Best Friends and Mean Girls Review

Liz and I reviewed 8 Great Dates by Dannah Gresh. A Girl’s Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls and Talking with Your Daughter About Best Friends and Mean Girls.

The Girl’s Guide can be read together with or without the Mom’s book.

This could not have come at a better time.

We homeschool, and so I never really thought I would have to deal with my kids being bullied. I mean, we don’t participate in many outside the house activities. Two play soccer and our church attendance and Liz has Civil Air Patrol. We limit our activities and evaluate and reevaluate to keep aligned with our family goals. I like being home together and eating dinner together every night. On our crazy Tuesdays, we bring a casserole or Crock Pot to soccer practice and eat at the picnic table between soccer practice and CAP.

My kids are in between the ages of the other kids at church. Liz has no peers. And the other families’ lifestyles are different than ours and that sometimes causes contention. There’s a girls ministry in place, but it’s not a fit for my girls.

And Liz is such a bleeding heart. She trusts. She’s gullible. And I don’t want that to go away, not completely. I love that she’s the social butterfly and loves everyone and sees the best in everyone she meets. She’s the opposite of me!

But, she recently realized that a girl she thought was a friend is just on a power trip and has said and done mean things. She’s been using Liz and is not a real friend at all. It was heartbreaking. It’s harder to hold on as they grow up and away. These books are a great help to get through issues like these together, and with God. It’s good to have a guide so I don’t mess it up, get angry, express my own emotions from my past, or forget anything.

The activities in the books are meant to be completed in a group setting. We don’t really have enough of a girl group to get together to do these. But I can do them with my three girls with quite a bit of success.

I don’t want my girls to be mean girls and I don’t want my girls to be hurt by mean girls. But I can’t wrap them up in Bubble Wrap. I can prepare them and, with God’s help, lead them in the way they should go. I can help them succeed with friendships when they experience relationships with other girls.

What’s a Secret Keeper Girl?

Well, she’s a lot of things. And she’s NOT a lot of things.
She’s NOT a mean girl.
She’s a girl whose friendships are full of kindness…

The girl’s book has two parts. Part one has 6 chapters of “self-help.” Part two has 6 meditations – Bible studies about our best friend, Jesus. Part two is full of fun activities while learning how to be a friend. Liz thought some of these activities were a bit silly, but she’s turning 13 next month. Some of the concepts were great review.

Recommended for tweens – ages 8-12

The mom book has three parts. Part one is a how-to. Part two are the 8 dates. Part three are devotions, FAQs, and resources. I look forward to completing the “dates” with my daughters. Listening to the free audio files offer a unique perspective.

About the Author:

Dannah Gresh is the founder of Pure Freedom. She has sold well-over one million copies of her books, making her one of the most successful Christian authors targeting teens and tweens today. She is the author and creator of Secret Keeper Girl, a line of mom/daughter connecting resources and live events aimed at tween girls and their moms. Dannah and her husband, Bob, have three college-age children—Rob, Lexi, and Autumn. She is shamelessly in love with her labradoodle, Stormie, and lives in State College, PA.

Click here to read more.

Best Friends and Mean Girls is available for $12.00 or on Kindle.

A Girl’s Guide to Best Friends and Mean Girls is $10.00 or on Kindle.