The Bottom Line
Pros
- A witty, irreverent, practical guide to college and dorm life.
- 450 pages of advice from experts and college students on every topic.
- "Every topic" includes roommate problems, cash flows and dating woes, as well as academics.
- Great gift for off-to-college kids, major eye-opener for parents.
Cons
- Some sections offer an uncomfortable reminder of how much college has changed!
- This book contains some graphic content. It's for college kids, not tween sibs.
Description
- "The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You May Run Into in College" (Sourcebooks 2009, 450 pp., $14.99)
- Written by Harlan Cohen, syndicated advice columnist, frequent public speaker on high school and college campuses.
- In addition to his syndicated column, Cohen has written "Campus Life Exposed" and "Dad's Pregnant Too."
Guide Review - College Advice Books: The Naked Roommate
Mystery meat, diminutive closets, naked roommates - there's more to college than just academics. It's a huge lifestyle adjustment for young adults. Syndicated columnist Harlan Cohen's practical, irreverent take on college life has entertained and helped parents and kids across the country, first via his column and Web site, and now in his book, "The Naked Roommate... And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College."
It's a compilation of expert and student advice on everything from unclothed dorm buddies - ew - to college dating, cash, classes and time management. Each chapter opens with a reader question and Cohen's answer, followed by college students' responses and tips. There's a lot of great, practical advice crammed into 450 pages, all in eminently readable, accessible form, with a lot of humor and warmth.
The caveat? The book is directed toward students, so parents should be prepared to not like some advice and to be appalled by a few others. Yeah, welcome to the 21st century. Your kids are all grown up now and the section on dating, for example, which includes 15(!) kinds of college hookups, may make gray hairs sprout on parental domes. But Cohen's bottom line is student safety, comfort and respect, so while you may take exception to his no-nonsense acknowledgment - not encouragement, acknowledgment - that these things happen, he's also conveying critical information about STDs and protection so kids can keep themselves safe.
This book makes a great high school graduation, off-to-college or care package gift for the teen in your life - and an eye-opener for you about how much college life has changed since you were 18.
