Teens Speak: Girls Ages 13 to 15: Sixty Original Character Monologues by Kristen Dabrowski
This book is a collection of monologues for young adults who wish to practice their acting skills. It is normally housed in the 800s section of the library, which includes plays, drama, and poetry. Teens Speak: Girls Ages 13 to 15 is composed of inventive monologues to engage anyone who might be trying out for a play or wants to work on their technique. The author claims, “…[the monologues deal] with the things that interest and concern you” (Dabrowski, 2005). However, this book was written 14 years ago. I was 9 years old when this book was written. What was important to girls in 2005 is very different from what may be important to girls now. At the time, some people had access to social media like Myspace, but no one had a smartphone in their pocket. Those who did have cell phones were rocking the flip phone and would maybe trade it in for a Motorola Razr if they were lucky. While I’m sure there were other forms of social media I was not aware of at the time, it was not as accessible and, in some cases, relentless as it is now. If I wanted to instant message a friend on AIM, I had to wait to get home to my desktop computer to log on.
I mention these differences in technology to show how girls and teenagers of today are besieged by social media beginning at the ages described in this book, if not sooner. Therefore, the monologues that would be relevant to the current age group of readers might include topics like Snapchat or Twitter. While this book was fun to read through, I’m not sure how much the young women of today will relate to it. There are so many new pressures not described in its pages and it seems to stereotype the experiences of girls. A current version of this book might include monologues of transgender girls as well. I would be interested to see it updated for 2019.
Reference
Dobrowski, K. (2005). Teens Speak: Girls Ages 13 to 15: Sixty Original Character Monologues. Hanover, NH: Smith & Kraus.