Things My Daughter Needs to Know (Dilvin Yasa, Pan Macmillan)

Worried about the world that her two-year-old daughter has inherited, Dilvin Yasa decided to write a guide to help her child navigate the tricky world of modern womanhood. The book takes the form of a series of short letters, each one addressing a particular issue such as beauty, food, body image, friendships and dating. Yasa, a veteran journalist of women’s magazines, employs a breezy, conversational, occasionally hectoring tone. A lot of the information is commonsensical: ‘If you need to shave more than your legs to wear a skirt or a dress, you need to accept that it’s too short.’ Others are pointers on how to live a fulfilled life. Yasa advises her little one to travel widely as ‘these memories will keep you nice and warm later in life when you are shivering through the wreckage of middle-age’. Aimed at pre-adolescent girls, the book is worth a look and is written with irreverence and humour, though those of a morally conservative bent should be warned of Yasa’s fruity language and liberal opinions when it comes to sex. For instance, pre-marital sex is encouraged as much as possible, ‘so you know what else is out there and you’re getting the best’.

Thuy On is a Melbourne-based reviewer and manuscript assessor

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews