Guest Blog: Julia DeVillers

For this month's issue of readergirlz, the postergirlz selected the non-fiction book Girlwise: How to be Confident, Capable, Cool and in Control by Julia DeVillers as a recommended read. Here's a little special something written by Julia for the rgz blog:

There was something tricky about writing a book subtitled: How to Be Confident, Capable, Cool, and in Control.

I needed to figure how to actually give advice on that. Gee, you mean I'm not always confident, capable, cool and in control? (Um, nope.)

So I turned to the experts. I talked with more than 100 amazing women on topics teens told me they wanted to know more about. They share how to deal with rejection and how to deal with a clogged toilet. How to have fun with fashion, run for class office, write a poem, start a band, volunteer, eat without shame...

My fellow authors weighed in! Meg Cabot (THE PRINCESS DIARIES and etc. etc.) shared how to act like a princess, including this gem: "Can princesses have messy rooms? Yes, but for god's sake, there is a difference between messy and unhygienic. There is nothing princess-like about vermin."

Carolyn Mackler (TANGLED) told how to bond with her car (she drove cross-country in a car named Egg)

Jennifer Roy (YELLOW STAR) (and my twin) told how to change a diaper (yeah, I gave her a 'stinky' topic, I know).

And Jane Yolen shared this advice she told her daughter growing up: "I hope that you will leave the world a better place than you found it. We humans are all litterbugs - both in the literal sense (throwing out paper trash is the least of it) and the moral sense."

Interviewing these amazing women for GIRLWISE was a truly inspiring experience, and I’m so glad the book has inspired readers. I love what one teen told me: "Girlwise made me realize that these embarrassing, frustrating and weird things don't only happen to me! And now I'm more confident dealing with them—and having more fun.”

Readergirlz is so definitely Girlwise: confident, capable, cool and in control. I mean, look at readergirlz themes: compassion, risk-taking, self-respect, tolerance, creativity, hope...serious fun! (And there's a killer line in the manifesto I wish I had thought myself: Surround myself with friends who embody traits of good book characters. Maybe I can use that in the next edition of Girlwise, someday?! :)

I'm proud that GIRLWISE is a postergirlz pick.

~ Julia DeVillers