Boys About Important Things. Everything You Wanted to Know About Growing Up, Body Changes, Relationships, and Much More

A book for teenage boys that will help them understand and accept the changes happening to them, and for parents to explain in an accessible and fun way what is so difficult (yet necessary!) to talk about with their growing child.

The teenage period is a challenging stage in any child's life. It's good when there are understanding adults nearby — parents, teachers, with whom to talk about their worries and concerns, who can share their experiences and provide support. But even in this case, a teenager may not always feel comfortable asking directly about what really interests them. They may be held back by shyness and the fear of seeming "wrong" or "bad".

Karen Gravel, author of more than 20 books for children and teenagers, turned to two teenage boys for help and compiled the questions they really wanted to know the answers to:

what physical changes associated with growing up (not only in boys but also in girls) occur at this age;

questions related to the emergence of sexual desire;

appearance and mood swings;

communication with the opposite sex and sexual self-identification;

safe use of social networks.

This book will be a reliable source of information for boys, which they can refer to without shame or awkwardness, and the knowledge gained will help them cope more easily with adolescent stresses. After reading the book, a boy will be able to feel much more confident and calm at this new stage of his life.

In writing the book, the author consulted with teenage boys.

From the author:

I am not a boy and cannot know for sure what boys go through during their teenage years. Therefore, I asked for help from two experts — thirteen-year-old Hava Castro and his eleven-year-old brother Nick. Hava and Nick take sex education classes at school, but they don’t get answers to all their questions there. They were concerned about other things they didn’t want to voice in front of everyone. So they thought it would be a good idea to write such a book and helped me in its creation.

Hava Castro: "Working on the book was really cool, and I learned so much new! This book is very convenient to read alone because I would never dare to ask such questions in class. Everyone would definitely laugh at me and then tease me!"

Nick Castro: "I enjoyed participating in the work on the book because not everything is explained about the body in sex education classes. I’m lucky that my mom is a nurse, but when I was working on the book, I thought about things I’d forgotten to ask her, and which periodically worried me. Asking friends isn’t always the best way. At least now I know that all boys go through this, not just me."

For whom the book is for:

For teenage boys who want to understand what changes are happening to their bodies but feel shy asking adults about what really concerns them.

For parents who want to help their child cope with this difficult stage of life and provide them with accurate information in an accessible form.