Young Woman: A Christian Guide to Relationships, Dating & Sexuality

Young Woman is a Christian guide to relationships, dating and sexuality written directly to teenage girls. Jonathan and Ana Gallagher answer the questions teenagers actually ask — about their bodies, about attraction, about pressure and about what a good relationship looks like — without evasion and without making the reader feel ashamed for asking.

What’s inside Young Woman

The book’s central decision is to answer questions rather than issue instructions. Teenage girls have specific, practical questions about physical change, attraction, pressure from boyfriends and peers, and where the lines are. Most Christian books on this subject answer a different set of questions — the ones adults wish teenagers were asking.

It deals with self-worth as the foundation rather than the afterthought, on the reasoning that a girl who knows what she is worth makes different decisions than one who does not. The material on boundaries follows from that rather than being imposed on top of it.

• Physical and emotional change through the teenage years
• Attraction, dating and what a healthy relationship looks like
• Handling pressure from a boyfriend or from friends
• Self-worth and identity, treated as the foundation
• A Christian view of sexuality explained rather than asserted

Who this book is for

Written for girls roughly 13 to 18. It is bought by parents who want their daughter to have honest answers from a source they trust, by youth leaders running discussion groups, and by teenagers themselves.

Parents should read it before giving it. It is direct about sexuality, which is the reason it works and the reason some parents want to know what is in it first.

About the authors and publisher

Jonathan and Ana Gallagher wrote the companion volumes Young Man and Young Woman from years of work with young people. Published by The Stanborough Press.

Young Woman sits in our Children & Youth range. The companion volume for boys is Young Man.

Questions about this book

What age is this book for?

Roughly 13 to 18. Younger readers can handle it with a parent alongside; the material on relationships lands better from about 14.

How explicit is the material on sexuality?

Direct and factual, written to answer rather than to titillate. Parents who want to know exactly what is covered should read it first, which we would recommend anyway.

Is there a version for boys?

Yes. Young Man is the companion volume by the same authors, covering the same ground written to teenage boys.

Is it useful for a youth group?

Yes. Youth leaders use it as a basis for discussion groups, usually taking a chapter at a time.

Is it written from a Christian perspective?

Yes, throughout. It sets out a Christian understanding of sexuality and relationships and explains the reasoning rather than simply stating rules.