NO KIDDING: INSIDE THE WORLD OF TEENAGE GIRLS Kostash, Myrna. Toronto, McClelland and Stewart (A Douglas Gibson Book), 1987. 319pp, cloth, $24.95. ISBN 0-77104539-5. CIP Grades 12 and up Reviewed by Susan E. Fowler Volume 16 Number 1 1988 January No Kidding provides a revealing look at adolescent females in Canada in the eighties. Myrna Kostash's research involved interviews with fifty girls from diverse family backgrounds and socio-economic levels in Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver, A unique aspect of this research is the fact that the girls seem to have accepted Myrna completely—she spent time with them at parties, in bars, on shopping trips, and in the classroom, as well as visiting them in their homes and places of employment. Kostash profiles twelve of the girls, with each story being told from the girl's own perspective. One criticism of these profiles might be that they deal only with girls in urban areas -there are no profiles of girls from small towns or rural settings. The twelve individual portraits alternate with theme chapters, which provide general discussions of such topics as friends, school, boys, family, sexuality, culture, politics, and the future. This format, combined with a very readable style, provides useful insight into the teen point of view on all of the current issues-pregnancy and birth control, drugs and alcohol, math avoidance, unrealistic hopes for a romantic future, the influence of feminism, and so on. This book would be of use to all who deal regularly with teenage girls. The insights it provides may be particularly useful to parents as they try to cope with this most difficult stage of the family life cycle. Susan E., Fowler, Centennial S.S., Belleville, Ont.