I was very impressed by the same author's Purity Myth when I read it last spring. Full Frontal Feminism covers a lot of the same material, but is written in a different tone of voice--the author was aiming at teens and young women, whereas Purity Myth is written for a broader audience. I'm not the target audience, so I'm not sure that it's fair for me to critique her writing style, but I don't know that it would have appealed to me even when I was 18. I appreciate a well-placed swear word, but I would call Valenti's use of foul language here to be gratuitous swearing. Unfortunately, I think over use of bad language makes the speaker sound inarticulate and less intelligent. Which is too bad, because Valenti is obviously articulate and intelligent. My other problem with this book is that it's very US-centric, which limits its value. Even though Valenti is obviously writing to a US audience, it would have been both interesting and inspiring to hear about the struggles and triumphs of women in other parts of the world. I think The Purity Myth is a much better book, but I will go ahead and purchase Full Frontal Feminism for my niece, just because social activism is new to her and I think this book will speak to her on her level.

Recommended for: the target audience (14-22 year olds). ( )

Excellent, readable and engaging introduction to feminism. I would recommend this to just about every young woman I know. A great starting off point for anyone interested in feminism. I also recommend checking out feministing.com where Ms. Valenti is a regular poster. ( )

This book was clearly written for the high-school to early college crowd. as a grad student i knew a lot of this stuff. but still an interesting read and i got a few insightful nuggets out of it. if anything its a good jumping-off point for those new to feminist works and women's studies, etc. since it has some good references in the back. i would definitely recommend this to my younger sisters or any other teen girl (or boy) in my life. wish i had read a book like this when i was in high school. ( )

So I’m a bit biased for two reasons; 1. I am completely an out and proud feminist, and I’m not ashamed to admit it, and 2. I love, LOVE Jessica Valenti, I’m very familiar with her work and I read feministing.com every single day. So having said that, I think this is a really excellent, very important contribution to the wealth of feminist literature that is out there. Although Valenti writes in a very casual style, and she is not afraid to throw out a swear word every few pages or so, I think that for this particular book, her style works for her. She wrote the book especially for teens and young women (perhaps 15-25), and because of that targeted audience her writing style is acceptable and probably works to her benefit. She’s very relatable and she simplifies and breaks down complex feminist issues to help younger readers more easily see how important these topics are for them to understand and analyze in their daily lives. She makes feminism seem like the most obvious choice for women, in fact the only choice (and I completely agree with that, I definitely feel that it is the only choice for women if we’re going to understand ourselves and the larger culture), and I think the way she talks about it will help to open a lot of readers’ eyes.

While I think this is a good start, it is by no means a very intellectual or exhaustive study in feminism. I think this is a good book for anyone curious about why feminism is important, what it is, and how it relates to their daily lives, but I do not think that it should be the last book about feminism that someone ever reads. It is kind of like a primer (albeit a hip, casual conversation type primer), and after finishing it if one’s eyes are open there are PLENTY of other books on feminism that should be tackled to really examine the issues in a deeper way. But really, I’m a huge fan of Valenti and I think she wrote an excellent book that many readers will get a lot out of. ( )

I'm a bit torn by Full Frontal Feminism. On one hand, it is very readable and engaging. It seems to be aimed at teenagers, and the language and tone reflects that. On the other hand, I feel like the tone detracts from the seriousness of the issues Valenti writes about. It spends more time trying to convince the readers that they are already feminists than it spends talking about feminist issues. I'd recommend this book to teenagers unfamiliar with feminism, but not to anybody with a serious interest in it. ( )