Backward Beauty

If ten girls were asked to describe the "perfect" girl, they would likely rattle off an eerily similar list of qualities--from hair, skin, and weight to a cute button nose. That's a problem, because God has given girls a desire to be desirable. If girls think that they will be most wanted if they fit a one-size-fits-all image of "perfection," they will continually chase that proverbial carrot their entire lives."Backwards Beauty" examines ten cultural lies young women listen to regarding beauty to help them unpack how they're looking at themselves through the wrong lens. The "tips to feel ugly" range from "compare yourself to every other girl" to "eat junk and diet, diet, diet."Reading a book by Jessie Minassian is like sitting down with a friend and talking about the hard things in life. Girls will be able to find freedom and hope in the midst of a culture that idolizes beauty.

My thoughts: I remember reading a while back that a woman shouldn't compliment another woman because it was communicating that the complimented woman was more beautiful than the other. Huh? Somehow, I missed that "rule" when I was growing up, for which I am glad.;)
This book exposes more common lies that women/girls tell themselves, allowing us to believe that we are less than perfect the way God created us. I love that Jessie includes her own personal struggles in this book, making it easy for the reader to relate as well as see where she is coming from. I also found it interesting that she includes some of the traditions through the ages and in other cultures that torture a woman into looking "beautiful" (a side note, it is easy to see the flaws in unusual ideas, but I know our country has it's own regimes and products that torture a woman in the name of beauty).
While this book is a great resource to talk to young woman about beauty and how we should view ourselves, I feel like it was missing something. I like the discussion ideas and scripture verses Jessie includes, along with some of the exercises for readers to try.
I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review.