Real Gorgeous: The Truth about Body and Beauty by Kaz Cooke

Kaz Cooke takes a stand against magazines, media and dieting in her book about body image and self-esteem. It's relatively positive and funny, calling out all scams and lies in the beauty industry. Who dictates what your body should look like or what you should wear? And, no matter who says it, why would you have to listen?

This book is good for older teens. It addresses body shape, weight, nutrition, eating disorders, fashion, beauty products and the "body police," the unidentified people who criticize anybody about anything related to how they look.

The book includes tons of personal stories, interspersed with statistics about advertising, body shape and body image, as well as cartoons by the author. There are even suggested comebacks after an insult: if someone says you're putting on weight, for example, why not answer with a kind "thank you"?

This book has plenty of information and resources for any teenage girl who needs reassurance or a laugh. It goes against the conventional views of beauty and examines why it is accepted that dieting is good, expensive creams are better or high heels are comfortable. Teens need to realize that nobody should tell them what to look like or what to wear…or at least realize they don't need to listen.