by Peggy Orenstein. Orenstein's Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem and the Confidence Gap (1994) was a watershed best-seller, and she has continued to write extensively both in print and online about the hazards of growing up female in contemporary America. Here she explores the increasing pinkification of girls' worlds, from toys to apparel to tween-targeted websites, and she writes not only as a detached, informed journalist but also as a loving, feminist mother, bewildered as her daughter, as if by osmosis, learns the names of every Disney princess, while her classmate, the one with Two Mommies, arrives daily at her Berkeley preschool dressed in a Cinderella gown. With a bridal veil. Orenstein skillfully integrates extensive research that demonstrates the pitfalls of the girlie-girl culture's emphasis on beauty and play-sexiness, which can increase girls' vulnerability to depression, distorted body images and eating disorders, and sexual risks. It's the personal anecdotes, though, which are delivered with wry, self-deprecating, highly quotable humor, that offer the greatest invitation to parents to consider their daughters' worlds and how they can help to shape a healthier, soul-nurturing environment. --Booklist
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