7 Books About Sex Every Girl Should Read Before She Has It

There's a lot a girl can learn about the birds and the bees from a good book

1. Forever (1975)

This list wouldn't be complete without at least something from Judy Blume, the Obi Wan Kenobe of puberty. Following two high school seniors falling in and out of love, Forever shows how to have responsible first-time sex and that sex doesn't seal a relationship forever.

2. Intensely Alice (2009)

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Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice series can seem like the poor-man's version of Judy Blume, but you learn a lot about sex and relationships by following the travails of pubescent Alice McKinley. For the dirty minds who who want to cut straight to the part when Alice begins her sexual exploration, this is the book.

Oh, and it happens on a Chicago park bench.

3. Second Helpings (2009)

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Pretty much any book in Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series is a must-read for a girl wondering why parents, boys, and sex are so weird (which is every girl). Second Helpings stands out as the one where the beloved, sarcastic Jessica Darling adds a little love and sex into her dreary suburban life.

4. The Best of Everything (1959)

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You probably won't learn from The Best of Everything so much as feel ridiculously grateful you don't live in 1950s America. With their limited access to birth control and the pressure to pretend to be virgins for their husbands, it ain't easy for these single ladies. After reading it, you'll be thankful you live in the 21st Century, sexting and all.

5. The Group (1963)

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Mary McCarthy's novel is about a group of female friends figuring out their adulthood lives, so of course, there is sex. Good sex. Bad sex. Lady and lady sex (implied). And all the emotional complexity of sex is packed into one perfect and tiny scene about sitting alone in Washington Square Park with an unused diaphragm. You will be hit with all of the feelings.

6. Our Bodies, Ourselves (1971)

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Sure, "Our Bodies, Ourselves" can seem a little too groovy, especially if you get your hands on a first edition from 1971 that goes into heavy detail about shared love in commune life. But you want a book with an all-accepting, feel-good vibe when it comes to sex. Plus, it teaches you everything without any sense of shame, including how to look at your vagina (it's more complicated than you may initially think).

7. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2006)

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Anything by Tucker Max is an all-purpose guide to the red flags for creeper guys that you NEVER EVER should have sex with. Go ahead, read the "blow job follies," and then tell me you think it's a good idea to hook up with the guy in the Chubbies shorts with a PBR. I didn't think so.