years old. You could carry around a barbie doll without anyone saying anything. Now that i'm becoming a (teenager) young woman as my mother likes to call it i've realized that life is so complicated now. You have to worry about a variety of things like boys, pimples, what clothes you wear, does your hair look good, or are you going to fit the "standards," to be in the "it," group. Behind those bumps the message I found was that life is short so don't worry about any of those things. When you leave this earth you won't be judged on whether you had a boyfriend didn't have a boyfriend, your clothes were expensive or not expensive, or you were in the it group. No none of that matters what really matters is if you are kind to each other, have faith, love others, and just cherish every moment in life that the Lord gives you. So, you see that I found a message, A very important message. Don't worry about that other stuff."
From a 13-year-old girl:
"I really can't. I can't make my family proud or anything. I can't do a single thing right. Its like...all I do is disappoint everyone! And then I see teenage couples together and...I read about them and...I want someone to love me like that. I want someone to really truly care about me. And like me for me. But I don't have anyone like that. My so-called "Friends" won't email me. One of them just ditched me on IM right now and school SUCKS. I'm home schooled, but I almost wish I was in a public school.... god. I'm so sick of it. Its like my mom thinks I'm perfect and that I should get 100% on EVERYTHING and its just...ah. I'm NOT perfect. I'm not anything. Why won't anyone just see that and love me for who I am? Not what they want me to be? I'm sick of everyone just yelling at me. Nobody asks me how I am. I always ask how they are. No....of course they don't care about me. I say, "I got your back" to girls....but you know what? They don't say it to me. Nobody has got my back. Nobody cares. And I just can't take it any longer...."
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On A Place Called Wall Streettag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.17702008-10-21T14:00:47Z2008-10-22T13:34:49Z"First I get almost everything I want and then: BOOM! No more money." An 11-year-old tween girl figures out what Wall Street means to HER Main Street.Denise Restauri
tween girl:
"Wall Street and the money problems and stuff. I don't really technically know what's happening on Wall Street, my parents (or anyone else for that matter) won't take the time to tell me, but from what I gather, well, umm actually I don't gather anything. it's hard to understand and boring when I read articles about it. But I have figured out that something bad is happening and it has to do with Wall St. and the economy. Something like a mini great depression, kinda like that? (If you could include an explanation, simple and easy for an eleven year old to understand in your comment i would be really appreciative.) So anyway: Is your family getting affected by this scary-and-hard-to-underst and-mysterious-problem-on -a- place-called-Wall-Street? because my family is, big time. We're struggling to pay the apartment rent. I don't get allowance anymore, I have to do more chores for free, my parents aren't getting me ice cream or candy or anything else for me anymore, I'm still wearing the same clothes from last year and the year before (I haven't grown much), and we have no extra money for toys, games, books, or CDs. We weren't even able to get all of our school supplies this year. It's really freaking me out. And waht's worse, is that I have to stand there and tell my teacher I couldn't get the notebook or colored pencils, when my friend is behind me bragging to someone else about the new Wii they got (Not kidding, that happened). So I'm wondering, why am I getting affected by this, why is my family struggling when my friend's still get everything they want? It's not very fair. =( Anyone else feel this way? I'm trying not to feel bad for myself, after all there are tons of people who are off WAY worse than me, but it's kinda hard not to feel bad when the only time I can ever read a new book is every week from the school library and the only time I get to listen to the new Demi Lovato CD is at my friend's house. Jeez. I just don't know what to do. It's been really hard on me. First I get almost everything I want and then: BOOM! No more money. Do you guys have any advice? Is your family having a hard time too? Please comment!?"
AllyKatzz Girls Respond:
“Well I can't go to my public Library because we owe a pretty big fine, which we don't have money to pay for it, of course. And I mean I wish we could just be kids, but how can I just be a kid with no books, no CDs, no games? We have to be really careful about everything.”
“I know a bit of what you feel like. Even though I live in Canada it's affecting us here too. My mom is not really but my dad kind of is. We're saving money, and we're not eating out very much, I'm using my own money for buying stuff like books, and clothes. I was so surprised when I got my birthday present (which was like an hour ago) a MP3 player!!! I'm definitely not in as deep, but trust me, everyone's feeling it, but you can always talk with me!!!”
“My family is having a hard time too. I usually only get to get something everytime my mom gets paid. But even though it's effecting my family we are trying to make it through and my moms still saving money for us and all the bills and stuff. But I know exactly what you're going through cause it's the same with me! So you can talk to me any time about it! Luff Lauren:]”
“im sooo sorry! its not really affecting us...yet...”
“my family is having a really tough time! especially since one of my brothers is in college! and my parents always talk about bills! and usually im in the room or somewhere where i can here them and i HATE it cause i know where going through a hard time but i dont want to have to sit listen and worry! like its getting so tough that w have to make the groceries last about 2 weeks! (which is impossible cause my growing teenage older brother eats EVERTHING!) and not to mention EVERY cent of my parents check they get from working goes straight to the bills and we barely can get candy,or magazines, or books! and the worst thing is that my dad doesnt know what do to cause we might be losing the house if we cant keep up with our morgage :/”
"i wish we could just be kids. and i'm really sorry about all of this, especially about the bratty girl with the wii. that just sucks. i've noticed my parents being really, really hesitant about things like buying me coffebeans and stuff, but nothing major has happened... yet. i'm really glad because for once both my parents have jobs. and for a suggestion, if you go to your public library they let you borrow books, movies, and cd's there for free for like two weeks, so you could get the demi lovato cd there if you wanted to :]] it's really helpful. other than that i hope things get better and if you ever need someone to talk to im here!"
“gosh, wallstreet this and that, cant we just be kids?”
“I really agree w/ u. Everyday on the news they talk about how bad things are getting and it really doesn't directly effect the nation, but we can feel it happen. I get kind of scared because I don't know what all those numbers mean and slowly it's just ruining our economy. Then when I think about how other people are getting effected so badly, it makes me feel like a spoiled brat, but yeah, I'll stop rambling and simply state, I think things will get worse b4 it gets better”
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Vampire is Her New Prince Charmingtag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.17462008-10-10T17:04:53Z2008-10-13T14:28:14ZNope, Sorry, I'm watching the Twilight Trailer... AGAIN.Denise Restauri
Twilight Trailer is steaming up the PG-13 Tween Girl World!
From a girl who calls herself TeamJonasLover - she's still loving the Jonas Bros, but Edward is taking over...
"Hey! Anyone see the new Twilight trailer!? Go watch it, if you haven't it! Then, read the rest of this blog!...OH MY GOSH. The trailer is so good! I can't wait to see the movie! Gahhh! The trailer is amazing! I don't know what to say. I was getting so mad, when it wouldn't load. haha. I was getting angry. :P But, it was worth it(: Ahhhh! I want to see the movie now! Tomorrow I would so wear my Twilight shirt, if I hadn't just worn it Wednesday. Boo. haha. I want to watch the trailer again! But, my brother is watching TV. So...yeah. Let me say how good the trailer is though. Oh my fllipin Edward Cullen. This movie is going to make world history, I'm telling you. Edward Cullen+Bella Swan+Paramoere+other awesome songs on soundtrack= awesomest movie of movies! Even beating Camp Rock. And, that's a lot coming from me! haha. Gahhh. Edward. Edward. Edward. Edward. Edward. Edward. Edward. Who wants to reply and not make me feel like I'm the only one who thought that was the best trailer in the history of trailers?"
Here are a few of the replies:
“Holy Edward! It was awesome!! I was like OME!! I can't wait I'm gonna go see it with a bunch of friends!”
“AHH...i saw it and I CAN NOT WAIT!! omg! edward and bella...HOT! lol. I LOVE EDWARD!! i soo want to watch this movie. it has to be THE MOVIE of the year”
“Harry Potter will always be on top. No matter what. But I did see the trailer and thought it looked kind of cool =)”
“theres one thing everybody should know. harry potter is going to be thrown in a toilet and flushed away.”
“i watched bella and edward were sooooooo hot in it it steamed up my glasses lol love it!!!!!!!”
Coming to a theater near you on November 21, 2008.
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Crush Encounters: How to handle a chance meeting of your tween girl's crush.tag:www.alphamom.com,2008:/girl-confidential//20.16742008-10-01T15:15:44Z2008-10-02T07:01:37ZFor Moms, MUMS the word. Denise Restauri
tween girls are giving us moms tips… in FIVE easy steps.
We asked the girls: You and your mom are at the mall and you run into your CRUSH. What should mom do? 1. Moms, get your marching orders before hitting the mall.
“Before you go to the mall, you should tell your mom this: Mom, if I ever happen to run into a "certain boy" somewhere, this is what you need to do: Hey (your name) I'm gonna go over to that store, see? Call me if you need anything. Bye.” from My_Simple_Song2. If you forget to get instructions, DISAPPEAR BEFORE YOU’RE DITCHED!
“Moms should act like they don't know us if we see our crushes, unless they don't know [that he is our crush]...then we just have to slowly ditch the moms for a while...lol” from moeykat3. Hold thy tongue.
“Don't ask something stranges [sic] like "So do you like each other?" cause that will just put everyone in an awkward position. Extra Points: Also do not say something like "well you two will have to get together soon".” from JuicyCouture4. Play it cool.
“I wouldn't want her to run away, that's just too obvious. So, maybe she could just you know stay cool, calm and collected. Not nudge me, or try and make a scene. lol. Maybe if he was coming over, and I started coming towards him too... She could just casually say 'I'll be over here' and let me chat with him for a while.” from Adelade5. Please, please, please do not Engage.
“She should say hi (just HI nothing more) and then casually walk away like 'im gonna go look at something over here'...she shouldn't actually engage in any form of conversation whatsoever” from converse_luv_4ever
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Twilight was "the next Harry Potter" for a short time... until our fave wizard scribe released her spin-off, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
I read the following today and thought, "Wait til these kids become tweens... this book will be in their pile of "ways my mom embarrassed me!"
This week, we'll see this featured on the morning talk shows... but we're blogging about it on Alphamom now. Adventurous, fun and exciting things to DO with your daughter (or son or husband or BFF) this holiday (or anytime!).
1. Wolf watch experience (After Twilight who wouldn't want to do this?)
2. Feed sharks
3. Dig for dinosaur fossils
4. Be the girls on the flying trapeze
5. Ride in a dune buggy
6. Learn to snow kite
7. Train seals with a seal trainer
8. Go indoor rock climbing
Discovery Channel has a ton of Crazy cool experiences starting at $50.00.
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Tween Girl Gift Giveaways
Each day this week (starting December 8) you can enter to win an awesome prize at our partner site for tween girls, AllyKatzz.
Just head over there and enter your email address (and confirm that you are over 18).
If you are the lucky daily winner, they will contact you via email to get your mailing address to send you your prize. Simple! And since they are our BFF, we trust their word that they we will not give your email address to anyone. They are a SAFE site for tween girls. They NEVER share personal info.]]>
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Here's a quote from a tween girl on the Twilight book series: