The Girl's Guide To Absolutely Everything    by Melissa Kirsch Order:  USA  Can Workman, 2006 (2006) Hardcover, Softcover     Reviewed by Sally Selvadurai While this book covers many, many topics of interest to the modern young woman, I take exception to the title – by the time girls are post-college and fending for themselves, they are no longer girls, except perhaps in the eyes of some macho males, they are young women. Please, Melissa Kirsch, spare us the cutesy label! Despite my dislike for the title, a good deal of the information in this book is straightforward and shows great common sense, from descriptions of the various plastic cards out there, and their pitfalls, and making a budget that can be workable (in the Money chapter), to home decorating and cooking for one, in the Home chapter. Other chapters include Health (check-ups and questions to ask your doctor, sleep habits, exercise, diet, etc.); Work (mentors / mentoring, dressing for success, interview know-how, handling criticism and other tidbits of information); Manners, a chapter on table etiquette, tipping, hosting a function, conversational dos and don'ts, how to be a house-guest, among other things; Love and the pitfalls of any type of relationship; Family, which touches on the need to become adults, even in the eyes of our parents, and to learn to accommodate other family members' idiosyncrasies; Spirituality, or the need to feel at peace with ourselves, through religion or other meditative means, and finally a chapter on Fashion – how to dress appropriately for your age, the ways of accommodating your unique body shape to always look your best by balancing figure with choice of clothes. This is a practical crib sheet for young women starting out on their own, and there are some nice little anecdotes from women who have been there, done that, most of whom are already 30+ and have a working knowledge of the pitfalls of making it on your own. Some chapters, particularly the one on finance, are geared to the American audience, but this does not detract from the overall usefulness of the book. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews