Beautiful Girlhood (Hardcover)

The world needs more young women comfortable in their faith and leading with boldness and grace. The Lord has designed women to fill a special place in society, one uniquely theirs. The world needs women (and men) who don't shy away from their own purposes, gifting, and destinies. Beautiful Girlhood was written as a guide helping young women through these challenges of character building, handling disappointment, obedience, responsibilities, and more. This 100 year old book set for re-release sets out to usher young girls into womanhood. While these quick chapters may have been useful in the early 1900's, they are clearly outdated today. According to Hale's advice, girls should be meek and obedient, without any indication that they should also know their worth. Other examples of its outdatedness are Hale's inferences that crime books should be off limits as well as being out in public. Hale also speaks of a girl's need to know basic skills like cooking, cleaning, and homemaking. And while I agree that these are skills all young people should know, there's no instruction in these areas or indication in how to grow in these skills. While I love the concept of a guidebook during this transition from girlhood to womanhood, this book is so clearly outdated that it's not worth the time or money to read it. The ideas in Beautiful Girlhood are so repressive; they spoil the beauty of strong Biblical womanhood. I cannot recommend this book in any capacity. *Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher. All opinions are my own.