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What I Wish You Knew: Letters from Our Daughters' Lives, and Expert Advice on Staying Connected

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Collects letters from American girls from ten to fourteen in which they discuss their appearance, their families, friendship, school, coping with crises, substance abuse, dating, their hopes for the future, and other issues.

225 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

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51 people want to read

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American Girl

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Chevy.
359 reviews
Read
July 3, 2021
DNF- it was sad to see letters from girls who couldn’t/wouldn’t/or didn’t want to talk with a parent about their growing up needs.

I feel like I have a relationship with my daughter that allows us to talk openly.

I feel like a parent who chooses to read this book is already being attentive enough to their daughter to be there for her when she needs without reading a lot of “what if” scenarios in this book.

Also, the tone in which some of these letters is written almost leads me to believe they either aren’t authentic or are rewritten for the adult reader’s benefit which really put me off.

As my daughter gets older I may refer back to this book if I think it would be useful but for now I don’t and I’m not going to make myself read the whole thing.
Profile Image for PearlDoll.
174 reviews2 followers
January 20, 2026
This is a Helpful and Open Book for both Mothers and Daughters. It has many Resources and lots of Information, which I believe is Very Valuable for anyone going through Puberty, Boy or Girl.

The Main Point this book can be summarized by though, is "Hey, Mums, Listen and Talk with your Daughters,"
Profile Image for Tiffany.
47 reviews
November 6, 2019
I've been really impressed with the no-nonsense level of helpful information provided in these American Girl books. They've sparked many good conversations between my daughters and myself, and between their friends.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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