No one warned me about the preteen years. Emotional drama, girl drama, bullies, uncertainty…how did I block this out of my memories of being a nearly middle school girl? And I didn’t have to deal with the additional layer of social media and the internet.

If navigating fifth grade was tough, I can imagine what middle school years will bring. That’s why I was thrilled to check out and review Total Package Girl: Discover the Ultimate You For Life! by Kristi Hoffman, a 20-year Girl Scout volunteer, PBS personality and CEO.

Helping My Daughter

I needed a book that wasn’t preachy, wasn’t overly permissive and was a great conversation starter for my daughter to work out her feelings and her journey of where she wanted to progress in life. And while my daughter had enjoyed several of the American Girl books on growing up, we needed something that would help her start dealing with some of the deeper issues she was experiencing, like bullies and being isolated from others. This book I feel delivers.

Total Package Girl shares how to navigate the trials and tribulations of the preteen and teen years, including how to tell who is a “TruBlu” real friend and who is not, and how to build confidence in yourself. There are hashtags, “me” quizzes and inspirational power quotes from Taylor Swift to Mother Teresa to help girls tackle such tough situations and  issues as confidence struggles, cyber bullying, body image and peer pressure.

How ‘That Girl’ Becomes More Amazing

Hoffman intersperses her story of “That Girl,” the nice girl who felt awkward, and charts her growth into adulthood through the choices she made, big and small, in a very relatable way. Total Package Girl  focuses on a girl’s Spirit, Brain and Body, including surrounding your self with strong people, how to develop communications skills, goal setting and checking your emotions. I think it’s a great way to start the discussion with my daughter, and could lead to great discussions for an older group troop.

“A girl’s self-esteem can drop around age 10,” Hoffman said. “My goal is to help girls discover how truly amazing they are as individuals in body, brain and spirit.”

Total Package Girl is available in print and e-book on Amazon and in stores.

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Disclaimer: I did receive a review copy of Total Package Girl, but received no other compensation. This post does include affiliate links, which help support our scouting adventures and this blog.