Bonnie J. Ross Leadbeater and Niobe Way
NYU Press
368 pages. $24.
As the second volume in the Urban Girls series, this book focuses on the developmental strengths of girls growing up in urban settings. Using a mélange of contemporary research involving adolescent girls and mixing in case studies, Leadbeater and Way discuss how urban realities such as poverty, violence and stereotypes can affect girls’ development. Each chapter discusses the challenges that discrimination and economic constraints present to urban girls and the effects on their personal identity development. The authors suggest how youth workers can encourage positive youth development. (212) 992-9991, http://www.nyupress.org.