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School Library Journal Review

Gr 6 Up-- Miller and Kelly speak directly to readers about ``society's secret.'' Statistics, often without attribution, suggest the seriousness of the problem. In considering historical attitudes, they reject Freud's theories, and hail the women's movement as a positive force in addressing the problem. Graphic case studies serve to differentiate incest from instances of sexual curiosity. Chapters on various types of incest and its consequences, profiles of likely victims, abusers, etc., are overwhelmed by a confused, repetitive style and annoying generalizations. The description of factors involved in abuse by grandfathers verges on the paranoid. Also questionable is the flat assertion, ``Although society tends to view incest offenders as `sick,' the fact is that most are aware that what they are doing is wrong. They choose to engage in incestuous behavior.'' The section dealing with disclosure and its aftermath is well written and informative. There is advice on assertiveness and avoidance skills. Strategies for recovery are common sense and supportive; a quiz on victimization is a banal ``pop psych'' device. Sadly, this is one of the few titles on the subject for this age group-- Safe, Strong, and Street Wise (Little, 1987) by Helen Benedict gives it limited coverage. The need is great, but this title suffers from flaws in style and logic. --Libby K. White, Schenectady County Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.