Book Review: Daughters in Danger

Daughters in Danger (2014) by Elayne Bennett is an important book. Bennett is the founder of the Best Friends Foundation and the wife of William Bennett, who has also written so effectively about morality.

In this book, Bennett addresses the dangers are young women are facing. We live in a society where young girls are increasingly sexualized and prone to risky behaviors. She identified several probable roots to this: The breakdown of the family, political correctness, and the dark side of radical feminism.

Weaving in tales from the media about violence in relationships, including some high-profile ones, she paints a picture that is concerning for young women, But she also proposes a way to address these concerns, citing many examples from her best friends program.

On the whole, I thought this was a good book. This book raises many cautions and I would like for parents and educators to hear these. There is a crisis with our youth and we frankly are not addressing send the foundational moral level. I did wonder if there were times where she overstepped, though. A friend and I were dialoguing about something she wrote:"In no known case do American youth who take their faith seriously, whatever their faith, indulge on average and more risky behaviors the new secular peers." This raises questions such as what does she mean by take their fate seriously or engage in more risky behaviors. My friend pointed me to a 2007 survey of 3400 teens by Mark Regnerus, a very competent researcher, which showed that Evangelical teams tend to lose their virginity slightly younger and are much more likely to have had three or more sexual partners age 17. In other words, there are questions that linger.

Overall though, let me state again, this is an important book. If you have daughters, I would strongly recommend this book to you.

I received this book free from the publisher through the Book Look Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”