Bibliographic data
Things I Have to Tell You. Cambridge: Candlewick, 2001.
Critical analysis
This is a must-have book for many girls because the girls that authored this book say so many things most girls want to say, and have questions about. This is a collection of poems, stories, and essays written by girls between the ages of fourteen and nineteen years old. They reveal secrets that have helped them overcome challenges they have had to face. One young author reveals that she looked up in the thesaurus the listing for “gentle” because she was taught that women were gentle creatures. The words she found as synonymous to the term are not what she wanted to be referred to as. Some of the terms she lists are: restricted, limited, not tough, broken, muted, stifled, lacking authority, long-suffering, servile, harmless, knowing no better, and bit of fluff.
There are many issues covered in this collection. These topics are very important for teenage girls and include such issues as how to be perfect, finding happiness, love, loss of love, drug use, suicide, strength, living, and even a bad hair day.
The black and white photographs in this collection are not pictures of the authors, but even so, they are depictions of strong young girls, average girls, just like typical readers. The photographer, Nina Nickles did an outstanding job catching simplistic but yet powerful photographs. There are photographs of girls that feel good about themselves, and those that look troubled. There are pictures of young girls with their friends, and even with boys.
Excerpt:
SECRETS
Do you know my secret,
Did I tell you it last night,
Were you listening to my dreams,
Were you hiding out of sight?
Do you look to find my secret,
Reading letters, reading notes,
Picking up sometimes on phone calls,
Opening books to see what I wrote?
Do you really want to know my secret,
Will it answer all your questions,
Take away your mass of worries?
Or maybe, you could ask for my suggestions.
Do you ever think to ask me about my secret,
Being honest and forthright,
With no lies or hidden feelings?
Only then will my secret come to light.
~Jessica L. McCloskey, age 16 (p. 1)
Things I Have to Tell You. Cambridge: Candlewick, 2001.
Critical analysis
This is a must-have book for many girls because the girls that authored this book say so many things most girls want to say, and have questions about. This is a collection of poems, stories, and essays written by girls between the ages of fourteen and nineteen years old. They reveal secrets that have helped them overcome challenges they have had to face. One young author reveals that she looked up in the thesaurus the listing for “gentle” because she was taught that women were gentle creatures. The words she found as synonymous to the term are not what she wanted to be referred to as. Some of the terms she lists are: restricted, limited, not tough, broken, muted, stifled, lacking authority, long-suffering, servile, harmless, knowing no better, and bit of fluff.
There are many issues covered in this collection. These topics are very important for teenage girls and include such issues as how to be perfect, finding happiness, love, loss of love, drug use, suicide, strength, living, and even a bad hair day.
The black and white photographs in this collection are not pictures of the authors, but even so, they are depictions of strong young girls, average girls, just like typical readers. The photographer, Nina Nickles did an outstanding job catching simplistic but yet powerful photographs. There are photographs of girls that feel good about themselves, and those that look troubled. There are pictures of young girls with their friends, and even with boys.
Excerpt:
SECRETS
Do you know my secret,
Did I tell you it last night,
Were you listening to my dreams,
Were you hiding out of sight?
Do you look to find my secret,
Reading letters, reading notes,
Picking up sometimes on phone calls,
Opening books to see what I wrote?
Do you really want to know my secret,
Will it answer all your questions,
Take away your mass of worries?
Or maybe, you could ask for my suggestions.
Do you ever think to ask me about my secret,
Being honest and forthright,
With no lies or hidden feelings?
Only then will my secret come to light.
~Jessica L. McCloskey, age 16 (p. 1)
Practical suggestion
Have students – girls and yes, even boys – write their own poems, short stories, essays, etc. What can they tell someone about growing up? What tricks have they learned that they would like to pass down? Don’t have the young authors sign their name to it. Leave it anonymous for the sake of embarrassment. Sometimes activities like these can be personal.
External assessments
VOYA
Poet and anthologist Franco vividly remembers the feelings of loneliness and isolation that she experienced as a teenager. Her personal memories prompted a wish to give girls from twelve to eighteen years old a way to tell their own stories, offering their peers help in facing the pain and challenge of adolescence. Recommend this title to inspire and empower other young women. Teachers considering using the book in a classroom situation should be aware of some strong language and adult themes.
School Library Journal
And while the poems are triumphant in their realism, the book is elevated by the inclusion of gritty, unposed black-and-white photographs. These pictures, not taken to illustrate the poems, do so in an exemplary fashion. Like snapshots from personal photo albums, the images of a multicultural array of "everygirls" are harmonious complements to this outstanding collection.
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